Who Is The Bachelor's Kit Keenan?

Kit Keenan is a part of Matt James' Bachelor season, a season that is noteworthy for several reasons. First and foremost, James is the first Black Bachelor ever, making his run historical even if it doesn't have a happy ending (however, considering this is The Bachelor, it really ought to). Making things extra interesting are the 32 women vying for James' heart. As Glamour reports, there's a whole gaggle of ladies looking to make him their man across an impressive age range and, in keeping with the franchise's new push towards diversity, the cast also represents several different ethnicities too. 

There are plenty of interesting contestants already causing arguments between fans, with "Queen" Victoria being the most obvious villain because, well, she insists on being called a queen. Among the sweetly smiling and glamorous faces, though, there's Kit Keenan, one young lady you may just recognize thanks to her impressive social media following and already mega-famous parent. Her stint on The Bachelor is sure to make this NYC stalwart an even bigger star, but, for now, let's take a moment to get to know the one and only Kit Keenan. 

Kit Keenan's Bachelor bio advises she "can surf in high heels," which seems like a strange thing to brag about until you realize how important fashion is to her (also, she wasn't lying). As The New York Times reports, Kit launched KIT, her own fashion line, at 18. "KIT was created to bring the contemporary art world to a younger audience. We collaborate with artists so you can take home and wear a piece of art that might cost millions of dollars at auction," notes their official site. Kit admitted to the Times, "I didn't have a business plan or fancy investors," explaining, "I had a few thousand dollars and some good advice."

The idea came to her in Kit's first year of college at USC. The Times describes KIT as "a mishmash of styles," but it's purposeful. As the Bachelor star explained, "What I want to do with the brand is have every drop be a complete reinvention, so it's not like having to stick to one image of the brand." According to Life & Style magazine, Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Moss have been spotted sporting Kit's high-fashion sweatshirts. 

Most kids don't launch fashion lines in their teens, but Kit Keenan isn't just anybody. Her mother is legendary fashion designer Cynthia Rowley (and her dad is interior designer Bill Keenan). Rowley helped her daughter figure out where to source materials and how to produce garments for KIT, as Kit enthused to the The New York Times. Speaking to Vanity Fair when she was 17, the reality TV star gushed about how much she loves collaborating with Rowley (the aforementioned heel-surfing video was just one of their mother-daughter projects). 

The two ladies remain incredibly close, frequently popping up on red carpets together, while Rowley is a fixture on her daughter's Instagram page. Kit even co-hosts podcast Ageless alongside Rowley, during which the two nerd out over all things fashion. While attending PopSugar Play/Ground in 2019, the duo was asked about the one item they couldn't stand to travel without, and Rowley sweetly answered, "Can I say each other?" (via PopSugar). Kit told Town & Country magazine her mother's best advice is, "Be original, be curious, be kind, be thankful, and there's no substitute for hard work." 

Kit Keenan's official bio for The Bachelor notes that, first and foremost, she's a New Yorker through and through. Like Carrie Bradshaw before her, this fashion-forward blonde could never say goodbye to her greatest love. Considering who her mother is, it's no surprise to learn Kit still lives at home, though she's not exactly slumming it in their chic West Village abode. The reality star is actually the youngest contestant on Matt James' Bachelor season (via Cosmopolitan). She's still working her way through college, at NYU, where Kit is completing her undergraduate degree. 

When it comes to romance, the bio notes, she "hasn't had a serious relationship since her first love in high school, but that's only because she hasn't found a man who can measure up to the level of emotional intelligence she needs." According to Kit, most guys simply aren't mature enough. She's not too picky, however, simply noting the right man will be "genuine, open and honest," while anybody who's "fake or indirect" can keep walking. Kit is looking for someone who can keep up with her intellectually and be down to hit all the coolest NYC parties. 

Famous kids turning to fashion modeling in their teens is nothing new — take Kendall and Kylie Jenner or Gigi and Bella Hadid as just a couple examples — but it's harder to resist the runway's call when your mother is a designer. As The New York Times notes, Kit Keenan's casual college modeling gigs predominantly funded KIT. She has even modeled for her mother, too, walking in Cynthia Rowley's fall 2019 ready-to-wear show, per Women's Wear Daily. As Vanity Fair noted, however, it's not about Kit simply wanting to be famous; she looks up to Rowley in a profound way. 

"She's completely out of her mind sometimes," Kit confessed lovingly to the publication ("Keenan is clearly in her mother's thrall," they were quick to note). A spread in Teen Vogue is touted as evidence the kid is destined to be an It Girl, but Kit remains curiously nonplussed, shrugging, "I don't follow, like, trends, or look to other popular designers or anything to see what's going on." Rowley encouraged her daughter to always follow her own path. As the sometimes-model admitted, she's grateful her mother can dress her now she's old enough to appreciate the designer's input. 

Although she's got her own line and boasts the Cynthia Rowley as a mother, Kit Keenan doesn't necessarily want to be a fashion designer. She told Teen Vogue in 2016, "I inherited her [Rowley's] eye for style, but I don't think I'll pursue fashion as a career," hence why the youngster headed west to University of Southern California to get a degree in filmmaking (at the time, she was "working on a movie about intersectional feminism and social media in Generation Z"). However, the allure of New York City couldn't be resisted, and Kit transferred back home, and into NYU, in her sophomore year. 

Currently attending the university's Gallatin School of Individual Study, Kit explained to Our Era that she doesn't regret moving to California as, "I grew up in New York and I think that I needed to get out of my comfort zone and curate my own life there." However, Gallatin's self-created study plans suit Kit much better due to the amount of freedom they offered, making it the main reason she ultimately opted to transfer. Regardless of whether fashion becomes her career, it clearly remains close to her heart. 

Boasting a whopping 80,000 followers on Instagram at the time of this writing, Kit Keenan is a bona fide influencer even without The Bachelor — although the show is sure to launch her into the stratosphere, regardless of how far into Matt James' season she gets. The proud New Yorker posts aspirational content typical of gorgeous 20-somethings like herself, from workout routines to stunning street style snaps of her awe-inspiring outfits, cute vacation pics whenever she heads to Montauk, and delicious-looking food pics with the requisite super-healthy recipes included alongside. 

Kit also posts frequently donning her mother's stylish brand, typically from the ready-to-wear side of things. Speaking to Fashion Week Daily, the stylish star noted, "My style is very garden fairy/pink princess most of the time. Then there's my 12-year-old boy alter ego that comes out sometimes who just wants to wear boxer shorts and scour resale websites for vintage skate tees." As Kit opined, "I think it's important to have balance and mix it up." The up-and-comer is considered so fashionable she landed on FWD's Hamptons Most Stylish list in 2020. 

As Vanity Fair made clear in their profile, Kit Keenan is not your typical famous kid. She's not your typical influencer either. Although her Instagram feed is beautifully curated and super easy to get lost in, there's a purpose behind her posts too. As she explained to Her Campus, it took the Bachelor star a while to figure out her personal brand. "While posting photos of myself was a great way to receive personal validation, I realized I wasn't building towards anything or connecting with my followers in any meaningful way. I started incorporating wellness advice into my feed, as health and fitness are such big parts of my life offline," she advised.  

Kit then made it clear how her podcast with mother Cynthia Rowley isn't just about fashion and frivolous things but rather, "We discuss the concept of agelessness in life and career through the lens of our own mother-daughter relationship." Eager to help others during times of social and political unrest, Kit even encouraged followers to DM her if they're feeling lost or down. She may be rich and famous, but clearly she cares.