It’s not an easy game — but someone’s got to play it! Survivor first debuted in 2000, quickly becoming a fan-favorite and ratings juggernaut for CBS.
The reality series, which awards one sole Survivor the $1 million each season after lasting 39 days outside, has come a long way over the years. Host Jeff Probst, who has been at the show’s helm since the premiere, has been open to changes as well, with formatting, twists and new locations constantly being added in. Additionally, the show isn’t without its controversies.
In 2019, the series faced the #MeToo movement head-on when castaway Kellee Kim accused Dan Spilo of inappropriate touching. He was first warned and later sent home.
“It’s an unprecedented and unfortunate situation that is still very raw for a lot of the players and fans. We are all trying to learn from it,” Probst, 58, told Entertainment Weekly. “We will definitely be using the lessons learned from the Dan situation as a guide in how to handle similar situations in future seasons. We have already started discussing ideas for how to change things in the future.”
The following year, the host admitted that he had a gender bias in the earlier seasons after Sarah Lacina explained during an episode that male players’ game moves are applauded while women’s are looked at as “fake and phony and a bitch.”
The producer owned up to his own faults in the situation as well.
“I am certain if I look back at all of the comments I have made over 20 years, I would find the exact same bias in me — who I call by last names. Guys have different relationships with each other, and I might not know how to have that relationship with a woman,” Probst said during the Winners at War episode. “I’ll definitely own the fact that I don’t think I saw it when Survivor started, and I don’t think I even knew I was supposed to look for it. But I’m very much aware of it now, and I’m grateful that we can open up and investigate, even though it comes with a crisis or it comes with hardship or it comes with some tears. Whatever it is, it’s out there and it’s being talked about.”
The show has crowned 39 winners over its 41 seasons — with two incredible castaways winning twice. Scroll down to see where the winners are today:
It’s not an easy game — but someone’s got to play it! Survivor first debuted in 2000, quickly becoming a fan-favorite and ratings juggernaut for CBS.
The reality series, which awards one sole Survivor the $1 million each season after lasting 39 days outside, has come a long way over the years. Host Jeff Probst, who has been at the show’s helm since the premiere, has been open to changes as well, with formatting, twists and new locations constantly being added in. Additionally, the show isn’t without its controversies.
In 2019, the series faced the #MeToo movement head-on when castaway Kellee Kim accused Dan Spilo of inappropriate touching. He was first warned and later sent home.
“It’s an unprecedented and unfortunate situation that is still very raw for a lot of the players and fans. We are all trying to learn from it,” Probst, 58, told Entertainment Weekly. “We will definitely be using the lessons learned from the Dan situation as a guide in how to handle similar situations in future seasons. We have already started discussing ideas for how to change things in the future.”
The following year, the host admitted that he had a gender bias in the earlier seasons after Sarah Lacina explained during an episode that male players’ game moves are applauded while women’s are looked at as “fake and phony and a bitch.”
The producer owned up to his own faults in the situation as well.
“I am certain if I look back at all of the comments I have made over 20 years, I would find the exact same bias in me — who I call by last names. Guys have different relationships with each other, and I might not know how to have that relationship with a woman,” Probst said during the Winners at War episode. “I’ll definitely own the fact that I don’t think I saw it when Survivor started, and I don’t think I even knew I was supposed to look for it. But I’m very much aware of it now, and I’m grateful that we can open up and investigate, even though it comes with a crisis or it comes with hardship or it comes with some tears. Whatever it is, it’s out there and it’s being talked about.”
The show has crowned 39 winners over its 41 seasons — with two incredible castaways winning twice. Scroll down to see where the winners are today:
Credit: CBS; Shutterstock
Richard Hatch
After winning season 1, the reality star appeared on The Apprentice 11 and The Biggest Loser season 17. He returned to Survivor for season 8, Survivor: All-Stars. In 2006, Hatch was convicted of tax evasion and served 51 months in prison. In 2011, he served a separate nine-month sentence for a probation violation.
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Tina Wesson
After winning Survivor: The Australian Outback, Wesson competed on All-Stars and Blood vs. Water. In 2006, she wrote a book, Out Live, Out Laugh, Out Love. She is married and has a daughter, Katie Collins, who also competed on Survivor.
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS; Shutterstock
Ethan Zohn
After winning season 3, he went on to compete on All-Stars and Winners at War. He is also a former professional soccer player and after winning Survivor, he cofounded a nonprofit organization called Grassroot Soccer, during which soccer is used to raise money and awareness to fight HIV.
Zohn was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2009. He underwent multiple rounds of treatment and went into remission in 2010. His cancer returned in 2011 but after stem cell transplants, he announced he was cancer-free in 2013.
He dated Survivor alum Jenna Morasca from 2003 to 2013. He has been married to Lisa Heywood since 2016.
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Vecepia Towery
Towery became the first African American contestant to win Survivor during season 4. The Oregon native married Leander Robinson while the season was airing and the birth of their son was featured on an episode of TLC’s A Baby Story in 2004.
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Brian Heidik
The actor, who won Survivor: Thailand, faced many legal troubles after his time on the show. He filed a restraining order against his then-wife Charmaine “C.C.” Costigan in 2002, alleging assault. The order was lifted as he didn’t show up in court. The pair, who share one son, divorced in 2006 and he quickly remarried and had three more children. In 2006, he was arrested for allegedly shooting a dog with an arrow.
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Jenna Morasca
When she won Survivor: The Amazon in 2003, Morasca became the youngest woman to ever win at age 21. She joined Survivor: All-Stars but left after nine days to be by her mom’s side as she was battling cancer. Now, she works as a veterinary nurse and as an ER nurse at an emergency hospital.
Morasca dated Survivor vet Ethan Zohn from 2003 to 2013 and the pair competed on season 19 of The Amazing Race.
In 2018, she was arrested for possession of narcotics paraphernalia and DUI.
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Sandra Diaz-Twine
Known as one of the best, Diaz-Twine won the first two seasons she appeared on, Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. She returned for Game Changers and was a mentor on Island of the Idols. She also competed on Winners at War and ultimately quit the show.
The Army vet lives in North Carolina with her husband and her two children.
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Amber Bkrich
Brkich won Survivor: All-Stars after previously competing on The Australian Outback. She went on to compete on season 40, Winners at War.
She married Rob Mariano, who proposed during the All-Stars finale, in 2005. The duo, who competed on The Amazing Race twice, share four daughters.
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Chris Daugherty
Since winning season 9, Daugherty has lived in Ohio, working as a project inspector for ODOT. He married Lorie Groves in 2005.
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Tom Westman
The firefighter returned for Heroes vs. Villains after winning season 10. He worked for the New York City fire department for 20 years and retired in 2005. He has one daughter.
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Danni Boatwright
The former Miss Teen USA won season 11 of Survivor and later returned for Winners at War. She now works as an on-air personality for KCSP in Kansas City, Kansas and runs a sports clothing label. She shares two sons with husband Casey Wiegmann.
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Aras Baskauskas
The yoga instructor and musician, who performs under the name Odd Us, returned to Survivor during Blood vs. Water. He shares two children with wife Christy Petersen.
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Yul Kwon
The season 13 winner went on to compete on Winners at War. The Yale alum has had many jobs over the years. In 2007, he worked as a CNN correspondent on a series exploring issues in the Asian American community. He later worked as a lecturer for the FBI, before landing a job working at the privacy department at Facebook. He currently works at Google in product management.
Kwon shares two children with wife Sophie Tan.
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Earl Cole
Following his Fiji win, the entrepreneur launched a creative management company and worked with many celebrities. He also established the Perthes Kids Foundation, a charity for children with Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease. In 2020, he cofounded the startup company The Smart Tire Company. He is also a father.
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Todd Herzog
Herzog is best known for winning season 15 of Survivor. He briefly dated Survivor: Tocantins‘ Spencer Duhm before meeting Jess Hermansen, whom he married in November 2020.
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Parvati Shallow
Shallow won her second season of Survivor, Micronesia, in 2008. She returned for Heroes vs. Villains and Winners at War and briefly hosted Survivor Live for CBS and Around the World for Free. In 2020, she coauthored a children’s book titled Om the Otter. The reality star has one daughter with estranged husband John Fincher, whom she married in 2017. Shallow filed for divorce in August 2021 and requested a restraining order.
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Bob Crowley
The former teacher won Survivor in 2008, becoming the oldest to win at age 57. He lives in Maine running the Maine Forest Yurts, a year-round campground he created with his wife and children. He also founded a nonprofit called the Durham Warriors Project and the Durham Warriors Survival Challenge.
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James “J.T.” Thomas, Jr.
After his 2009 win, Thomas returned for Heroes vs. Villains and Game Changers. He lives in Alabama with wife Cameron Bush.
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Natalie White
The Arkansas native won season 19 of Survivor, but has kept her life very under wraps since competing.
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Jud “Fabio” Birza
The model earned the nickname “Fabio” during his time on season 20. Birza has had small film roles in A Dream Within A Dream and Burning Man: Metropolis. He also is the drummer for Space Funk Odyssey.
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Rob Mariano
Best known as “Boston Rob,” Mariano has appeared on six seasons of Survivor, winning season 22, Redemption Island. He has competed on The Amazing Race twice alongside his wife, Amber Mariano, a previous Survivor winner. The duo married in 2005 and have four daughters.
Credit: CBS
Sophie Clarke
After winning South Pacific, Clarke returned for Winners at War. She completed med school and worked in TV producing and management consulting. Clarke married husband Robert Shady in 2019. The duo welcomed their first child in 2021.
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Kim Spradlin
The interior designer won season 24 and returned for Winners at War. She currently works at Kate Kingman Interiors and lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and three children.
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Denise Stapley
Stapley also returned for Winners at War, many years after winning season 25. She works as a licensed mental health therapist and a certified sex therapist in Iowa, where she resides with husband Brad Stapley and their daughter.
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John Cochran
Cochran won his second season of Survivor, Caramoan, in 2012. He went on to become a TV writer, working on CBS’ The Millers and Kevin Can Wait.
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Tyson Apostol
The Utah native has competed on four seasons of Survivor, winning Blood vs. Water, his third. He also appeared on Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars 2, where he proposed to now-wife Rachel Foulger in 2015. The duo share two children.
In addition to reality TV, Apostol has been playing competitive poker since 2016.
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Tony Vlachos
Vlachos is the second person to win two seasons of Survivor. He first won season 28, Cagayan. While he didn’t win his second season, Game Changers, he won season 40, Winners at War. Vlachos married Marissa Vlachos in 2012 and the pair have two children. He works in New Jersey as a police officer.
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Wendell Holland
After winning Ghost Island, Holland returned for Winners at War. After becoming a lawyer, Holland left his practice and founded Beve Unlimited, a furniture company. In 2020, he began the cohost of HGTV’s Hot Mess House.
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Nick Wilson
The former public defender won season 37, David vs. Goliath, in 2018, and returned for Winners at War. He currently lives in Kentucky with wife Grisel Vilchez and works at the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorney Office.
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Chris Underwood
After winning Edge of Extinction, the South Carolina native shared his plans to move to Chicago with his wife, Katelyn Jermstad. He currently works for LGCY Nation.
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Tommy Sheehan
The elementary school teacher won season 39, Island of the Idols, in 2019. He returned to teach fourth grade on Long Island until returning to reality TV, joining the cast of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies in 2021.
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Natalie Anderson
After winning San Juan del Sur despite her sister being the first one eliminated, Natalie went on to compete on Winners at War, coming in second place. The crossfit trainer competed on The Challenge: Double Agents in 2021, but had to leave after learning she was pregnant. She suffered a pregnancy loss after returning home.
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Mike Holloway
The Texas native has worked as a real estate agent ever since winning Worlds Apart. He also founded an online T-shirt company called Sweet T’s Designs and is currently engaged to Big Brother alum Meg Maley.
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Jeremy Collins
The firefighter has been on Survivor three times — first competing with his wife, Val Collins, on San Juan del Sur before returning solo for Cambodia and becoming the Sole Survivor. He also appeared on Winners at War. He works for the Cambridge Fire Department in Massachusetts and has four children.
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Michele Fitzgerald
After the travel consultant won season 32, she went on to join Winners at War and came in third. Fitzgerald’s reality TV career continued in 2021 when she joined season 37 of The Challenge in 2021.
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Adam Klein
Klein was crowned the season 33 winner in 2016 and competed on Winners at War. In 2017, he became the host of Taiwan: Off the Grid, a travel show based in San Francisco. He is currently dating Kailey Maurer.
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Sarah Lacina
Lacina won her second season of Survivor, Game Changers, in 2017, after first competing on Cagayan three years prior. She also returned for Winners at War. The police officer lives in Iowa with fiancé Wyatt Wardenburg and their son.
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Ben Driebergen
The Marine won season 35, Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, and returned for Winners at War. He now lives in Boise, Idaho, with wife Kelly Russell and their two children, and works in real estate.
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Erika Casupanan
On the season 41 finale, Erika made history as the first Canadian to win Survivor. Additionally, she was the first woman to win in six seasons.
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Maryanne Oketch
The Canada native took home the trophy for season 42 of the reality series, which aired in spring 2022. She has since returned home and continued to inspire others by giving speeches to junior high school students in November 2022.
Credit: CHUCK SNYDER
Mike Gabler
The heart valve specialist won season 43 of Survivor in December 2022. Shortly after his win was announced, he revealed he would be donating the $1 million in prize money to veterans who need help.
