‘The Traitors’: What To Know About Celebrity Chef Kristen Kish

Kristen Kish is lying low on Season 4 of The Traitors. She is a faithful, who has appeared to make friends with Mark Ballas and Erik Nam.

The 23 competitors this season are Kish, Ballas, Nam, Donna Kelce, Porsha Williams (The Real Housewives of Atlanta), Caroline Stanbury (The Real Housewives of Dubai), Candiace Dillard Bassett (The Real Housewives of Potomac), Lisa Rinna (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), Dorinda Medley (The Real Housewives of New York), Ian Terry (Big Brother), Tiffany Mitchell (Big Brother), Rob Cesternino (Survivor), Natalie Anderson (Survivor), and Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho (Survivor), Rob Rausch (Love Island USA), Maura Higgins (Love Island USA), Colton Underwood (The Bachelor),  Monét X Change (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Stephen Colletti (Laguna Beach), Michael Rapaport, Johnny Weir, Ron Funches, and Tara Lipinski.

Aside from her time on Top Chef, what else is there to know about The Traitors player? Here’s what we know.

Tune in to The Traitors to find out if Kish survives another week.

Early life

Kish was born on December 1, 1983, in Seoul, South Korea. She was adopted by a family in Michigan at only four months old.

Before graduating from high school in 2002, she took up modeling. Kish then studied international business and economics at Grand Valley State University for one year. She then pivoted and attended Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago, where she earned an associate’s degree in Culinary Arts.

Cooking career

After her graduation, she stayed in Chicago for work. The reality TV star then moved to Boston, where she was a line cook and chef de partie, according to the Boston Globe.

After spending a few years in that job, Kish became a sous chef at Stir. One year later, she was promoted to chef de cuisine by the owner. After Top Chef, Kish was the chef de cuisine at Menton, which was owned by the same woman, until 2014.

In 2018, Kish became the head chef and owner of Arlo Grey in Austin, Texas, according to Texas Monthly. Her style is described as contemporary French cuisine with Italian influence.

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Top Chef history

Kish competed on Season 10 of Top Chef in 2012. She was eliminated in Episode 1 but won her way back with five consecutive victories in Last Chance Kitchen. Kish made it to the finale with Brooke Williamson and won, becoming the second female winner in the show’s history.

Kish became the next host of Top Chef in 2023 after Padma Lakshmi stepped down. Since then, she has received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Host. From there, she has appeared on numerous iterations of the show, including the Canadian versions.

Other TV appearances

Aside from the Top Chef franchise and The Traitors, Kish has also appeared on 36 Hours (cohost in 2015), Chopped and Chopped Junior as a guest judge, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Best Thing I Ever Ate, Guy’s Grocery Games, Fast Foodies, Iron Chef, Selena + Chef, and Restaurants At The End of the World.

A best-Selling author

Kish has released two books. The first was a 2017 cookbook, Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques, which she cowrote with Meredith Erickson.

In 2025, Kish released her memoir titled Accidentally on Purpose. It became a New York Times Bestseller. 

Is she married?

 

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Yes! Kish is married. She tied the knot with her wife, Bianca Dusic, in April 2021. Kish told Interview Magazine, “I used to never want to get married because less than 10 years ago, I wasn’t allowed to by way of the Supreme Court. But I’m now happily married to the greatest human to walk this earth.” They got engaged in 2019.

She came out on Instagram in 2014 in a now-deleted post with her girlfriend, Jacqueline Westbrook.