Laura Morett

Laura Morett
Contestant Profile
Born	July 30, 1969 (1969-07-30)
Hometown	Salem, Oregon
Occupation	Office Manager; Fitness Instructor
Survivor Career
Tribe(s)	Galu Aiga
Finish	10/20
Alliance(s)	Galu Alliance
Challenge Wins	11
Votes Against	10
Days Lasted	27
Tribe(s)	Galang Kasama
Finish:	6/20
Alliance(s)	Singles Alliance (affiliated)
Challenge Wins	10
Votes Against	19
Days Lasted	36

Laura Morett is a contestant from Survivor: Samoa and Survivor: Blood vs. Water.

In Survivor: Samoa, Laura emerged as one of the stronger women in her tribe, as a result fellow tribe mate Shambo Waters constantly had personality conflicts with her, and was viewed as the main opposition to notorious villain Russell Hantz which ultimately led her to being targeted and eventually blindsided.

In Survivor: Blood vs. Water, she became notable for being blindsided by Galang only to fight her way back to the game on Redemption Island. Later, she and her daughter Ciera Eastin became the last pair left in the game with Laura becoming the first and only contestant to be voted off by his or her Loved One. She also broke the previous record for most votes received in a single season, with 19.

Profile

Samoa

Laura Morett is a 39-year-old Hawaiian mother, wife of 21 years and also a grandmother. Her beauty is complimented by the fact that one of her occupations is fitness instructor, which helps her stay in shape and gives her the energy to keep up with her three kids and two-year-old grandchild. When she is not spending time with her family, working out or riding her Harley, this conservative Christian is running the lobby message center at the Oregon State Capitol building for over 400 lobbyists.

Similar religious and political beliefs, as well as the fact that her daughter had a child at 18, has Laura referring to herself as a, “fit version of Sarah Palin.” Laura enjoys listening to Christian music and is studying women’s ministry. In addition, Laura counsels couples in her church based on her experiences in a long-lasting marriage with a man she describes as her other half.

Determined and competitive, she freely admits that she wants to win SURVIVOR for the money but in doing so claims that she would never do anything to compromise her faith to get it.

Currently, Laura resides in Salem, Ore. and her birthday is July 30.

Blood vs. Water

Name (Age): Laura Morett (43)
Tribe Designation: Galang
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Ciera’s Mother
Previous Season: Survivor: Samoa – 3rd jury member
Current Residence: Salem, Ore.
Occupation: Co-owner of Morett construction
Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? So that Ciera will understand what I went through. Now for the rest of our lives we’ll always have this experience to remember and share.

Survivor: Samoa

Laura was placed on the Galu Tribe. Galu would generally dominate in challenges and Laura enjoyed the benefits of the tribe's success. On Day 12, however, Foa Foa would win immunity in large part due to Monica Padilla slowing the tribe down on the ropes. Despite that, Laura joined the tribe in eliminating Yasmin Giles for her lack of work ethic. Galu would win all remaining challenges but this would not come without its drawbacks. On Day 15, Russell Swan collapsed and was pulled from the game. After Russell's departure, alliances formed within Galu. Laura found herself aligned with Monica and Kelly Sharbaugh, while the men aligned themselves with Shambo Waters. The next day, Shambo sent Laura to observe Foa Foa, much to her anger. Laura summarizes the reasoning for this being so Shambo could say she is in charge. While at Foa Foa, Russell Hantz tried to get Laura on his side by showing her his Hidden Immunity Idol, but she didn't trust him.

On Day 19, the tribes merged and Laura immediately become the target of Russell for her strength, leadership, and conflict with Shambo. However, This plan was put on hold when Laura was able to win immunity. Meanwhile, Erik Cardona wanted to vote out Monica, with the belief that Laura would turn to him and he would be able to control her. Erik told the former Foa Foas to vote Monica at Tribal Council, but none of them had the intention of doing so. Seeing the opportunity to further her former tribemates in the game, Natalie White alerted the Galu women of his plot and Laura voted him out. They also unknowingly flushed Erik's Idol. Laura won immunity again, further halting Russell's plans for her ousting. Because he used his Idol at the previous Tribal Council, Laura voted for Russell. However, Russell shocked the Galus when he played another Idol and Laura's closest ally, Kelly, was eliminated. Laura found herself in danger when she failed to win immunity. Russell put his plans to eliminate Laura into motion, while The Galu alliance chose to vote against Natalie to avoid a possible Idol. The vote was tied 5-5, and a revote proceeded. The votes seem to indicate a second tie, but John Fincher, persuaded by Russell, changed his vote to Laura so his fate was not determined by chance.

At the Final Tribal Council, Laura asked Russell what he learned about her that enabled him to beat her. Unsatisfied with his answer, she voted for Natalie to be the Sole Survivor.

Voting History

Laura's Voting History
Episode	Laura's Votes	Voted Against Laura
1	Galu Tribe Immune
2	No Tribal Council
	Galu Tribe Immune
3	Galu Tribe Immune
4	Yasmin	-
5	Galu Tribe Immune
6	No Vote
7	Galu Tribe Immune
8	Erik	Individual Immunity
9	Russell H.	Individual Immunity
10	Natalie; Ineligible	Jaison, Mick, Natalie, Russell H., Shambo; Jaison, John, Mick, Russell H., Shambo
Voted Out, Day 27
Voted for Sole Survivor	Natalie

^1 In The Day of Reckoning, the vote ended with a 5-5 tie between Laura and Natalie, forcing a revote. John changed his vote to Laura at the revote, eliminating her from the game.

Survivor: Blood vs. Water

Statistics of Laura Morett
Longevity
Seasons competed:	2
Days lasted:	63
Challenge Wins
Tribal wins:	13
Individual wins:	8
Total wins:	21
Tribal Council
Total votes received:	29
Exile Island
Times sent to Exile Island:	N/A
Redemption Island
Duels won:	6
Days spent on Redemption Island:	16

Laura went into the season believing that she and her daughter, Ciera Eastin, were going to have a great experience together, but this turned out to be very wrong as on Day 1, Jeff split the tribes by returning players and their loved ones. Laura was upset she was not able to be at Ciera's side and protect her. During the First Impressions vote, Laura received three votes against her from Candice Cody, Rupert Boneham, and Tyson Apostol, who all voted for her because they claimed they had no knowledge of her gameplay. However, the tables were turned on Candice, who was voted out of the tribe for the same reason, saving Laura from heading to Redemption Island.

Over the next few days, Colton Cumbie started to stir up conflict within the tribe just for his own satisfaction. Like the rest of the women on Galang, Laura had tried to console Colton after he poured out his feelings on Night 1, but after Colton's drama threw the tribe off their game, she didn't have the same feelings. On Day 7, when Galang headed to Redemption Island to witness the duel between Candice, Marissa Peterson, and Rachel Foulger, Colton finally gave up on the game and announced he was quitting. When Jeff asked the tribes about Colton's decision, Laura said that Colton was quitting because strategy was not in Colton's favor. Colton was brought to tears and left the game on Day 7 without competing at Redemption Island. No one at Galang showed any emotion about Colton leaving, including Laura.

For the next few days, Galang would be safe as they won many immunity challenges, also thanks to Laura's excellent puzzle-solving skills which propelled the tribe. Galang's winning streak came to an end when they lost the Day 13 Immunity Challenge, which Laura sat out of. Laura assumed the entire tribe was voting for Laura Boneham, due to not being a returning player, and thought she was in a tight alliance with Aras Baskauskas. However, Aras was actually a part of the Galang majority alliance that consisted of himself, Tina Wesson, Gervase Peterson, Monica Culpepper, and Tyson Apostol. Tyson and Gervase pitched that Laura B. would be an easy vote and that Laura M. would be more of a threat down the road. The alliance agreed and pulled in outsiders Kat Edorsson and former target Laura B. to vote out Laura M. At Tribal Council, the plan came to life and Laura M. was sent to Redemption Island in a 7-1 vote.

In her first duel at Redemption Island, Laura came in first place and chose to give a Hidden Immunity Clue to Aras' brother, Vytas Baskauskas, who immediately burned it. Afterwards, she would win the next duel and the final duel to reenter the game at the merge.

Laura was originally interested with the idea of forming a "Pairs Alliance" with her daughter as well as Aras, Vytas, Tina, and Katie Collins. However, Aras had other plans in mind, wanting to send her back to Redemption Island. He told the rest of his alliance about his plan to split the votes between herself and her daughter. Tyson, who along with Gervase and Monica had defected, relayed that information back to Laura and offered her a spot in a new alliance he formed. In true karmic fashion, Aras was sent to Redemption Island in a 7-2-2 vote at Tribal Council.

Laura stayed true to her alliance during the next votes, voting off Vytas Baskauskas and Tina Wesson. Laura hit a roadblock in Big Bad Wolf. Being part of the only pair left in the game, Laura was in trouble, and because she was a bigger physical threat than her daughter, she was the most threatening. She took her daughters advice to avoid talking strategy with anyone to avoid being targeted. Laura tried to stop Katie Collins from finding the Hidden Immunity Idol by hiding the sharp tools. Ciera pulled Laura aside to have a long talk about where they stood in the game. Ciera told Laura she was planning on voting Laura out to further herself in the game. Laura was disappointed about the fact that Ciera would vote for her but was extremely proud of Ciera's courage, strength and determination. After Laura failed to win Immunity she tried to convince her alliance to stick together and vote out alliance outsider, Katie, but at Tribal Council Laura's rallying failed and everybody, including Ciera, voted for her, once again sending her to Redemption Island.

After arriving on Redemption Island Laura had a hard time defining how she felt about Ciera voting for her, but none the less she promised to do her best at Redemption Island. Laura stuck true to her promise, coming first in the next Duel. Laura made a game changing move when she told her rival Tina how to complete her puzzle, which lead to Tina overtaking and eliminating Vytas. Laura continued her Redemption Island dominance by coming first in the next two duels, all the while helping Tina stay in the game as well. This resulted in the eliminations of Caleb Bankston  and Katie Collins.

Laura made it all the way to the final Redemption Island Duel, which was between herself, Tina and Hayden Moss. The duel required balance and concentration. Laura initally struggled in the duel, not being able to keep her vase still. After Hayden dropped out she begged Tina to let her win. Tina remained solid and eventually Laura dropped her vase, eliminating her from the game. Before exiting Laura said that her Redemption Island dominance meant nothing because she was unable to pull off the final win. She thought her daughter, Ciera would not be proud of her but Ciera reassured her that she was proud of Laura. Still disappointed, Laura left the game as the sixth Jury member finishing in sixth place. As a Juror Laura cast her vote for Tyson Apostol to win, which he did.

Voting History

Laura M.'s Voting History
Episode	Laura M.'s Votes	Voted Against Laura M.
1	Candice	Candice, Rupert, Tyson
	Galang Tribe Immune
2	Galang Tribe Immune
3	No Tribal Council
	Galang Tribe Immune
4	Galang Tribe Immune
5	Laura B.	Aras, Gervase, Kat, Laura B., Monica, Tina, Tyson
Voted Out, Day 13
6	On Redemption Island
7
8
Returned, Day 19
8	Aras	Aras, Vytas
9	Vytas	-
	Tina	-
10	Katie	Caleb, Ciera, Gervase, Hayden, Katie, Monica, Tyson
Voted Out, Day 26
11	On Redemption Island
12
13
14
Eliminated, Day 36
Voted for Sole Survivor	Tyson

Post-Survivor

• On January 9, 2010, Laura attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.

Trivia

• Laura was the first woman to win individual immunity since Debbie Beebe won in Tocantins.
• Laura was the only female to win Individual Immunity in Survivor: Samoa.
  • She is the lowest placing Aiga member to win Individual Immunity.
• Laura is the third castaway to place 10th on their first outing, and then place 6th their next time out.
  • Shii Ann Huang was the first, while Brenda Lowe was the second.
• On both of her seasons:
  • She was on a tribe with a contestant named Monica.
  • She was voted out the second time she was eligible to be voted out, and received 10 votes up to that point.
  • She was one of five women that made up her merged tribe .
  • She was the second woman voted out of the merged tribe.
• Laura is the only returning player from Samoa to not be named Russell.
  • She is also the only female castaway to return from Samoa.
• Laura is the first non-Cody to place first in a duel on Survivor: Blood vs. Water.
• Laura is the first female returning player to return to the game from Redemption Island.
• Laura is the first woman to return to the game from Redemption Island before the Merge.
  • She is the first Redemption Island returnee to be not be voted out during the first Tribal Council the returnee is not immune, as Matt Elrod and Andrea Boehlke were voted off immediately after returning while Ozzy Lusth won the immunity both times he returned but was voted out the first time he was not immune after returning.
  • She is the first to vote with the majority the first vote back.
• Laura started her first season on a purple tribe, and ended her second season on another purple tribe.
• Laura and her daughter Ciera Eastin were the last pair left remaining in the game who weren't coexisting on Redemption Island.
  • Ironically, right after they were the remaining pair, she was voted out by her loved one.
• Laura is the first castaway to be voted off on Day 26.
• Laura holds the record for the most votes received in a single season with 19, breaking the previous record that was held by Phillip Sheppard and Ozzy Lusth, who tied with 17.
  • She also broke the record for most votes received by a female castaway. The previous record holder was Edna Ma who had 15.
  • Laura is tied for the record for the most cumulative votes against her over multiple seasons with a total of 29. Jonathan Penner shares this achievement with her.
    • However, Penner played three times while Morett only played twice.
    • Penner also negated five votes against him with a Hidden Immunity Idol while every vote cast against Laura counted.
• Laura holds the record for most Redemption Island duels won by a female with six.
  • She is also tied with Ozzy Lusth for the second-best record of Redimpton Island duels, both with six. The best record is currently held by Matt Elrod, with eleven.
• Laura is the second contestant to return from Redemption Island, but eventually lose a duel - resulting in their elimination, following Matthew Elrod.
  • She is the first female contestant to acheive this feat.
• Laura holds the record for the most days spent at Redemption Island by a female contestant, with 16 days.
  • She also holds the record for the second-most days spent at Redeption Island, behind Matthew Elrod, who spent 28 days.
• Laura is the sixth contestant (and third female) to be voted off multiple times in one season.
  • The others are Burton Roberts, Matt Elrod, Andrea Boehlke, Ozzy Lusth, Laura Boneham, and Tina Wesson.
• Laura is the only female contestant to place first in more than one duel against at least one male opponent.
• Laura is the only contestant from Samoa to place higher on his or her returning season.
• Laura is the first contestant to intentionally help another contestant finish a Redemption Island Duel while also competing in the Redemption Island Duel.
• Laura was the only member of Galang on the Jury who didn't win before competing in Blood vs. Water.
• Laura is the first woman to lose the last Redemption Duel.
• Laura shares some similarities to Survivor: Redemption Island contestant, Matthew Elrod
  • Both were blindsided twice and sent to Redemption Island.
  • Both were the first returnee to return in their season.
  • Both spent the most days on Redemption Island.
  • Both won the most duels in Redemption Island.
  • Both lost the final duel and were second out of the duel.
    • Interestingly, it was the same challenge.
• Laura holds a record for the most challenge wins in 2 seasons, with 21.
• Laura was voted off in the tenth episode in both of her seasons.
  • However in her second season she was voted off for a second time in episode 10, after returning to the game via Redemption Island.
  • She was not eliminated until episode 14 in Blood vs. Water due to being on Redemption Island.
• Laura received three votes during the opening vote in the first episode of Survivor: Blood vs. Water.
  • All three votes were cast by all three people that participated in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
• Laura and Galu (and later Aiga) tribe mate Brett Clouser knew each other before the show.
• Every season Laura competed in had a total of 20 castaways. Laura was one of six castaways to do this, the other five being Brenda Lowe, Candice Cody, Erik Reichenbach, Parvati Shallow and Tom Westman.
• Laura shares her birthday with Sandra Diaz-Twine and Brooke Struck.

Survivor: Samoa Castaways
Ashley Foa Foa	Ben Foa Foa	Betsy Foa Foa	Brett Galu	Dave Galu	Erik Galu	Jaison Foa Foa	John Galu	Kelly Galu	Laura Galu
Liz Foa Foa	Marisa Foa Foa	Mick Foa Foa	Mike Foa Foa	Monica Galu	Natalie Foa Foa	Russell H. Foa Foa	Russell S. Galu	Shambo Galu	Yasmin Galu