All The Clues That Proved The Masked Singer’s Kitty Was Jackie Evancho

I have a confession to make. In three seasons of watching Fox's wild masked singing show, I have never been as stumped as I was about The Masked Singer's Kitty. Like the panel, I was struggling every episode to pin down the identity of the contestant with the angelic voice. Emma Watson, Lucy Hale, and Kate Bosworth were all once reasonable guesses, but none of were totally rock solid. After the final six’s performances, another theory arose: Jackie Evancho was behind Kitty’s mask. The singer gained notoriety after performing at Donald Trump's presidential inauguration, but has since rallied against his anti-transgender policies on behalf of her sister. And on May 6, The Masked Singer finally confirmed it: Evancho is the Kitty.

If you were blindsided, wondering how you missed all the clues, let me explain them for you:

You might have been wondering why Chef Gordon Ramsay was chosen as a guest panelist on this show, but that all changed when he proved to be a necessary addition: His culinary knowledge helped decipher Kitty’s “masked munchies” clue. The singer brought out a cake and said “Just like me it’s super sweet and full of layers.” Ramsay mentioned that the dessert looked like a gâteau opéra cake, making it (potentially) one of Kitty’s most significant clues.

Unfortunately, Hale and Bosworth have absolutely zero opera connections. However, Evancho began as an opera singer before transitioning to pop music. She also still performs classical music — just not on this show.

Kitty saying “Mind your manners seal sisters” is so strange that it has to be a clue. The phrase is actually a clear nod to Evancho since she has publicly expressed her love for seals multiple times. In 2011, she performed at an event to support the end of the annual Canadian seal hunt. She also uploaded a video to her YouTube channel in 2015 announcing her collaboration with the Humane Society to fight against hunters killing seals. 

The possible explanation for the silver apple that one of Evancho’s albums is called Songs from the Silver Screen.

In Kitty's second clue package, a sewing machine was shown. Evancho does have an admittedly loose connection to fashion. In 2012, she modeled for GUESS Kids and she also posed for Justice Girls Clothing two years later.

At the start of her clue package this week, Kitty says, “I’ve played many roles in my nine lives” while the secret service guys sword fight. Evancho gained national fame in 2010 when she competed on the fifth season of America’s Got Talent as a talented, young opera singer. She placed second and went on to release eight albums, with three landing in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart. The “nine lives” comment is clearly a reference to her cat costume, but to her impressive career so far. Evancho originally auditioned when she was 10 and in the nine years since, has dabbled in different fields and even did some modeling and acting. 

The panelists have referenced the sword fighting and pirate clues numerous times and, well, before she appeared on America’s Got Talent, Evancho sang the national anthem at the Pittsburgh Pirates home opener in 2010. Both clues seem to reference the beginning stages of her music career.

Now it’s time to go back a little and reexamine some of Kitty’s standout clues. First, let’s start with Kitty’s costume. Panelist Jenny McCarthy pointed out the celeb’s tiny physique multiple times. Evancho is around 5’1” so she does meet the short height requirement. Kitty also has two different colored eyes which led the panel (and me) to consider actress Kate Bosworth. Evancho also has heterochromia. Both her eyes have different colors in them. 

The name drop of Robert Redford had the panel questioning if Kitty was actually an older actress. This was a tricky clue to further confuse them. Evancho made her big screen debut in a 2013 film called Company You Keep. She played Redford’s daughter and even went to the Toronto International Film Festival. 

The Tree from season 2 of The Masked Singer popped up in one of Kitty’s clue packages. Plus, a string of Christmas lights also appeared in a different episode. I originally thought these clips were references to Hale’s Christmas album. That was the right idea, but the wrong artist. Evancho has released three holiday records called O Holy Night, Heavenly Christmas, and Someday at Christmas. 

The producers seem to throw everything possible into Kitty’s clue packages to distract the judges. Wizards and ghosts were referenced early on. Evancho guest starred on Wizards of Waverly Place, which was her first television role in 2011.

In Kitty’s oddest clue package so far, her secret BFF revealed that she used to search for ghosts when she was a kid. Evancho sang along to the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera as a child. When she returned to America’s Got Talent last year for the Champions edition, she performed “Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera. 

Lastly, let’s look at her connection to panelist Robin Thicke. She gave Thicke a friendship bracelet and explained “I gave this to you because the first time we met was lit.” Evancho and Thicke both performed at The Grove Tree Lighting and Fireworks event in Los Angeles in 2019. That would have definitely qualify as “lit.”