14 Iconic ‘Survivor’ Winners: Where Are They Now?

One of the most successful reality shows of all time, Survivor premiered on CBS all the way back in 2000. Over 20 years (and 40 seasons) later, the Emmy-winning hit is still going strong. Over the past two decades, audiences have watched contestants of all personalities and experience levels tough it out in the wilderness to claim the top prize. So where are some of the most notable Survivor winners now?

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Police officer Tony Vlachos was cast in the 28^th season of the show, which was dubbed Survivor: Cagayan — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty. The competition was held in Cagayan and the season aired in 2014. Not only did Vlachos take home the top prize that season, but he also won again when he competed in 2019’s Survivor: Winners at War and became the second contestant to win two seasons. However, he wasn’t so lucky in the interim — during 2017’s Survivor: Game Changers challenge, he was the second person voted off the island.

Today, the 47-year-old still works as a police officer. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, a fellow police officer, and their two children.

Rob Mariano aka “Boston Rob” has appeared in six seasons of the show — Survivor: Marquesas, Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Survivor: Redemption Island, Survivor: Island of the Idols, and Survivor: Winners at War. He won Redemption Island, which was the show’s 22^nd season and was held in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. But you could say that season eight, All-Stars, was just as significant to him because it’s where he met his wife, fellow contestant Amber Brkich. Mariano proposed to Brkich during the show’s finale and the couple got married in a private ceremony in 2005. A two-hour special about their wedding, Rob and Amber Get Married, aired the following month. The couple also competed together on two seasons of The Amazing Race.

Now 45, Mariano is still married to his Survivor bride. The couple returned to the show that brought them together in 2019 for Winners at War, which aired in 2020.

Now known as Amber Mariano (see above), Amber Brkich made her first Survivor appearance on the show’s second season, The Australian Outback. She returned for All-Stars in 2003, where she not only met her husband-to-be but also beat him out to win the competition and secure the million-dollar prize. During their engagement, the couple competed on the seventh season of The Amazing Race, in which they came in second. Once married, they returned to The Amazing Race for its eleventh season, All-Stars,­ and were eliminated in the fourth episode.

Amber, who’s now 42, lives in Boston with her Survivor husband and the couple’s four daughters — Lucia Rose, 12, Carina Rose, 11, Isabetta Rose, 9, 2012), Adelina Rose, 7.

Parvati Shallow was the winner of season 16, which aired in 2008 and was called Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites. She also appeared on three other Survivor seasons: Survivor: Cook Islands in 2006, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains in 2011 (in which she was the runner-up), and Survivor: Winners at War. In 2014, she began dating John Fincher, who had appeared on Survivor: Samoa in 2009. The alumni announced their engagement in January of 2017 and got married that summer. In 2018, they had a daughter.

Shallow is now 38 and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband. Last year, she co-wrote a children’s book about mindfulness entitled Om the Otter.

Winner of Survivor: Samoa, the show’s nineteenth season, Natalie White is one of the few champions who has not (as of yet!) appeared on any other seasons of the show.

Though she wasn’t as dominant of a player as runner-up Russell Hantz, White won because of her impeccable social game. Despite accusations of riding on Hantz’s coattail throughout the season, White won the jury over by playing an honest game and not being arrogant (like Hantz).

During the live finale, which aired in December of 2009, Hantz offered White $10,000 of his own money for the Sole Survivor title, noting that she could keep the grand $1 million prize. He increased the offer to $100,000, but she turned him down both times.

With the exception of hosting a 2010 preview special in TV Guide Network for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains special on TV Guide Network, White has remained mostly under the radar since her winning season.

Sandra Diaz-Twine is a two-time million-dollar winner who claimed the top spot on the first two seasons in which she competed —  Survivor: Pearl Islands in 2003 and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains in 2010. She also competed three more times on Survivor: Game Changers, Survivor: Island of the Idols, and Survivor: Winners at War. In 2019, she appeared alongside fellow alum Rob Mariano as a non-competing mentor on the Survivor: Island of the Idols, the show’s 39^th season.

According to CBS.com, Diaz-Twine, 46, currently lives in Ft. Lewis, Washington with her husband, Marcus, and their two kids — Tatiana, 8, and Alanna, 6. She works for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service as a senior office associate.

Jenna Morasca won Survivor: The Amazon, which aired in 2003 and was the sixth season of the series. She was invited back for Survivor: All Stars in 2004, but left the show voluntarily on day nine out of concern for her mother, who was suffering from cancer. Sadly, her mom passed away just eight days after she returned home.

Morasca continued to make appearances on popular reality shows, including Fear Factor in 2005 (she was eliminated in the second round) and VH-1’s Celebrity Paranormal Project. In 2009, Morasca decided to try her hand at professional wrestling, making her debut in 2009 on an episode of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling’s show, TNA Impact! Two years later, Morasca and her then-boyfriend, Ethan Zohn (winner of Survivor: Africa), participated in the 19th season of The Amazing Race together. They also appeared on Celebrity Apprentice (supporting fellow Survivor cast member Richard Hatch) and on the Food Network show, Dinner: Impossible. Morasca and Zohn split in 2013.

While it was reported that Morasca was charged with a DUI in 2018, she denied the claim earlier this year in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. She also updated fans on what her life is like today. “Currently I’m working as a veterinary nurse, which I’ve been doing for the last four years. I work at West Liberty Animal Hospital, where I get to see some of the exotic birds I did in the Amazon, and I also work as an ER nurse at an emergency hospital.”

Sarah Lacina was the winner of Survivor: Game Changers, which aired in 2017 and was the 34^th season of the series. It was her second stint on the show after appearing on Survivor: Cagayan — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty, in which she came in 11^th place. She also competed on Survivor: Winners at War, where she made it to fourth place and wound up being a final jury member. Lacina was a police officer before she appeared on Survivor and has since returned to the job. She currently lives in Iowa with her fiancé and their son.

J.T. Thomas was the winner of the show’s 18th season, Survivor: Tocantins, which aired in 2009. He then went on to compete in two more seasons, coming in 10^th place on season 12’s Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains and sixth place on the 34^th season, Survivor: Game Changers. Other than his three Survivor stints, Thomas has kept a regularly low profile. According to a 2019 article, the Alabama native lives in Mobile and works on a farm.

An early series winner, Zohn took home top prize in the third season, Survivor Africa. He also appeared on Survivor: All-Stars and Survivor: Winners at War, and hooked up with Survivor: The Amazon winner Jenna Morasca in 2003. The pair were together for 10 years, during which time they competed together on the 19^th season of The Amazing Race.

Zohn has proven himself to be a survivor in more ways than one. In 2009, he was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called CD20-positive Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After undergoing chemo and a stem-cell transplant, his cancer went into remission for 20 months but recurred in 2011. By 2013, however, he had been declared cancer-free thanks to stem cell transplants that he received from his brother. He married Lisa Heywood in 2016 and currently travels the country as a motivational speaker.

Michele Fitzgerald was the winner of season 32, Survivor: Kaôh R?ng, which aired in 2016. She almost claimed the top spot once more, coming in third during Survivor: Winners at War. Earlier this year, she competed in the 37^th season of MTV’s reality competition show, The Challenge, which is being called Spies, Lies & Allies. Set to premiere on Paramount+ in August, the show features alumni from a number of different reality shows, including Real World, Big Brother, Survivor, Love Island, and Shipwrecked. They will all be competing for a $1 million prize.

Along with her twin sister, Nadiya, Natalie Anderson made her reality TV debut in 2012 on the 21^st season of The Amazing Race. Both went on to compete on Survivor: San Juan del Sur — Blood vs. Water, the show’s 29^th season. While Nadiya was the first contestant to be eliminated, Natalie went on to claim the top prize. She returned for Survivor for the Winners at War, where she placed second.

Most recently, the 34-year-old competed on The Challenge: Double Agents, which aired earlier this year. Fans were surprised when she left the show abruptly for personal reasons, despite having earned a final spot. Natalie later revealed she departed because she learned she was pregnant. Unfortunately, she suffered a miscarriage not long after returning home. She says she decided to go public about her loss to help other women dealing with the trauma of miscarriage. “If I can help even a few fans and women out there, it’s a win-win,” she said.

Yul Kwon was the winner of Survivor: Cook Islands, which aired in 2006 as the series’ 13^th season. He did not return to the show until 14 years later, appearing in the 40th season, Survivor: Winners at War. During that lengthy gap, Kwon built a successful career for himself, appearing as a CNN correspondent and working as the Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He’s been married to his wife, Sophie, since 2009. The couple have two children together.

Winner of season 27, Survivor: Blood vs. Water, Apostol also competed on season 18 Survivor: Tocantins, season 20, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and season 40, Survivor: Winners at War. Additionally, he appeared on Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars 2 in 2013 with his then-girlfriend, Rachel Foulger. After proposing to her during the show’s finale, the pair were married in 2015 and currently have two children together.

Now 42, Apostol is a professional cyclist. He frequently appears on the podcast Rob Has a Podcast, which is hosted by fellow Survivor alum, Rob Cesternino, and features commentary about the reality show.