Who is Jess 'Figgy' Figueroa? 'Squid Games: The Challenge' player uses manipulation to succeed in Netflix show
Andrew Walker
Updated on March 27, 2026
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Netflix's 'Squid Game: The Challenge' contestant Jess "Figgy" Figueroa is a Science teacher from Nashville, Tennessee. Figgy has a huge fan following on social media, having 26.3K followers on Instagram.
She recently got engaged to Austin Dirks. She uploaded a slew of pictures from her trek with her beau on social media.
Figgy was seen flaunting the big ring on her finger as she wrote, "Went hiking and found a rock with my person 💍🪨🤍 I can’t wait to marry you!!!"
From Figgy's posts we can guess that she loves kids and animals. Moreover, she seems to be have a jolly personality, flaunting sweet little moments of her life on social media.
Player 033 was seen manipulating Trey in 'Squid Game: The Challenge' in order to move ahead in the competition.
When asked by Trey, "Listen, If I go can you take care of my mom, please?", Figgy knew this was the moment to win Trey's trust. She immediately responded, "Are you kidding me? No questions asked."
Also Read: When will 'The Trust: A Game of Greed' air? Release date, plot, and cast of Netflix game show
She then claimed in a confessional video, "I wanna be, like, a warm presence for people."
She then spilled her strategy claiming that she wanted to make people feel like there are people who feel at home.
And by winning the trust of people she managed to move ahead in the show.
Jess 'Figgy' Figueroa was also on 'Survivor' Season 33
'Squid Game: The Challenge' is not Figgy's first reality show. She was previously on 'Survivor' Season 33 - 'Millenials vs Gen X.'
Figgy uploaded a picture of her along with other contestants in 'Survivor' Season 33 saying, "It’s all fun and games until someone gets blindsided."
Figgy was eliminated on Day 18. However, Figgy claimed to have had a wonderful experience from the reality show.
Are Trey and Figgy from 'Squid Game: The Challenge' together?
No, Figgy is not in a relationship with Trey from 'Squid Game: The Challenge.' Though we saw a spark of chemistry in the show, it seems to just be a friendship and nothing more than that.
However, Trey was left shattered seeing Figgy not return from the 'Warship' challenge.
'Squid Game: The Challenge' to release next 4 episodes next week on November 29 on Netflix.
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