FOX Tulip in the finale of "The Masked Dancer."
During the season 1 finale of The Masked Dancer, Tulip finished the competition in third place. When she took off her mask, she revealed herself as a surprising celebrity.
So, who is the Tulip? MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!
When Tulip Took Off Her Mask, She Revealed Herself As…
… Mackenzie Ziegler!
Ziegler got her start on the reality television show Dance Moms, as the younger sister to Maddie Ziegler and a member of the Abby Lee Dance Company. Since then, Ziegler has continued to dance, sing, and act professionally, and has gained a large social media following on TikTok and Instagram. She even competed on the Juniors season of Dancing With the Stars, under the mentorship of Gleb Savchenko.
Ziegler is only 16 years old, making her the youngest competitor on this season of The Masked Dancer. Her years of dance training make perfect sense when you look back on Tulip’s routines throughout the season, which skillfully showed off expertise in a number of different dance disciplines.
Paula Abdul guessed Liza Koshy, Ken Jeong guessed Lucy Hale, Brian Austin Green guessed Sabrina Carpenter, and Ashley Tisdale guessed Mackenzie Ziegler. Tisdale was the only one to guess correctly!
Before Tulip took off the mask, the panelists each got to ask one final question. From their questions, we learned:
– she has a reality show background.
– she’s not from Los Angeles, but she lives in LA currently.
– she “maybe” has a TikTok obsession.
– she has been dancing from a young age.
Of her time on The Masked Dancer, Ziegler said it was “so fun,” adding that “behind the mask, I could be whoever I wanted to be.” She said she gained a lot of confidence competing on the show anonymous and said it’s “the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Tulip’s ‘The Masked Dancer’ Finale Recap
For the finale, Tulip revealed a new, never-before-seen clue hinting at her celebrity identity. Making a penguin shadow puppet, Tulip said, “my best bud has a very special relationship with penguins.”
Before Tulip’s finale dance, she reflected on her time competing, saying it “has truly been wonderful.” She referenced being “the youngest in a talented family,” adding that though she once felt “overshadowed” by the person she looks up to, “I’ve proved that I can shine on my own.”
Her final clue package of the season included a balloon letter E with an angry, mustached face on it. Her last Word-Up clue was “followers,” which the panelists took to mean the celebrity behind the mask has a huge social media following.
Tulip gave an incredibly impressive performance to “Kings & Queens” by Ava Max, doing flips and turns that would be hard to execute even without balancing a giant Tulip mask on her head.
After Tulip took her mask off and revealed herself as Ziegler, she explained that number 11 in Tulip’s clue package represented the year 2011, which is when Dance Moms first premiered. The numerous references to her best bud and older sister were, of course, shout-outs to Maddie (as was the “Mad E” in her finale clue package).
The season 1 finale of The Masked Dancer aired on Wednesday, February 17 at 8/7c on FOX.