Abby Lee is a 29-year-old astrophysicist from Saint Paul, Minnesota, who competed on The Traitors: New Blood. Her day job involves studying stars to reconstruct how galaxies evolve and how fast the universe is expanding, work she conducts as a NASA Hubble Fellow and Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley.
That background gives her one of the more distinctive profiles in this season’s cast. Abby has described her science as drawing conclusions from limited evidence, and she’s said she wants to bring that same instinct into a Scottish castle full of hidden Traitors. It’s a compelling comparison, though not one that guarantees results.
Abby was murdered in Episode 8, the season’s sixth murder, ending her run as a Faithful. Here’s what’s confirmed about her career, her strategy, and how her season played out.
Abby Lee Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Abby Lee |
| Age | 29 |
| Birthplace | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| Lives In | Berkeley, California |
| Profession | Astrophysicist |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago |
| Current Institution | UC Berkeley |
| Known For | The Traitors: New Blood |
| Role | Faithful |
| Traitor Status | Not recruited |
| Status | Murdered, Episode 8 |
| Research | Stars, galaxy evolution & the universe’s expansion |
| Game Strategy | Analytical, alliance-focused |
Who Is Abby Lee?
Abby Lee is a 29-year-old astrophysicist and a contestant on NBC’s The Traitors: New Blood. She’s a St. Paul, Minnesota native and a graduate of Central High School, now based at UC Berkeley, where she works as a postdoctoral researcher.
Her scientific name, used in academic and institutional records, is Abigail Lee. On the show and in entertainment coverage, she goes by Abby Lee.
How Old Is Abby Lee?
Abby is 29 years old, confirmed through pre-premiere local reporting and cast coverage. One aggregator listing has incorrectly cited her age as 23; that figure conflicts with more direct sourcing and shouldn’t be repeated. No exact date of birth is publicly documented, so none should be assumed.
What Does Abby Lee Do?
Abby is an astrophysicist, specifically a NASA Hubble Fellow and Miller Fellow conducting postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley’s Department of Astronomy. Her fellowship is funded through NASA’s Hubble Fellowship Program, but she isn’t a NASA civil-service employee. Her host institution is UC Berkeley, which is the most accurate way to describe her current professional home.
Her academic path includes a B.A. in Physics & Astronomy from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Chicago. In scholarly contexts, she can accurately be called Dr. Abigail Lee.
Abby Lee’s Astrophysics Career Explained
Abby studies stars to help answer one of astronomy’s biggest open questions: how fast is the universe expanding? Her research focuses on asymptotic giant branch, or AGB, stars, a specific stage in a star’s life that scientists can use as a kind of cosmic ruler.
Using near-infrared data, including observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, Abby studies these stars in other galaxies to help reconstruct galaxy formation and evolution, and to measure distances to nearby galaxies. Those distance measurements feed into calculations of the local rate at which the universe is expanding.
Her doctoral research centered on the JAGB method, a precision technique for measuring that expansion rate using AGB stars as standard candles. In 2025, she received the International Astronomical Union’s Division J Ph.D. Prize for that thesis work.
A simple way to think about it: if galaxy evolution is a long, partially incomplete historical record, Abby’s work uses the observable properties of certain aging stars as evidence, similar to using surviving records to piece together how a city changed over centuries. She’s said she hopes to apply that same habit of drawing careful conclusions from incomplete information to spotting hidden Traitors in the game.
Abby Lee’s Background and Education
Abby’s academic path runs through two major institutions. She earned her undergraduate degree in Physics & Astronomy from the University of Pennsylvania between 2015 and 2019, followed by a Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Chicago from 2019 to 2025.
Her research is documented through UC Berkeley’s Miller Institute and NASA’s Hubble Fellowship listings, both of which identify her ongoing work and at least one published paper on AGB stars and galaxy evolution. That level of institutional corroboration is unusually strong compared to most reality-show cast members.
Why Did Abby Lee Join The Traitors: New Blood?
Abby has said she’s a longtime fan of the show, describing it as a way to unwind from the pressures of academic research. She told her husband for years that she thought she’d be good at the game, but worried her colleagues might judge a reality-TV appearance.
A professor ultimately encouraged her to do something unexpected after a life she described as largely centered on school and science. She’s also said she wanted the exposure to help younger viewers, particularly girls and people of color, see a broader picture of what an astrophysicist can look like.
Abby Lee’s Strategy on The Traitors
Abby entered the game with an unusually specific plan. She said she wanted to use her research and analytical skills to identify Traitors “in a very systematic way,” treating the search for hidden players the way she treats incomplete scientific data.
She said she’d rather be a Faithful than a Traitor. Her early-game priority was building alliances, calling it her “number one goal” for the first three days, with a plan to shift toward more active investigation from day four onward.
For a role model, she pointed to Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones, describing him as influential from behind the scenes rather than the center of attention. That’s the position she said she wanted to occupy: not the most visible player, but someone quietly shaping relationships and gathering information.
She also said she was looking forward to setting traps, though she hasn’t publicly detailed what those traps would involve or who they’d target.
Abby Lee’s Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses in the Game
Abby’s own comments give a specific, sourced picture of what she expected to bring to the game, and where she thought she might struggle.
On the strengths side, she’s pointed to her research training and comfort working with incomplete information as her main assets, tools she believes translate into spotting inconsistencies in people’s stories. She’s also said she’s good at catching people in lies.
On the weaknesses side, she’s said she’s a poor liar herself, a notable admission for a social deduction game where deception often matters as much as detection. That contrast, someone who says she’s skilled at reading others but not at misleading them, is one of the more interesting tensions in her pre-season profile.
Is Abby Lee a Traitor or Faithful?
Abby Lee was a Faithful throughout her time on the show. She was not selected as an original Traitor and was not recruited when Katie Fites became the season’s third Traitor in Episode 3. She was murdered in Episode 8, the season’s sixth murder.
Abby Lee on The Traitors: New Blood
Spoilers through Episode 7 of The Traitors: New Blood follow.
Episode 1
Abby entered the castle with the full 22-person civilian cast and took part in the season’s opening mission, which banked $50,000 for the group. During that mission, she secured one of three available shields, alongside Victor Vollbrechthausen and Madeline Kostopulos. The shields protected the three of them from that night’s murder, though not from banishment at the Roundtable.
Notably, Abby’s approach to getting her shield was quiet rather than aggressive, a contrast to Victor’s more conspicuous pursuit of his.
Episode 2
Abby survived the season’s first murder and first Roundtable. Kim Daily was murdered, and Madeline Kostopulos, a Faithful, was banished. During the Roundtable conversation, lawyer Michael Foote raised the shield-holders’ pursuit of protection as an early talking point, but attention quickly shifted toward Victor’s aggressive shield grab and Kriste Lewis’s allegation about a comment Madeline made regarding Kim.
Abby wasn’t a focal point of that conflict. Her individual vote hasn’t been confirmed in available recaps, and no source documents her as a significant suspect through the first two episodes.
Episode 3
Abby remained active as the Accomplice storyline concluded. Joe Vanella and Tomica Adams recruited Katie Fites as the season’s third Traitor, while Xavier Scruggs was murdered. Abby was not involved in the recruitment decision and continued as a Faithful.
Episode 4
Abby remained in the competition as suspicion within the Faithful group began to focus more heavily on members of the Traitor team. Available recaps do not identify Abby as a central Roundtable target, the leader of a Traitor theory, or the source of a major voting shift. Her game remains active but comparatively underdocumented through Episode 4.
The Arisa Shield Claim
At the Episode 3 Round Table, Abby aired her claim that she saw Arisa Thomas pocket a shield while Arisa was sitting next to Morgan Cook, according to the AV Club.
Arisa disputed the claim in her EW exit interview. She said Abby “thought she saw a gold string” that Arisa put in her pocket, and added that she believed Abby was being sincere: “I do believe that Abby really did believe she saw what she saw.”
The claim was false, and it helped fuel Arisa’s banishment on a 13-5-1 vote.
At the Episode 4 Round Table, Abby declared there was “too much evidence” about Arisa, according to realityblurred.
Arisa also told EW that “Abby and Morgan are close,” saying the two had a closer relationship with each other in the house. That is Arisa’s own observation, not confirmation of a formal alliance.
Abby Lee’s Episode 4 Murder Jeopardy
Abby landed on the Traitors’ Episode 4 murder shortlist. She was one of the final three players considered for the murder, alongside Logan Smith and Mark, but the Traitors ultimately murdered Logan instead, according to realityblurred and the Patriot Ledger.
She was not among the seven players who were safe from murder as a result of the Episode 4 mission.
Logan Smith’s Suspicion of Abby
Logan Smith named Abby among his three suspicions in an EW interview: “my three suspicions were Abby L., Joe, and Katie… Abby L., just because she was kind of playing just a tiny bit quiet, like me. But I could just tell she was so smart. She was kind of tiptoeing around, had some suspicions about people, and she was picking up on small details.”
Abby Lee’s Strategy vs. Her Actual Gameplay
Abby’s plan and her actual gameplay show partial overlap so far, though it’s early to call her approach a success.
She said she wanted to build early alliances, but no specific alliance has been publicly confirmed yet. She said she wanted to work behind the scenes, and Through Episode 7, Abby remained active without becoming a central public target. That is consistent with her plan to work behind the scenes, although it does not by itself prove that her strategy is working. She said she wanted to identify inconsistencies systematically, but no documented instance shows her flagging a specific lie or contradiction. And while she talked about setting traps, none has been reported.
Through Episode 5, Abby remained in the game. In Episode 5 she built the successful case against Sherry Kuehl around Sherry’s three-Traitors comment, leading to Sherry’s 11-5-1 banishment, though Sherry was revealed as a Faithful. Abby was confirmed safe at the wake.
Through Episode 6, Abby remained an active Faithful, with 14 players still in the game. At the Episode 6 Round Table, Abby Lee was one of the 3 voters for Wyatt Gillespie in the 8-3-3-1 vote that banished Michael Foote, a Faithful. Wyatt’s 3 votes came from Joe Vanella, Abby Lee and Kriste Lewis. Abby survived the episode and remained an active Faithful heading into Episode 7, which aired Thursday, October 22 on NBC.
Through Episode 7, Abby remained an active Faithful. In the Episode 7 scarecrow mission, she found a black heart and ejected Wyatt Gillespie, making him ineligible for the Power of the Pardon. At the Round Table, Kriste Lewis opened the case against Abby, pushing back on her gameplay in front of the castle. Abby answered by pushing her case against Wyatt for the second week running. The main vote went to Victor Vollbrechthausen with 5 votes, and no banishment was completed because of the pending Power of the Pardon decision. Abby survived the episode.
In Episode 8, Abby Lee was murdered by the Traitors, the season’s sixth murder, and her absence was revealed at breakfast. The choice carried a second edge for the Traitors: Abby had been suspicious of Wyatt Gillespie rather than the actual Traitors. She left still pointing at Wyatt, saying, as reported by realityblurred: ‘I knew it. It’s Wyatt.’ Shane Beatty read the murder at once as an attempt to frame Wyatt, which took the heat off Wyatt for now, as reported by the AV Club.
After her exit, Abby told Entertainment Weekly her game plan had been far more elaborate than the edit showed. She brought a 100-page notebook with a six-day plan: lay low for days one through five, then pounce. The round tables were too much fun, she said, and her strategy fell apart immediately. She also described twice-daily crash-outs in the castle, feeling like a computer running out of RAM, and two homemade Traitor tests: a telephone test on Wyatt and Morgan that failed, and a lemon test in which limestone dust from turret shoes mixed with lemon juice would fizz, planned for Katie Fites’s shoe with Q-tips until Victor told her, “You’re crazy, Abby.” The interview also notes the Traitors murdered her to put more heat on Wyatt.
Abby Lee and the Other Contestants
No formal alliance, Abby-led voting bloc, or confirmed suspect list involving Abby has been clearly documented through Episode 7. The wider Faithful group has begun to direct suspicion toward members of the Traitor team, but available coverage does not establish Abby as the person driving those discussions.
Abby’s relative lack of visibility may fit her behind-the-scenes strategy, but it is not enough evidence to claim she has built a dominant social position or a confirmed suspect list.
Abby Lee’s “Most Likely to Read the Castle Library” Personality
Abby’s self-declared cast superlative is “Most Likely to Actually Read One of the Books in the Castle Library.” It’s a lighthearted nod to her academic identity rather than a suggestion that she’s disengaged from the social game.
The label fits neatly with how she’s described herself: someone who processes the world through research and careful analysis, whether she’s studying distant galaxies or trying to read the people around her. It’s less a throwaway detail than a consistent thread in how she frames her own personality, on the show and in her science career alike.
Abby Lee’s Social Media
Abby’s verified primary social account is on Instagram, under the handle @abbylee_.7 (TV Insider). Her status is listed as single (TV Insider). She also has an account on X under the handle @abblesauce7, whose bio describes her as an astrophysics postdoc affiliated with NASA and has promoted her appearance on The Traitors, though that handle may now be outdated or secondary.
It’s worth noting the nuance here: her fellowship is NASA-funded, but her actual academic appointment is at UC Berkeley. A bio line referencing NASA doesn’t mean she’s a NASA employee. No verified follower count is available, so none is listed.
Scientist vs. Social-Deduction Player
Abby’s profile invites an obvious comparison: she’s trained to extract meaning from limited information about the universe, and The Traitors asks her to do something similar with human behavior, treating conversations, votes, and inconsistencies as her data set.
It’s a framing Abby herself has invited, not a claim that astrophysics makes her inherently better at spotting liars. Her admission that she’s easily caught in lies herself, despite being good at catching others, complicates any simple story about scientists having a built-in advantage in social deduction games. So far, her gameplay has been steady rather than flashy, which may or may not be evidence that her approach is working.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Abby Lee’s ethnicity?
Abby Lee’s specific ethnicity has not been publicly confirmed in authoritative public profiles. She has spoken about wanting girls and people of color to see broader representation in science, but that statement does not establish a specific racial or ethnic identity.
How old is Abby Lee?
Abby Lee is 29 years old, based on pre-season reporting. Her exact date of birth hasn’t been publicly documented.
Where is Abby Lee from?
She’s a native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and a graduate of Central High School. She’s currently based at UC Berkeley for her research.
What does Abby Lee do for a living?
She’s an astrophysicist, working as a NASA Hubble Fellow and Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley, where she studies stars to help measure the universe’s expansion rate.
Is Abby Lee an astrophysicist?
Yes. She holds a Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Chicago and conducts postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley.
Does Abby Lee work for NASA?
Not directly. Her fellowship is funded through NASA’s Hubble Fellowship Program, but she’s hosted and employed at UC Berkeley, not NASA itself.
Is Abby Lee a Traitor or Faithful?
Abby Lee was a Faithful throughout her time on the show. She wasn’t selected as an original Traitor and wasn’t recruited when Katie Fites became the season’s third Traitor in Episode 3.
Is Abby Lee still on The Traitors?
No. Abby Lee was murdered in Episode 8, the season’s sixth murder, and left the game. She was a Faithful throughout her time on the show.
What is Abby Lee’s strategy on The Traitors?
She planned to build early alliances, stay out of the spotlight, and use analytical thinking to systematically identify Traitors. That approach remained more of a stated framework than a clearly documented on-screen success through her exit in Episode 8.
