# First Female for Ringmaster of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-for-ringmaster-of-ringling-bros-and-barnum-bailey/774869>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 16, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-for-ringmaster-of-ringling-bros-and-barnum-bailey/774869 "2016-12-16T16:48:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-for-ringmaster-of-ringling-bros-and-barnum-bailey/774869/1 "2016-12-16T16:48:16Z")

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Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of all ages! Your [Ringmaster](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/os-ringling-bros-barnum-bailey-first-female-ringmaster-20161213-story.html) is [a babe with a bodacious bosom](http://wpsd.images.worldnow.com/images/12700548_G.jpg)!\*

> [@](#):
>
> The Orlando _Sentinel_
> 
> [Kristen] Wilson, 35, is scheduled to be announced today as the first female ringmaster in the 146-year history of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She will make her debut in Orlando, where the circus will perform Jan. 12-16 at the Amway Center.
> 
> About 100 applicants were auditioned in Orlando; Austin, Texas; Dallas; New York; and Las Vegas, said Rye Mullis, a director with the circus. Wilson was hired after a second audition at Feld Entertainment Studios in Palmetto, south of Tampa, to become ringmaster for the Circus XTREME show. Feld Entertainment owns the circus.
> 
> “At the time, it really wasn’t that we were looking for a woman,” Mullis said. “We were looking for the best candidate, and she was the best candidate. The fact that she is a woman is a great coup for us, but at the end of the day, she was the best choice for the role.”
> 
> Wilson is expected to perform in 33 cities in 2017 for Circus XTREME, which includes 107 performers and 50 animals. Sixteen tigers are in the show.

\*Quoting Dawn French as the Vicar of Dibley, for those who aren’t aware.