Amanda Kimmel was born on August 3, 1984 and originally lived in Kalispell, Montana, though now she currently resides in Los Angeles. She has lived all over Montana, and has worked most recently as a tour guide for hikers. She’s also continuing to study the fashion industry, while improving her skills as an artist. She began working as a model in Chicago at the age of 16, wherein she also got by on her own for one year. Among her other past occupations are waitress, retail sales representative, and makeup artist.
Amanda's ultimate goal is to make a name and business for herself in the fashion industry. But aside from her work, she has also participated in a number of beauty pageants. She won the title of Miss Montana USA in 2005, and then Miss Earth in 2006. She has even visited China twice in order to be part of the Miss Kite of the World Pageant in Weifang, wherein she was able to reach the semifinals. Additionally, she was featured on billboards and in news articles, and was even given the key to the city.
In 2007, Amanda appeared as a contestant on the 15th season of the hit CBS reality television series, Survivor: China. Starting out on the Fei Long tribe, Amanda had a strong alliance with Todd and Courtney, and went with them to the final three. During the final jury, Amanda was criticized for apologizing too much, not giving reasons to the jury as to why she voted for them, and didn't admit ever lying to them. She only received one final jury vote, losing to Todd, who receive 4, and to Courtney, who receive 2 votes.