Grace Nejem

An outdoorsy farm girl who made her broadcast debut on The Program’s 199th season. Her smile and personable attitude helped her ascend to the finale, where she was officially titled Champion.

Since then, she’s been the face of the show, busily traveling throughout the country to advertise this coming season.

• The farm Grace grew up on was quite advanced; it was designed to harness electricity through solar power, which rarely ran out. When she moved to America, she was surprised to see the absence of renewable energy, and she often uses her position to advocate for such.
  • Grace speaks of her background warmly, seeming to miss the humble countryside in the face of her recent fame. She wishes she could see her parents and animals more often.
• Her behavior on camera was, initially, quite unorthodox due to her naivete regarding entertainment.
  • When given cues to bring up dramatic and controversial topics, Grace would ignore them every time. This would frustrate the production crew but prove useful for her amiable reputation.
  • She often ‘broke the fourth wall’ by speaking with the camera crew - asking what model they use and if she could see the shot for herself. She even convinced a cameraman to let her film a scene, which would end up being used in the final cut (despite both of them receiving a stern warning).
• Eating breakfast is a necessary start to her day. It usually consists of a full table of rich food, including eggs prepared at least 3 ways. Growing up a farmhand seems to have given her a hearty appetite.
• According to close friends, Grace’s hair underneath her hijab is a fluffy golden blond. She is very careful not to let it be seen on camera, even in the heat of competition.
  • When a red-carpet interview went off-script and insisted on seeing her hair, Grace obliged, handing them an old, dirty comb. The reporter would be fired afterwards.
• Not a native English speaker, Grace has difficulty grasping contractions, colloquialisms, and figures of speech. She’ll take things quite literally, and even when corrected, she’ll proceed with her interpretation regardless. After all, language is a silly and strange thing.
• Grace’s iconic sunglasses aren’t just for show; she needs a visual barrier between herself and the sun in order to keep PRISM at bay. And wielding light doesn’t appear to make it any less blinding.
  • It also came in useful with The Program, as she often gets overwhelmed with stage lights and excessive camera flashes. Gently threatening to break them with her Value usually does the trick.
• Early episodes of the 199th season saw Grace adapting a leader-esque role amongst their peers. Rather than distrusting and dominating her fellow competitors, she encouraged and cheered for them. When she was targeted, she retaliated with even more positivity. Fans speculated that Grace didn’t know better, but, in reality, she had studied many seasons before her audition. Even as the episodes grew exponentially perilous and people began double-crossing each other, she would wish everyone luck just the same.
  • When asked in a confessional if she was truly committed to winning The Program, Grace stated that, for her, a true ‘win’ is success shared amongst all. She would walk out without elaborating.
• Lacking the means to go anywhere outside her farm, young Grace spent much of her free time playing around with her father’s old film camera. She took photographs of nearly everything around her - the crops, the chickens, and the vast fields beyond.
  • Prior to the Program, Grace dreamt of being a professional photographer. She has a small, online following on a niche art website.
  • Even with her current net worth, Grace still prefers instant film over anything digital.
• Of all her co-competitors, Berenike Gucciardo would single out Grace the most. Rather than doing anything underhanded, Berenike constantly challenged Grace to duel. Grace would humor her sometimes, but they didn’t seem to take her promises to reign victorious personally or seriously. And even when Berenike won, she was never satisfied.
• Faith-wise, Grace follows a Muslim denomination of Synestheism. She states that she did not believe in the Chromadeities growing up, but she eventually grew wise to their cosmic significance.
  • Unlike many Synestheistic believers, Grace prefers not to say their names out loud or even refer to them individually. This may be out of reverence or perhaps unease.
• During Program-related interviews, Grace has stated she sees herself as a ‘senior’ to the upcoming cast, despite being only a year or so older than them.
• Every now and then, Grace stares at people for a bit too long, smiling strangely sentimentally.
• All Specters demonstrate fluidity in form and appearance. Grace’s Phenali is no exception, having been seen in a small, chicken-like form, as well as a colorful, more elegant form resembling a golden pheasant.
  • She claims that it rarely shows its ‘true’ form. Much like herself.
• The end of the 199th season brought trouble like no other, as it was the first in The Program’s history where there was no publicly-aired battle between the final 2. Even fans of Grace were outraged and unsatisfied, demanding to see the dramatic, heavily-anticipated finale that cemented any other Championship.
• Her weapon of choice is a scythe - similar to the one she used at the farm. When she summoned one during The Program, it would tower over her head, despite being wielded as if it weighed nothing.