For those of you who don't know, Kid Nation was a short-lived reality show that aired on CBS in the fall of 2007. The show focused on 40 kids who lived in a fake, Old-West town/movie set in the middle of the desert and how they worked on building a functioning society without any adult intervention. It unfortunately lasted only one season before being cancelled, likely over the controversy surrounding throwing 40 kids in a desert and having them allocate money to each other and telling them to have at it. However, in its one glorious season, Kid Nation brought us some truly great little characters and, now that they're all grown up, let's see where they are now.
Alex Wade
Alex was that smart 9 year old from Nevada. He got a gold star in episode 12 for being super smart. Today, he's still super smart. He's a 3 time state Geography champion, went to the National Geography Bee and has won both a gold and silver medal at the International Linguistics Olympiad. And, according to the above image, has created 10 languages and 30-40 alphabets.
Anjay Ajodha
Anjay was a 12 year old from Texas who was one of the OG council leaders. Unfortunately, he got replaced by that douchebag Greg in the second election for some reason. Before appearing on the show, he was the youngest person to ever compete in the National Spelling Bee at age 8 in 2003. He placed 18th overall in the 2006 Bee. Nowadays, he's a computer science student at the University of Houston and he has a website.
Blaine Wise
Blaine was that 14 year old from Florida who was friends with Greg. He got transferred to yellow in episode 9, however, and became a pretty cool dude, winning a gold star and getting on the council in episode 10. Now he plays lacrosse at Greensboro College where he studies criminal justice. He also has a Twitter.
Divad Miles
Divad was an 11 year old from Atlanta who kept nominating herself for gold stars but never received one. The council ruled that she only worked hard enough to get the nomination but never the win. Like her other alums, she's super smart; medical research conducted while she was in high school led to an invitation to study with a PhD. She also passes out food and bibles to the homeless in downtown Atlanta, is a member of National Honors Society, and even has her own outreach organization, Divad's Guild.
DK Simmons
DK was a 14 year old from Chicago who won a gold star in episode 6 for working hard and resolving conflict. He almost went home before he received the star but was convinced to stay. In the second election, he replaced Guylan on the town council. He's now a student at the University of Illinois Chicago and an aspiring actor.
Emilie
Emilie was the 9 year old from Nevada who didn't want them to kill the chicken, despite the journal telling them to. They, of course, did kill the chicken but Emilie still strongly objected. Anjay traded her to the blue district later because he thought she didn't work hard enough. There is no information on her, not even a last name, but she's probably still out there fighting for animal rights.
Greg Pheasant
As the oldest and strongest kid in town, Greg often came off as a bully and a douche. Even though he was a bully and gave the other kids "tough love", he still got nominated for a gold star 3 times in the first 4 episodes but never won because Mike was suspicious of his motivation. By episode 5, he finally won a gold star for comforting some of the younger kids (who were previously terrified of him) when they got homesick. In episode 10, he replaced Anjay on the council. Little is known about what he's doing now. He has a Twitter but has never tweeted, so god only knows.
Here's a nice video of Greg during his time in Bonanza City:
Guylan Qudsieh
Guylan was an 11 year old from Massachusetts. He was voted to the town council in the first election, but couldn't take the stress and asked to be voted off by the 2nd election. The only pictures of him on Google are from his family's blogspot.
Jared Goldman
Jared was that 11 year old from Georgia who read Shakespeare to the chickens. After the show, he sold left over Bonanza necklaces on Ebay. He was also known for making quirky catchphrases, like "Holy banana bread!" Not much is available about where he is now, but he's hopefully still reading Shakespeare to chickens.
Laurel McGoff
Laurel was a 12 year old from Massachusetts who was appointed to the first town council, re-elected and then eventually beaten by Michael in episode 10. She received a gold star for her leadership skills. Today, she seems to sing the national anthem at sporting events and other things like that.
Michael Thot
Michael was a 14 year old from Seattle who turned 15 while on the show. He won a gold star in episode 2 for being rational and eventually replaced Laurel on the town council. In 2013, he did an AMA on Reddit and its definitely worth a read.
Mike Klinge
Mike was the 11 year old from Washington who took charge in the beginning. He was on the original town council, wore a cowboy hat and was, in general, a stand up little dude. He did theater and now it looks like he makes vines.
Sophia Wise
Sophia (no relation to Blaine) was the 14 year old from Florida who kept everyone's shit together. She won a gold star in episode 1, as well as one of the final $50,000 gold stars in the finale. She ran the kitchen and eventually became the town sheriff. She also stood up to Greg a lot. She now goes to Smith College and, according to Michael's AMA, the only tolerable one.
Taylor DuPriest
Perhaps the most well remembered member of Bonanza City was 10 year old Taylor from Georgia. An original council member, she was quickly replaced. She was known for being lazy, defiant and her catchphrase "Deal with it!". She famously said that ugly chickens deserved to die, which she later claimed producers told her to say. Nowadays, she's still in beauty pageants and is the only Kids Nation alum with her own Wikipedia page.
Sources
Wikipedia
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