Zoe McGrady is one of 25 contestants on season 29 of "The Bachelor," which stars Grant Ellis.During week two, her competitive approach to dating frustrates the other women.Zoe is a 27-year-old tech engineer and model based in New York."The Bachelor" season 29 contestant Zoe McGrady wants to win over Grant Ellis and she'll do whatever it takes to spend time with him.Zoe, 27, is one of 25 women participating in the latest season of the reality TV show. The competition intensifies during week two, when Zoe steals Grant away for a private chat during the first group date of the season, a slam dunk competition.Zoe causes more drama later when she interrupts Grant's one-on-one conversations with contestants Juliana Pasquarosa and Alli Jo Hinkes so she can talk to him further."We have one shot at all of this," she tells the women. "We had one shot at basketball, we had one shot on our group date today. We have one shot at this whole experience, and I know personally I gave it my all today and I'm very happy that I got time with him. That's what you gotta do."Here's everything to know about Zoe.Zoe grew up in Virginia with her adoptive parents Zoe is a contestant on season 29 of "The Bachelor." Matt Sayles/Disney During an appearance on an episode of the podcast "Miss Represented," released in January 2024, Zoe, who's a mixed woman of color, said that she was adopted by two white people and grew up in a predominantly white town in the South.She said that it was challenging growing up in Virginia as one of the few people of color who was also interested in STEM and felt like the "black sheep" of her hometown."I was definitely an outcast," Zoe said, adding that she was the first female wrestler to join her high school wrestling team.Zoe said that she was interested in science and math from a young age, and even dressed up as Albert Einstein more than once for Halloween.She went on to pursue a career in STEM after graduating from high school.She's now a tech engineer and model based in New York Zoe and Grant during week one of "The Bachelor" season 29. John Fleenor/Disney Zoe graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2019 and has been working in fintech since then.After getting hired as a project manager at the tech company Quantile, Zoe moved to New York, where she decided to become a model in addition to her day job. She signed with the modeling agency Wilhemina Models in 2023.She's done modeling jobs in beauty, lifestyle, sports, and fitness, and has walked runways as part of New York Fashion Week.Zoe is a two-time first runner-up in the Miss New York USA pageant Zoe during week one of "The Bachelor" season 29. John Fleenor/Disney In the podcast, Zoe said she never competed in a pageant prior to participating in Miss New York USA in 2022. She discovered the casting call for the pageant while scrolling on Instagram.Zoe said she spent most of her life focused on sports and education and never thought she'd fit into the pageant world. However, she learned that she had a story to tell and felt she could use her platform to speak about things that were important to her.In an Instagram post, Zoe said that she competed in the pageant so she can "share my story and advocate for other people with adverse childhood experiences," inspire women in male-dominated fields like wrestling and engineering, and make underrepresented people feel seen.She was named the first runner-up of Miss New York USA in both 2022 and 2023 and returned to the pageant to compete a third time in 2024.She's also a youth mentor and motivational speaker "The Bachelor" season 29 contestant Zoe. ABC Zoe often speaks in schools, telling kids about her passion for STEM, how her childhood and upbringing shaped her, and how she overcame adversity to succeed as a woman of color.She also appears at conference panels and offers one-on-one mentorship on topics ranging from building confidence and resilience to managing mental health and healing from adverse childhood experiences.New episodes of season 29 of "The Bachelor" premiere on Mondays.