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Natalie Anderson is the Sole Survivor of Survivor: San Juan del Sur. She later competed on Survivor: Winners at War.

Despite her twin sister Nadiya Anderson being the first person voted out in San Juan del Sur, Natalie was able to integrate herself into the majority Fab Five alliance for most of the game, making subtle strategic moves, building close relationships, and keeping herself off everyone's radar. After her closest ally, Jeremy Collins, was blindsided by Jon Misch, Natalie played the game more aggressively and was able to pull the strings and orchestrate the blindsides of Jon, Alec Christy, and Baylor Wilson. Her strong social game, physical prowess, and tactical gameplay earned her the respect of the jury and the title of Sole Survivor in a 5-2-1 vote.

In Winners at War, Natalie's pre-existing relationship with Jeremy made her a target and led her to become the first person voted out on Day 2. However, she made the most of her record 33 days on the Edge of Extinction, controlling the game from behind-the-scenes by sending advantages to many players in the game, allowing her to accrue Fire Tokens. She was able to use her Fire Tokens to gain three advantages in the second re-entry duel, which helped her return to the game on Day 35. She went on a run following her return, playing two Hidden Immunity Idols and winning the Final Immunity Challenge. However, her decision not to take on Tony Vlachos in the final four fire-making challenge herself was viewed as a safe move by the jury, who considered Tony's assertive gameplay more impressive. Natalie ultimately finished second to Tony in a 12-4-0 vote.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Name: Natalie Anderson (28)
Tribe Designation: TBD
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Nadiya's twin sister
Current Residence: Edgewater, N.J.
Occupation: Crossfit Coach and Physical Therapy student
Personal Claim to Fame: Being on The Amazing Race twice! Getting kicked off first on All-Stars!
Inspiration in Life: My mother. She is the strongest and the bravest woman I know. She has always encouraged me to be myself and go after anything I want. She has supported me in all my crazy adventures and has taught me how to be a strong and fearless woman!
Hobbies: Crossfit, surfing and being a bad ass.
Pet Peeves: Girls who can't do anything for themselves, lazy people and dumb people.
3 Words to Describe You: Crazy, strong and confident.
If You Could Have 3 Things on The Island What Would They Be and Why? 1) Razor; being super hairy in a bikini is not cute. 2) iPhone; so I can tweet and get on instagram. 3) Barbells; so I can squat.
Survivor Contestant You Are Most Like: Tony but hopefully not as insane.
Reason for Being on Survivor: The million dollars!! Also, winning Survivor makes you a certified bad ass!
Why You Think You'll "Survive" Survivor: I am physically, mentally and emotionally strong. I am very strong willed and do not give up! I work well with people and feel like I would be a good tribe mate. I know I will pull my weight with the camp chores and not be a burden to my tribe. Physically, I will be able to hang with the guys and be an asset in the team challenges. Also, I love the ocean and if I had to choose one place to spend the rest of my life, it would be the beach. I'm a true island girl!

What Does It Mean to You to Play Survivor with Your Loved One? Getting to be on Survivor with Nadiya means so much to me. No matter what we are doing, Nadiya and I have so much fun; whether we are working together or competing against each other! Doing something this intense and getting to share it with my twinnie is something I will never forget.[1]

Hometown: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Current residence: Edgewater, New Jersey
Previous season: Winner of Survivor: San Juan del Sur (Season 29)
Occupation: CrossFit Trainer
Hobbies: CrossFit, adventures, and eating tacos.
Pet peeves: Selfish people.
Three words to describe you: Strong, relentless, and adaptable.
When did you first watch Survivor? Season 27: Blood vs. Water.
Do you still watch Survivor? YES!
What is your inspiration in life? Health and happiness.
What does Survivor mean to you and your family? To me Survivor was a test of my mental, physical, and emotional strength. It also made me realize how much my family (Nadiya) means to me and that nothing motivates me more than that. To my family, Survivor meant pride in having a daughter that was strong, bold, and resilient. Also, to be the first person of South East Asia to be on the show and win was pretty sweet.
What is one way playing Survivor changed your life? To know that my determination and unwavering dedication can pay off. And no matter how bleak a situation may seem, that if you are focused and work hard it will pay off. It made me proud of my physical and mental strength. It made me confident in my independence and to always stand up for what you believe in and what you deserve in real life and in the game of Survivor.
As Survivor approaches Season 40 and celebrates 20 years on television, what does it mean to be a part of the legacy? It seems almost surreal that I am a part of this legacy. I am honored and grateful to have had this experience and that the fans of the show embraced me as a winner that deserved the title of Sole Survivor. To be a female winner and to be praised for being strong BOTH physically and mentally, bold and unapologetic means so much to me.

How will you play differently than you did in your past season? There are so many factors that are in play in the game of Survivor. It would be stupid for me to even try and start my gameplay ahead of time. But, given the fact that I never got one single vote against me during my season, I don't think I should change much about intuition and game. I am proud of standing up for myself, for being brass and bold, for being strong and ruthless. I know to win Survivor you have to work hard but I also know that there are added factors like timing and luck that can help. Hoping for a little luck, some good timing, and my hard work to bring me success just like my first season.[2]

Survivor[]

San Juan del Sur[]

Natalie entered the game with her twin sister Nadiya where they were assigned to different tribes, with Natalie in Hunahpu and Nadiya on Coyopa. Natalie's tribe won the first Immunity Challenge, at the cost of her sister getting voted out on Day 3. Saddened by being away from her sister potentially for the longest time, Natalie found a kindred spirit in Jeremy Collins, whose wife Val was voted out next. Hunahpu eventually went on to win 5 of the first 6 challenges. Still a full tribe of 9 by Day 10, Drew Christy plotted to throw the Immunity Challenge to eliminate one of the women. However, Natalie and the rest of the women turned the tables on Drew, blindsiding him with the help of Jeremy's vote.

A Day 12 Tribe Switch turned Hunahpu into almost a tribe of players whose loved ones were already voted out, with Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly being the only pair in the tribe. Natalie and Jeremy worried their fellow original Hunahpu member Reed could be swayed into joining the other "singles", all of whom were from the original Coyopa. Natalie's winning streak in Hunahpu continued however, but the tribe's squandering of its food supply came to a head when Jeff Probst confiscated all of their reward items in exchange for a bag of rice.

Following yet another Hero Duel win for Hunahpu, Natalie volunteered to join Baylor Wilson on Exile Island where they shared a clue to a Hidden Immunity Idol. Hunahpu won one final time at the Immunity Challenge, allowing Natalie to enter the merge, becoming a member of the new Huyopa tribe.

At the merge, Natalie and Jeremy formed a coalition of singles against the remaining pairs in the game, with dating couple Jaclyn Schultz and Jon Misch in the middle for having close ties with both. Natalie found initial success by taking out Reed, but was blindsided when Jaclyn and Jon turned on Jeremy. With her closest ally gone, Natalie swore to get her revenge which came into fruition when Natalie convinced Jaclyn and Jon to turn against the remaining couples by blindsiding Wes and tricked them into believing he voted Alec out of confusion. The couples alliance fragmented, with only Keith remaining from the alliance.

Sent to Exile Island after the Reward Challenge, Natalie reflected on what has been her longest time being separated from her sister, which inspired her to win the next Immunity Challenge. Back at camp, Jon attempted to solidify trust with Natalie by revealing to her his possession of an idol. However, Natalie, who was only biding her time to avenge Jeremy, convinced the tribe to split the vote between Jon and Jaclyn, forcing a 2-2-2 tie. At the revote, Natalie finally collected her revenge by eliminating Jon out with the idol in his pocket. This led into an argument between Natalie and Jaclyn back at camp, in which Natalie was expecting to convince everyone not to work with Jaclyn.

The next day, Natalie prepared to dismantle the last remaining pair in the game: mother and daughter tandem Missy Payne and Baylor. Natalie returned to Jaclyn's good graces by playing the idol for her, blindsiding Baylor. Despite Natalie eliminating her daughter from the game, Missy was not upset with her as she did not have to vote out her own daughter. Following her loss at the Final Immunity Challenge to Jaclyn, Natalie became worried that she could be voted out given she had made late-game blindsides which could impress the jury, but was relieved when Jaclyn and Missy joined her to eliminate Keith, leaving the three women as the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, Natalie's narrative of effectively navigating through the game despite the early eliminations of her sister and her closest ally impressed the jury the most, winning her the title of Sole Survivor in a 5-2-1 vote.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Hunahpu Man in the Box Reward/Hero Duel Yes Won
Temple of Syrinx Immunity No Won
2 Parallel Universe Reward/Hero Duel Yes Won
Sumo at Sea Immunity No Won
3 Sunset Grill Reward/Hero Duel Yes Lost
Game of Throw-Ins Immunity No Won
4 Tromp Stomp Reward/Hero Duel Yes Won
The Cruel Sea Immunity No Lost
5 Shakedown Street Immunity No Won
6 More Than a Feeling Reward/Hero Duel Yes Won
Flips, Flops, & Flags Immunity No Won
Tribes Merged, Day 16
7 Huyopa Take the Reins Immunity Lost
8 Long Road to Ruins Reward No Won
My Poor Brain Immunity Lost
9 Shake It Off Reward Won1
The Game is Afoot Immunity Lost
10 Dirty Water Dog Reward No Lost
Uncomfortably Numb Immunity Lost
11 Crush Reward Invited2
Paddle Out Immunity Lost
12 Ballin' A Jack Reward Won
A Bit Tipsy Immunity Lost
13 Austin's Elemental
Obstacle Course
Reward Lost
Vase Off Immunity No Won
14 Pole Dancing Reward No Lost
Spoon Man Immunity Lost
Temple of the Dog Immunity No Lost
Sole Survivor, Day 39
Notes:
^1 Natalie gave up her reward to Jon.
^2 The remaining five in the challenge decided to forfeit the challenge and give the win to Missy.

Episode Natalie's
Votes
Voted Against
Natalie
1 Hunahpu Tribe Immune
2 Hunahpu Tribe Immune
3 Hunahpu Tribe Immune
4 Drew -
5 Hunahpu Tribe Immune
6 Hunahpu Tribe Immune
7 No Tribal Council
8 Josh -
9 Keith -
10 Keith1 -
11 Reed -
12 Alec -
13 Jon;
Jon2
Individual Immunity
14 Baylor -
Keith -
Jury Votes
for Natalie
Alec, Jeremy,
Josh, Keith, Wes
Sole Survivor, Day 39

^1 In "This Is Where We Build Trust", Keith used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Natalie's vote against him.
^2 In "Let's Make a Move", the vote ended with a 2-2-2 tie between Jaclyn, Jon, and Keith, forcing a revote. Natalie did not change her vote on the revote.

Winners at War[]

Natalie entered Winners at War as a member of the Sele tribe. After losing the opening Immunity Challenge on Day 1, Natalie immediately rejoined forces with her close friend Jeremy Collins. The two immediately targeted Denise Stapley and Adam Klein after the latter pair had ventured off on their own for a long amount of time. However, the majority of the Sele tribe chose to vote off Natalie due to her close bond with Jeremy.

After being voted out, Natalie was sent to the Edge of Extinction, where she obtained an advantage that allowed her to exchange a Hidden Immunity Idol for one Fire Token to anyone that lost the upcoming Immunity Challenge. Natalie gave the idol to Sandra Diaz-Twine, who in turn gave her one Fire Token.

On Day 5, Natalie found a Safety Without Power Advantage that she could give to any player in exchange for one Fire Token. She gifted it to her ally, Jeremy, and received her second Fire Token. Natalie found a third advantage on Day 8 where she could sell a Vote Steal to any player for one Fire Token. She sold the advantage to Sarah Lacina, who had to then find the advantage at the Sele camp. Natalie received a fourth Fire Token on Day 10 after completing a task that required her to carry 20 logs from the summit of the island to the base.

On Day 19, the Edge of Extinction inhabitants were alerted of their first chance to re-enter the game, with some time to spend their Fire Tokens on any possible advantages in the upcoming challenge. Natalie spent one Fire Token on a challenge advantage and the remaining three on a Hidden Immunity Idol. Tyson Apostol ultimately won the re-entry challenge, sending Natalie and the other voted out contestants back to the Edge.

On Day 27, Natalie and Parvati Shallow found a clue to an advtange hidden at their shelter. Once Parvati had led everyone away from the shelter, Natalie found the advantage, which she discovered allowed her to extort any player for as many Fire Tokens as she wanted. Natalie chose to extort six Fire Tokens from Tony Vlachos, who couldn't vote at the next Tribal Council nor participate in the next Individual Immunity Challenge unless he paid the toll. Tony managed to pay six Fire Tokens to Natalie and subsequently won Individual Immunity.

On Day 29, the Edge inhabitants were tasked with transferring twenty cocounts from the back side of the island to their camp. The first six to complete the task would receive two Fire Tokens. Natalie was first to finish. On Day 32, Natalie would find yet another advantage where she could sell a disadvantage at the next Immunity Challenge to any player for any price. She sold the disadvantage to Nick Wilson for eight Fire Tokens, who paid the toll and subsequently used the advantage on Ben Driebergen.

On Day 35, with fourteen Fire Tokens total, Natalie spent her sum on three advantages in the upcoming re-entry battle, a jar of peanut butter, and two Hidden Immunity Idols, one for herself and one for Tyson. Natalie won the re-entry challenge, and upon returning to camp, she aligned with Michele Fitzgerald and threw Tony under the bus for his strategic dominance. On Day 36, knowing that Tony had an idol, Natalie and Michele placed their votes on Ben, with everyone else voting for Natalie. However, Natalie, Ben, and Tony all played their idols, resulting in a null vote. At the revote, everyone voted out Denise.

On Day 37, Natalie found another Hidden Immunity Idol. After Tony won immunity, Natalie and Michele once again set their sights on Ben, with the hope that Sarah would possible flip on her alliance. Their hopes came true, and Ben was voted out. The following day, Natalie won the Final Immunity Challenge, which meant she got to choose who would go head-to-head in the firemaking challenge. Natalie chose to pit Tony and Sarah against each other, with Tony coming out victorious and making it to the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, Natalie argued that while she may not have had the best social game during her time on the Edge, her determination led her to find several advantages that allowed her to continue to influence the game. However, she received pushback from the jury for not playing hard enough once she returned to the game, especially with her inability to eliminate Tony. In the end, Natalie only received four votes to win, losing to Tony and finishing in 2nd.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Sele Marooning Reward/Immunity No Lost
Voted Out, Day 2
8 Sele Back in the Saddle Re-entry Lost
14 Don't Call It a Comeback Won
Returned, Day 35
14 Koru Slide On Reward/Immunity Lost
5 on 5 Immunity Lost
Simmotion Immunity Won
Runner-Up, Day 39

Episode Natalie's
Votes
Voted Against
Natalie
1 Denise Adam, Ben, Danni,
Denise, Ethan, Parvati, Rob
Voted Out, Day 2
1 On Edge of Extinction
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Returned, Day 35
14 Ben;
Denise1
Ben, Denise,
Sarah, Tony
;
-1
Ben -2
Jury Votes
for Natalie
Ethan, Jeremy,
Parvati, Tyson
Runner-Up, Day 39

^1 In "It All Boils Down to This", Natalie used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating 4 votes against her. Also, Ben used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Natalie's vote against him. Because Natalie and Ben both used Hidden Immunity Idols and negated all the votes cast at Tribal Council, a vote restart was held between the two non-immune players, Denise and Sarah. Natalie changed her vote to Denise on the restart.
^2 Also in "It All Boils Down to This", Natalie used a Hidden Immunity Idol, but did not negate any votes against her.

Post-Survivor[]

Natalie Challenge 36

Natalie's promotional photo for The Challenge: Double Agents.

  • Natalie considered moving to Sri Lanka to open a CrossFit using her winnings.[3]
  • Natalie, along with eight other former castaways, competed on a Survivor edition of The Price Is Right primetime special that aired on May 23, 2016.[4] Natalie and her partner, John, did not make it up on stage.
  • On April 12, 2017, Natalie, along with Brian Corridan and Brice Johnston, appeared on an episode of Pen Fan Forum hosted by Andrea Boehlke to discuss the seventh episode of Survivor: Game Changers.[5]
  • In the fall of 2020, Natalie competed on MTV's The Challenge: Double Agents.[6] She was medically disqualified from the show in the fifth episode, finishing in 25th place (13th out of the 15 female Challengers). After the episode aired, she revealed that she discovered she was pregnant on the show and was pulled from the competition. Natalie miscarried sometime after her departure.[7]

Trivia[]

  • Natalie and Nadiya are the first castaways to have previously competed on The Amazing Race, appearing on Seasons 21 and 24. They were followed by Mike White in David vs. Goliath.
    • She and Nadiya are the third and fourth castaways to compete on another reality show before appearing on Survivor. The first two were Whitney Duncan and Hayden Moss. They were followed by Caleb Reynolds and Mike White.
  • Natalie and Nadiya are the first pair of sisters, and first pair of twins, to have played Survivor together.
  • Natalie and Nadiya are the fourth and fifth contestants to have dual citizenship, following Aras Baskauskas, Todd Herzog, and Abi-Maria Gomes. They would be followed by Peter Baggenstos.
  • Natalie and Nadiya are the first Asian-American castaways to compete on Survivor to be of South Asian heritage.
  • Natalie is the only one of the Final Three in San Juan del Sur to not receive the jury vote of their loved one. This was because her loved one, Nadiya, was eliminated pre-jury.
  • Natalie is the first contestant to successfully play a Hidden Immunity Idol and win the game, doing so on Jaclyn Schultz.
  • Natalie is first Sole Survivor to share her first name with a previous winner. She would be followed by Chris Underwood and Mike Gabler.
  • Natalie is the first Asian-American woman to win Survivor and the first Asian-American Sole Survivor since Yul Kwon.
  • Natalie is currently the only castaway to win Survivor representing another primary CBS reality TV series.
  • Natalie lost 35 lbs. during her time on San Juan del Sur.[8]
  • Natalie is tied with Michele Fitzgerald for the most challenge wins (tribal and individual) for a female Sole Survivor, with 13. She is also the Sole Survivor with the fourth most challenge wins, only preceded by Bob Crowley (14 wins), Mike Holloway (14 wins), and Tom Westman (17 wins).
  • Natalie won the RHAP Fan Favorite Player of the Season award with 49% of the votes.
  • On February 24, 2015, Natalie was elected Miss Survivor 2015.
  • Natalie was originally cast in Game Changers, but she backed out at the last minute and was replaced by Sierra Dawn Thomas.[9]
  • Both Natalie and Nadiya experienced being eliminated first in two different reality series.
    • They were the first team to be eliminated in The Amazing Race 24.
    • Nadiya was voted out first in San Juan del Sur, while Natalie was voted out first in Winners at War.
  • Natalie is the first person to be voted out on Day 2.
  • Natalie holds the record for the most time spent on the Edge of Extinction, with 33 days in Winners at War.
  • Natalie is one of two returning players to have reached the Final Tribal Council every time they competed, along with Michele Fitzgerald.
  • Natalie is the first and only woman to return from the Edge of Extinction.
  • Due to the nature of the Edge of Extinction, Natalie became the third person to be removed from the jury, following Neal Gottlieb in Kaôh Rōng and Chris Underwood in Edge of Extinction. Unlike Neal however, Natalie and Chris would have been eligible to join it again had they been voted out after returning to the game.
  • Due to her return from the Edge of Extinction towards the end of Winners at War, Natalie holds the record for the fewest Tribal Councils attended by a finalist, with five.
  • Natalie is the second former winner who became the runner-up on her returning season, following Parvati Shallow.
    • Natalie is one of three winners to finish as a losing finalist in their subsequent season, alongside Parvati Shallow and Michele Fitzgerald.
    • Coincidentally, the three were on the same starting tribe in Winners at War.
  • Both times Natalie competed:
    • Her starting tribe's color was blue.
    • She started out on the same tribe with Jeremy.
    • An Anderson twin was voted out at the first Tribal Council (Nadiya Anderson in San Juan del Sur; herself in Winners at War).
    • She only attended one Tribal Council before the merge.
    • She won individual immunity once.
    • She reached the Final Tribal Council and received a jury vote from Jeremy.

References[]

Preceded by
Cagayan
S28 tony t
Tony Vlachos
Sole Survivor Titleholder
San Juan del Sur
S29 natalie t
Natalie Anderson
Succeeded by
Worlds Apart
S30 mike t
Mike Holloway
Survivor: San Juan del Sur Castaways
 Alec
Coyopa
S29 alec t
 Baylor
Coyopa
S29 baylor t
 Dale
Coyopa
S29 dale t
 Drew
Hunahpu
S29 drew t
 Jaclyn
Coyopa
S29 jaclyn t
 Jeremy
Hunahpu
S29 jeremy t
 John
Coyopa
S29 john t
 Jon
Hunahpu
S29 jon t
 Josh
Coyopa
S29 josh t
 Julie
Hunahpu
S29 julie t
 Keith
Hunahpu
S29 keith t
 Kelley
Hunahpu
S29 kelley t
 Missy
Hunahpu
S29 missy t
 Nadiya
Coyopa
S29 nadiya t
 Natalie
Hunahpu
S29 natalie t
 Reed
Hunahpu
S29 reed t
 Val
Coyopa
S29 val t
 Wes
Coyopa
S29 wes t
Survivor: Winners at War Castaways
 Adam
Sele
S40 adam t
 Amber
Dakal
S40 amber t
 Ben
Sele
S40 ben t
 Danni
Sele
S40 danni t
 Denise
Sele
S40 denise t
 Ethan
Sele
S40 ethan t
 Jeremy
Sele
S40 jeremy t
 Kim
Dakal
S40 kim t
 Michele
Sele
S40 michele t
 Natalie
Sele
S40 natalie t
 Nick
Dakal
S40 nick t
 Parvati
Sele
S40 parvati t
 Rob
Sele
S40 rob t
 Sandra
Dakal
S40 sandra t
 Sarah
Dakal
S40 sarah t
 Sophie
Dakal
S40 sophie t
 Tony
Dakal
S40 tony t
 Tyson
Dakal
S40 tyson t
 Wendell
Dakal
S40 wendell t
 Yul
Dakal
S40 yul t
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