Cast
The cast included a trans woman, Katelynn Cusanelli, a first for the series. The cast was photographed publicly for the first time at a Semi Precious Weapons Fashion Week party at the Manhattan club Rebel in early September 2008.
| Cast Member | Age1 | Hometown | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baya Voce | 21 | Salt Lake City, Utah | Baya, like Chet, is from Salt Lake City, but is not a Mormon, which has caused her to feel isolated in her hometown. Raised by hippie parents, she is a dedicated hip-hop DJ who aspires to be a dancer, and has been described as "the token cute white female" and "laid back", though she suffers from panic attacks. She is active in social and environmental causes. |
| Chet Cannon | 23 | Salt Lake City, Utah | Chet has been described as a "punk rock Mormon", a "hipster" and "straight as an arrow", who eschews alcohol and premarital sex. He is a conservative Republican, (one of two among the housemates, along with Scott), a University of Utah fraternity member with nine siblings, and an occasional prankster. He is an aspiring TV host, and his stated goal on the series is to "show people that Mormons are fun." Chet becomes best friends with Ryan. |
| Devyn Simone | 20 | Kansas City, Missouri | Devyn was Miss American Teen in 2005, and a Miss Missouri Teen. She is a black woman who has been described as a flirtatious diva who likes attention at clubs and on stage, and a sexual person who likes to tease men, and juggle multiple suitors. She is a theatre and music studies major at the University of South Florida who hopes to work in the entertainment industry. She is close to her mother, and was close to her late grandmother. |
| JD Ordoñez | 22 | Miami Beach, Florida | JD is a half Cuban, half Puerto Rican gay man who, along with his brothers and sister, suffered violent physical abuse at the hands of his father, and lived on welfare. He ran away from home at thirteen, spending some time in foster care, and ensured that his father was repeatedly sent to jail for his abuse. He feels his experiences made him a stronger, independent person. The first among his four siblings to graduate from high school, he put himself through college at the University of Miami, and now works as a dolphin trainer, a dream job he first envisioned in a trip to SeaWorld at age five. A high school competitive swimmer, he became one of the youngest dolphin trainers at Miami Seaquarium at nineteen. He came out to his parents about his sexuality at sixteen, and because of this, he immediately bonds with Katelynn, who confides her transgender status only to him in the premiere. |
| Katelynn Cusanelli | 24 | West Palm Beach, Florida | Katelynn, or Kat, is an Italian-American trans woman who had a rough childhood. She first realized her gender variance in high school and began living as a woman at 17, which was difficult given her rigid, Sicilian family. She began her transition almost five years prior to moving into the Real World house, and completed her gender reassignment surgery in Thailand in July 2008. She is a self-described computer geek, and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She has a boyfriend named Mike whom she hopes to marry. In the season premiere, she initially reveals her transgender status only to JD, though she eventually comes into conflict with him over this and other matters, and reveals her status to the others. She has lost three close friends to AIDS, which inspires her charity work. |
| Ryan Conklin | 23 | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania | Ryan was in the Army for three and a half years, having been inspired by the September 11 Attacks to enlist at the age of 17. He spent a year in Iraq, guarded Saddam Hussein at his trial, and suffered a number of near-death experiences. He suffers from knee problems and posttraumatic stress as a result of his tour of duty. He expresses these experiences through his guitar playing, and in a 300-page single-space typed journal. He is described by The Brooklyn Paper as "the fun one" in the premiere. His experiences in Iraq made him highly critical of the war's execution, and hopes a victory for Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election will preclude his being recalled to Iraq. He is an aspiring filmmaker who hopes to study at the University of Pittsburgh, and a class clown who plays pranks. He has a girlfriend named Belle. His brother Aaron is a military police officer in the Army Reserves, and they have two cousins in the Army as well. He learns in Episode 11 that he is being recalled to active duty. |
| Sarah Rice | 22 | San Francisco, California | Sarah is an artist who suffered sexual abuse by a teacher and inappropriate behavior by her father, whom she has tried unsuccessfully to have imprisoned, and to whom she has not spoken for eight years, a silence that is broken when he calls her in Episode 4. She has dedicated herself to advocate for survivors of abuse as an art therapist. She hopes to show her art in a gallery, and recently began a relationship with a man to whom her mother introduced her, one of her first heterosexual relationships, as most of her prior ones were with women, though she prefers not to label her sexual orientation. Sarah, whose appearance is described to be that of a "tattooed punk", is observed by The Brooklyn Paper to be the only cast member with an interest in anyone else on a deeper level in the premiere, as contrasted with the gossip-like focus of the other castmates' discussions. |
| Scott Herman | 23 | Salem, New Hampshire | Scott is a personal trainer, model and actor who has been working out since the age of 14. He recently received the designation of having the "best abs on the East Coast", and was featured in Men's Health magazine. The first in his family to graduate from college, he educates the public on health and fitness with his website. Along with Chet, he is one of two Republicans in the house. |
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