Amber Joy Mariano (née Brkich) is the Sole Survivor of Survivor: All-Stars. She originally competed on Survivor: The Australian Outback.
Although not known as an influential personality in Survivor: The Australian Outback, Amber returned for Survivor: All Stars and quickly aligned with Rob Mariano where he carried her to the Final Two, with Amber undeservingly taking the title of Sole Survivor. Their relationship continued after the show and they ended up getting engaged at the live Reunion Show when Rob proposed before the votes were read. Their relationship transcended to marriage. They are still married today.
Profile
Amber Brkich is from Beaver, Pennsylvania and is a recent graduate from Westminster College, where she earned a B.A. degree in Public Relations, minoring in Speech Communications. Prior to departing for Australia, while Brkich searched for her "career job," she was an administrative assistant and lived with her parents. Her previous occupations while attending school included waitress, librarian assistant, swimming instructor, lifeguard and babysitter for her professor.
Brkich's favorite hobbies are going out with her friends, dancing and just generally having fun. She's a member of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority, where she was Vice President and New Member Coordinator. Brkich also belongs to the Catholic Church. Her primary reasons for trying out for Survivor: The Australian Outback include lack of change, excitement, and kangaroos in her life, although the million dollars wouldn't hurt either!
Her birth date is August 11, 1978.
Survivor: The Australian Outback
Amber was a participant in the second season of Survivor, having auditioned for the season to put off getting a job after college. She was a member of the green Ogakor tribe. She was quick to fortify a strong friendship with fellow contestant Jerri Manthey, who helped construct an alliance with Colby Donaldson and Mitchell Olson. Ogakor seemed to be the weaker of the two tribes, losing three consecutive Immunity Challenges. Before Ogakor's first Tribal Council, Amber,s ally, Jerri, accused fellow tribe mate Kel Gleason of smuggling beef jerky into the game. Amber helped the tribe search Kel's bag when he was away but they failed to find anything. Amber voted for Kel at Tribal Council because she considered him to be the least trustworthy member of the tribe.
After losing the next challenge Amber targeted Maralyn Hershey because of her weakness at the Immunity Challenge. At Tribal Council Maralyn was voted off. At Ogakor's next Tribal Council Amber thought her four-person alliance was going to eliminate the tribal annoyance Keith Famie. She was surprised to learn that her ally Colby had flipped on her alliance, thus causing a tiebreaker between Mitchell and Keith. Amber's ally, Mitchell was eliminated by the tiebreaker. Ogakor went on to win all the following Immunity Challenge's, keeping Amber safe until the merge.
Upon the merge, Ogakor managed to use the knowledge that one of Kucha's members, Jeff Varner, had received votes beforehand, and eliminated him through a tiebreaker, thus gaining a numeric advantage over the Kucha tribe. The ex-Ogakor members stuck together in eliminating Alicia Calaway but the ex-Kucha tribe then convinced Keith, Colby and Tina Wesson to turn on their alliance and vote out Amber's closest ally, Jerri. After Jerri's elimination the Ogakor Alliance once again came together to oust Nick Brown. In No Longer Just a Game Amber felt secure in her alliance and thought they were going to vote out Rodger Bingham. Unfortunately for Amber the remaining Kucha members once again convinced Colby, Tina and Keith to turn on their alliance. At Tribal Council Amber was voted out for playing an "under-the-radar game", and was a threat to win the show, ultimately landing in sixth place.
As a member of the Jury, Amber cast her vote for Colby, who failed to win the million dollars. Colby ended up losing to Tina Wesson.
Voting History
| Amber's Voting History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Episode | Amber's Votes |
Voted Against Amber |
| 1 | Ogakor Tribe Immune | |
| 2 | Kel | - |
| 3 | Maralyn | - |
| 4 | Keith; Keith1 |
- |
| 5 | Ogakor Tribe Immune | |
| 6 | No Tribal Council | |
| 7 | Jeff; Jeff2 |
- |
| 8 | Alicia | - |
| 10 | Elisabeth | - |
| 11 | Nick | Elisabeth, Rodger |
| 12 | Rodger | Elisabeth, Keith, Rodger, Tina |
| Voted Out, Day 33 | ||
| Voted for Sole Survivor |
Colby | |
^1 In The Killing Fields, the vote ended with a 3-3 tie between Keith and Mitchell, forcing a revote. Amber did not change her vote at the revote. ^2 In The Merge, the vote ended with a 5-5 tie between Jeff and Colby, forcing a revote. Amber did not change her vote at the revote.
Survivor: All-Stars
As one of the quieter personalities of Survivor: The Australian Outback, Amber's inclusion in the All-Stars installment of Survivor became a surprise to most fans. She was a member of the red Chapera tribe, a boisterous group including Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano, Sue Hawk, and fellow Survivor: The Australian Outback alumna Alicia Calaway.
In the season's premiere episode, Rob and Amber agreed to form an alliance, with Rob citing his reasoning as:
| “ | She's beautiful; any idiot can see that. | ” |
—Rob | ||
As part of the most dominant tribe in Survivor: All-Stars, Amber enjoyed a healthy winning streak, until Day 12, where they suffered their first loss in an Immunity Challenge. Boston Rob and Amber's relationship was a matter of discussion at the Tribal Council, but Amber claimed to have come to play Survivor, not a dating game. Ultimately, the tribe decided to remove Rob Cesternino, who was perceived as the biggest strategic threat.
The following day, in a twist that "dissolved" the yellow Saboga tribe, two of its four remaining members, Jenna Lewis and Rupert Boneham, joined Chapera. Rob and Amber quickly fortified a long-term alliance with the tribe's two new members, one of the pair's many "agreements." The Chapera tribe then enjoyed a lengthy winning streak, winning immunity the next three times. The group did lose one member, however, when Sue Hawk opted to leave the game due to an indecent encounter with Richard Hatch.
In the season's ninth episode, a tribal shuffle managed to merely make each contestant switch buffs, with the exception of Amber, who remained on the Chapera tribe with Lex van den Berghe, Shii Ann Huang, Jerri Manthey, and Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien. The tribe went on to lose the next challenge and, in one of the season's more famous moments, Rob said to Lex, "You take care of her, I'll take care of you." In perhaps an ironic twist of fate, it came down to Amber and her former Outback ally Jerri at that night's Tribal Council. Jerri was eliminated, but Lex stayed true to his deal with Rob, and Amber was spared.
In the following episode, the merge occurred, and Lex was chosen to be eliminated, despite Rob's promise to "take care of him." In the episodes following, Rob and Amber managed to maintain several "alliances," including their agreement with Rupert and Jenna, an agreement with Tom Buchanan, and an agreement with Alicia Calaway. With all these castaways believing themselves to be safe, Rob and Amber proceeded through the game, eventually finding themselves in the final four with Jenna and Rupert.
In the final four, Amber won her first individual Immunity Challenge, and she and Rob convinced Jenna to vote out her ally Rupert instead of forcing a tie. In the final three, Rob won immunity and chose Amber to continue with him to the final two. Facing the Jury, Rob and Amber met much criticism for their gameplay.
In the season finale several months later, Rob and Amber revealed they were still dating, Amber even wore a yellow "I Love Rob" shirt (and was booed by the audience in the process) at the finale/reunion. Just before the votes were read, Rob surprisingly proposed to Amber and she accepted. It was revealed that, in a 4-3 decision, Amber was the Sole Survivor.
Voting History
| Amber's Voting History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Episode | Amber's Votes |
Voted Against Amber |
| 1 | Chapera Tribe Immune | |
| 2 | Chapera Tribe Immune | |
| 3 | No Tribal Council | |
| 4 | Rob C. | - |
| 5 | Chapera Tribe Immune | |
| 6 | No Tribal Council | |
| 7 | Chapera Tribe Immune | |
| 8 | Chapera Tribe Immune | |
| 10 | Jerri | Jerri |
| 11 | Lex | Kathy, Lex |
| 12 | Kathy | Kathy, Shii Ann |
| 13 | Alicia | - |
| 14 | Shii Ann | Shii Ann |
| 15 | Tom | - |
| 16 | Rupert | Individual Immunity |
| Ineligible | - | |
| Jury Votes for Amber |
Alicia, Lex, Shii Ann, Tom | |
| Sole Survivor, Day 39 | ||
Post-Survivor
Rob & Amber in the Amazing Race 7.
Rob & Amber in The Amazing Race All-Stars.
As an engaged couple in 2005, Brkich and Mariano participated in the seventh season of The Amazing Race and came in second place. At one point in southern Africa, Mariano and Brkich saw their own photo on a magazine cover. They were also recognized in countries all over the world and assisted by locals who recognized them.
Although Rob & Amber lost the final leg of the race, they placed 1st in the 2nd, 4th, 7th and 10th legs. In 2007, Rob and Amber competed on the All-Stars season of The Amazing Race as newlyweds. After achieving first place for the first three legs, they came in last and were eliminated in the season's fourth episode.
Rob and Amber filmed a 10-episode show for the Fox Reality Channel, Rob and Amber: Against the Odds in 2006, which aired in 2007. Set in Las Vegas, the show follows Rob's attempt to become a professional poker player and features professional player Daniel Negreanu tutoring Rob.
Mariano lived in her hometown, Beaver, Pennsylvania (a suburb 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh), until her marriage to Rob. After the couple moved to Pensacola, Florida
Rob, Amber and their three daughters
In 2006, they also took up residence in Las Vegas, Nevada to support Rob's poker career. In July 2009, Amber gave birth to daughter they named Lucia Rose Mariano. In December 10, 2010, Rob and Amber welcomed their second child, which they named Carina Rose Mariano, which was revealed during the Survivor: Nicaragua reunion show, where Rob was a special guest. Their third daughter, Isabetta Rose, was born in May 2012.
On January 1 2014, Rob announced that Amber is pregnant with their fourth child.[1]
Trivia
- Amber is the first of two contestants to obtain a car without winning the car challenge (the second being Dre "Dreamz" Herd).
- In addition, Amber is the only Survivor contestant to win or receive a car during the game and win the $1,000,000 prize (other contestants who won a car either didn't win the game or received it as one of the prizes awarded to the Sole Survivor).
- On Survivor: All-Stars, Amber was the replacement for Elisabeth Hasselbeck (Filarski), who declined the offer to return due to her co-hosting offer on The View.
- During her husband's fourth season, Survivor: Redemption Island, Amber was referenced by him numerous times. The most noteworthy mention was when Rob compared Matt Elrod and Andrea Boehlke's relationship to his with Amber. Also, the namesake for that season's merged tribe was the name of one of Amber's stuffed animals.
- On Survivor: All-Stars Amber was the only original Chapera member to not go over to Mogo Mogo after the Tribe Shuffle, making her the only person on that season to make the merge without being part of the Mogo Mogo tribe.
- Amber was also the only contestant on All-Stars to reach the merge and only be part of one tribe.
- Amber is the first castaway to win the title of Sole Survivor as a returnee. This feat was followed by Parvati Shallow in Survivor: Micronesia, Sandra Diaz-Twine in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Rob Mariano (her husband) in Survivor: Redemption Island, John Cochran in Survivor: Caramoan and Tyson Apostol in Survivor: Blood vs. Water.
- Amber is one of four Jury members to return for another attempt and win the game (the other two are Parvati, Cochran and Tyson).
- Amber received exactly six votes against her in both of her seasons.
- Amber was the youngest contestant on Survivor: The Australian Outback.
- Amber is one of ten castaways, along with her husband Rob Mariano, John Palyok, Hayden Moss, Ethan Zohn, Richard Hatch, Jenna Morasca, Whitney Duncan, Twila Tanner and Johnny Fairplay, to compete on another reality show besides Survivor.
- She competed on The Amazing Race along with her husband Rob.
- Amber earned the title of "Hottest Survivor Woman" in America's Tribal Council.
- Amber is the first contestant to buy a "mystery item" at the Survivor Auction that was revealed to be a "Trap Item" (in her case, a pitcher of river water).
- Amber is the first contestant from Pennsylvania.
- On Survivor: Australia, Amber was the only Ogakor member to not win an individual challenge.
- Amber is the first winner of a three-tribe-format season.
- Denise Stapley would later be the second.
- Amber is the first Survivor contestant to marry another contestant she met on the show.
- Every person Amber voted for on All Stars was voted out at that Tribal Council.
- Amber is the first female to vote every person that voted for her to win. The first overall was Brian Heidik.
- Amber is the first contestant to vote with a majority twice to eliminate a contestant on two different seasons. She voted off Alicia Calaway in both 'The Australian Outback' and 'All-Stars'.
- Amber declined the opportunity to return with Rob for Survivor: Blood vs Water, stating that their Survivor experience was complete.
- Amber shares her birthday with Sarah Jones. Interestingly, both of them were considered as a couple with Rob Mariano when they played with him.
- Amber is the first castaway to have stayed on the same tribe while all of her other tribemates switched tribes in a tribe switch. This occurred in Survivor: All-Stars.
- She would be followed by Sarah Lacina in Survivor: Cagayan.
- However, Sarah is the first castaway to have stayed on the same tribe, while all of her other original tribemates switched tribes in a tribe switch.
References
External links
| Preceded by Sandra Diaz-Twine |
Sole Survivor Titleholder All-Stars |
Succeeded by Chris Daugherty |
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