The Traitors US: Donna Kelce's tragic family death, normal job and her famous sons as puzzled fans ask 'why is she here?'
She's known in the States as Mama KelceThe Traitors US has finally made its way to this side of the pond but fans have been left wondering who Donna Kelce is.
The latest series of the American version has dropped onto BBC iPlayer tonight and viewers are able to binge the first four episodes.
Donna, 73, is one of 23 contestants battling it out for her place in the castle and she is surrounded by reality stars, former sportsmen and women and musicians.
Unlike The Traitors UK, which sees members of the public competing against each other, it is only ever celebrities who take part in The Traitors US.
But who is ‘Mama Kelce’ and why is she there? The other famous faces are certainly nervous about her presence…
The Traitors US: Who is Donna Kelce?
Donna Kelce is the mum of NLF players Travis and Jason. And for the Swiftys among us, the future mother-in-law of Taylor Swift.
Travis, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, is engaged to singing sensation Taylor. Just this week it was reported that Travis and Taylor could be set to tie the knot in New York next month, meaning Donna must be in full wedding mode.
Her other son Jason, meanwhile, played American Football for the Philadelphia Eagles before his retirement in 2023. He has been described as ‘one of the greatest centres in NFL history’.
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Donna, meanwhile, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1952. She grew up in a tiny house with her grandparents living upstairs.
Tragically, Donna’s mother Marie died when she was just 12 years old. Her sad death came following a ‘lengthy’ illness.
Donna’s dad Donald later remarried a woman called Mary. Donna has since credited Mary for supporting so much her over the years.
Mary played a big part in getting Donna involved in athletics in her teens. Her father believed it wasn’t a sport for women, but Mary convinced her stepdaughter to ignore him.
Once she had left school, Donna began working for Mastercard. She was based in an office in Cleveland and specialised in finance for new house purchases.
She married husband Ed Kelce – Travis and Jason’s dad – in the 1970s. They divorced 20 years later.
Why is Donna Kelce in The Traitors?
Donna has managed to forge a career in the public eye thanks to her two famous sons. Her banking salary is also no longer needed due to their combined worth of £90million!
Donna has put her face to multiple charity campaigns and even appeared in two Christmas movies.
In both Hallmark films, Christmas Call and Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, Donna made nods to Travis and James thanks to her football jersey costumes.
In 2024, she was named Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year in America. Donna received the accolade for being a “supermom” who raised two of America’s most recognised athletes.
But even fans in America were perplexed about Donna’s signing to series 4 of The Traitors US.
Writing on Reddit when the series aired Stateside earlier this year, one asked: “Why is she here?? I bet she definitely has watched all of these people on TV…”
Even Donna admits on the show that she finds it “daunting” to vote against the famous line-up during the Round Tables.
“It is very daunting. I’m kind of an outlier and don’t really fit with any particular group, I’m not a gamer or anything exciting. I’m just a mom.”
Donna has also apologised for “fan-girling” over all of her Traitors co-stars.
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