Kriti Mehrotra
Having taken inspiration from one of the most acclaimed South Korean dramas ever, Netflix’s ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ can be described as equal parts exciting and tense. That’s because, like the original, it follows 456 players as they face off against one another in a series of children’s games for an astounding, life-changing cash prize of $4.56 million. Among those to compete in season 2 of this production is the fiercely strong-minded young woman Natalie Hotz, who ended up being one of the most polarizing figures.
Natalie Hotz’s Strategy of Playing For Herself Became Her Downfall
While Player 075 Natalie Hotz wasn’t really prominent initially, as she had decided to keep a low profile to avoid garnering anyone’s attention, things changed in the Russian Doll test. That’s because after Player 410, Isaiah Brooks, received a treat on his turn and consciously chose to share it with everyone, she made it clear that she found his niceness a little suspicious. Her negative reaction did not go unnoticed, so the latter actually handed the small stacking doll to her when the time came because he thought he would let fate handle the situation.
Nobody expected Natalie would get an opportunity to eliminate someone, but she handpicked a player with whom she had no alliance or discord since she thought it would be best. However, her gameplay was to simply focus on herself without any close bonds, which became evident in Game #3 Mingle as she kept her options open with different groups each turn. This rubbed several people the wrong way as they were playing socially with trusted alliances, so her strategy ended up being her downfall, as she was ultimately left out and thus eliminated.
Natalie Hotz’s Background and Upbringing Paved the Way For Her Career
Although not a lot of details regarding Natalie’s early years are available as of writing, we do know she was born on January 1, 2002, in Topeka, Kansas, to hearing-impaired parents. She is actually a proud CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), according to her own accounts in the aforementioned series, so her first language is indeed the American Sign Language. In fact, she has never shied away from admitting that not only are some of her earliest memories just pictures or visuals with no sounds, but she also had to take speech therapy growing up.
“I had to overly express my emotions for my parents to understand me,” Natalie conceded on the show. “Not because those emotions were towards them, but because of me moving…signing.” Therefore, she gradually developed a passion to ensure that the hearing and the hearing-impaired can communicate with one another, resulting in her evolving into a Sign Language Interpreter. She kickstarted her career at the age of 19 in September 2021 at the Education Service Center, from where she moved on to Maxim Healthcare Staffing after just over 2 years in October 2023. Natalie worked there for around 9 months before taking a brief break and then joining Quantum Resource Professionals on a contract basis in October 2024, where she still serves to this day.
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Natalie Hotz is Continuing Her Education While Also Dabbling in Pageantry
While Natalie is undoubtedly proud and experienced as a Sign Language Interpreter at the age of 23, it seems she wishes to continue down this path and take it even further. Therefore, she is currently attending Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) in Hooksett, New Hampshire, to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. If all goes well, she is set to graduate in the summer of 2026, following which she can pursue a career in human resources, public administration, research, social work, or other related fields. In all of them, if she desires, she will be able to utilize her interpreting skills to help others, such as her parents, in typical hearing environments at a much more significant level than before. In other words, her career is just beginning.
We should mention that apart from having a passion for her first language as well as helping others, Natalie is also a beauty queen who has been participating in pageants for a few years now. In fact, she was named Miss Topeka, Kansas, under the banner of the Miss ICT Pageant in 2023, and she tried her hand for the title again in 2024 in the hopes of making it to Miss USA. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t appear as if she received enough public votes the second time around, but it appears as if the exposure of it definitely helped her along the way. After all, the Kansas native has not only ended up on Netflix’s ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ season 2 but also decided to make a name for herself as a rising digital creator. Honestly, we can’t wait to see what’s in the cards for her next.
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