If you're patiently waiting to catch the latest season of The Bachelor, you're about to become very well acquainted with contestant Christina Mandrell. The 27-year-old actress is set to make her debut as part of season 27 on Jan. 23, which she teased to her nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram. But did you know the Nashville native is actually part of a family that's veritable country music royalty?
Christina is actually the daughter of musician and actress Irlene Mandrell, younger sister of Country Music Hall of Fame member Barbara Mandrell. Barbara is a two-time Grammy-winning country music legend who's been performing since the 1960s, with a legacy that's seen her rise to become one of country music's most successful artists of all time.
Barbara Mandrell released a whopping 27 albums across her career and is remembered for hits including "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" and "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right." Not only did she receive the CMA Entertainer of the Year award two years running, but she's won a veritable treasure trove of other honors during her career. She's also been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 50 years.
The call of country music runs deep in this family, as Christina's aunt, Louise Mandrell, is also a country music singer. She rose to prominence in the 1970s, releasing her own string of hits in the 1980s including "Runaway Heart," "Save Me" and "Too Hot to Sleep."
Christina herself has even appeared in a few music videos from country superstars such as Taylor Swift in "Fifteen." Recently, she showed up in Cole Swindell's "She Had Me At Heads Carolina" and Kevin Quinn's "It's About Time."
Interestingly enough, this isn't Christina's first rodeo when it comes to finding love. According to her aunt Louise, Christina married Blake Dennis in 2015 in a small and intimate ceremony at Barbara Mandrell's former luxury estate, The Fontanel Mansion and Farm.
The pair share a 5-year-old daughter named Blakely but have since divorced. Christina is hoping to find true love with her time on The Bachelor — though, of course, time will tell if season 27's star, Zach Shallcross, is the right fit for this country-centric belle.
It should be fun for viewers to watch Christina's journey as she looks for love this time around, especially given that for her, country music is a family affair. She's got to find the right person to help her carry the torch, after all.
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