The youngest chaser on The Chase Australia, Mara Lejins aka “the smiling assassin” is only 27 years old. She warns the contestants for not underestimating her strength by her looks.
The show airs on channel Seven Network starring Goliath, The Governess, The Beast, The Shark, The Super Nerd, and The Tiger Mum who have been part of the show since 2015 (the first season). They are joined by the youngest and smartest chaser, Mara Lejins.
Brydon aka “the Shark” is famous for winning $307,000 in 2014 in a game show Million Dollar Minute. This year, it’s the 11th season and all the chasers are famous for humiliating the opponents. Mara Lejins is inspired by Brydon’s victory and she is hopeful to win it this time. The new contestant is known for her blonde hair, and brightest smiling that’s why she is nicknamed as “The Smiling Assassin”.
How Mara Lejins become the new youngest Chaser?
The Chase Australia is an adaptation of British version of the same game show. The quiz show started in 2015 and is still running. Mara Lejins also contested on the same show in 2017 where she made $20k to the team’s total but couldn’t finish it. She joined the spin off ‘Beat the Chaser Australia’ in 2020 where won a total of $60k and took $58k as an alternative. She has high hopes this time to win the show and earn a huge amount as the Australian chaser. In 2022, She becomes the youngest chaser in the game show.
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What is Mara Lejins background?
- Mara Lejins is an attorney by profession.
- She works as a Federal Prosecutor at Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions according to her Linkedin profile. She joined in Oct 2020.
- She worked for 1 year and 8months in MinterEllison from Mar 2019 – Oct 2020 as a Lawyer.
- She also worked as a security officer and student caller at Australian National University from 2015- 2018.
- Mara got a Distinction in Diploma in Modern Languages, French from University of New England. She studied her Bachelors Degree from The Australian National University in International Relations/Law. Then she got her Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP) from the same university.
What is the format of The Chase Australia?
Four contestants play against an opponent, known as the “chaser”, who plays for the bank. There are general knowledge quiz questions asked by the host. The contestants play their tactics to qualify for The Final Chase and win million dollars.
The game has two rounds, Cashbuilder and Head-to-Head. In first round, the contestants have to answer the quiz in one minute with $2000 prize for each correct answer. The second round is head-to-head where the contestants face the chaser. They have to lock their starting point in a seven step gameboard to reach the award. The host asks the questions and contestants and chaser lock their answers separately. The chaser’s looks can be deceiving, if the contestant and chaser answer matches, the contestant qualifies to the next round.
Who is hosting The Chase Australia?
Airing on Channel 7 and 7plus after opening the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the youngest chaser Mara Lejin made her debut on August 8, 2022. Andrew O’Keefe was the host of the show from 2015 until July 2021. The Channel 7 did not renew his contract after he was charged with domestic violence. He is in jail for his legal cases. He was then replaced by Larry Emdur.
The Smiling Assassin joins the show with Larry Emdur who said that she looks harmless and she is ready to take down the contestants who have been in the game for years. “She’s incredibly, incredibly bright….She comes out, ‘oh doesn’t she look lovely’, and then BANG, she is across everything.”
On her debut, Mara Lejins said with a grin “I only smile when I’m trying to take down contestants – that’s why I’m always smiling.”
