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Sophie Georgina Clarke[1] is the Sole Survivor of Survivor: South Pacific. She later competed on Survivor: Winners at War.

Known for her blunt, witty disposition and sharp-tongued confessionals, Sophie played an under-the-radar game and relied on her challenge prowess in South Pacific, as well as a tight, dominating five-person alliance formed on Night 1 to advance in the game. She is also remembered for swaying ally Coach Wade into backstabbing Brandon Hantz in a well-crafted "Ozzy's Pleasure Dome" argument. After winning the critical Final Immunity Challenge against Ozzy Lusth, Sophie won over Coach and Albert Destrade in a 6-3-0 vote.

Sophie played a more actively strategic and social game when she returned in Winners at War, forging several relationships, notably turning the tables on Rob Mariano after being relegated to the minority with Sarah Lacina following a Tribe Switch, and finding a Hidden Immunity Idol. She spent most of her game in a comfortable position and became a key member of the majority alliance following the merge, where she used her influence to orchestrate the elimination of Wendell Holland. However, Tony Vlachos grew wary of her relationship with Sarah and spearheaded her blindside at the final nine. She eventually lost the second Edge of Extinction re-entry duel and was eliminated in 10th place.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Name (Age): Sophie Clarke (22)
Tribe designation: Upolu
Current residence: Willsboro, N.Y.
Occupation: Medical Student
Personal claim to fame: I won Prom Princess at my small rural high school where my graduation class was 28 students.
Inspiration in life: I am skeptical of lionization of any one person. I do admire, however, Albert Schweitzer. He came from a well-off family and yet chose something much less grand with his life than he could have. True humanitarian. True passion. True dedication.
Hobbies: Cooking, scrabble and reading.
Pet peeves: Smart women who pretend to be dumb, particularly if they wear a lot of eye makeup, and people who walk slowly in cold weather.
3 words to describe you: Purposeful, resilient and shrewd.
Survivor contestant you are most like: I relate to Russell's determination to win at any cost, Stephen's intelligence, Stephenie's competitiveness and Susan's trueness to character.
Reason for being on Survivor: To win money! I have been bragging to friends for way too long about how easy Survivor is and how good I would be. I would like to have the freedom in Med. School to choose my specialty based on passion and not money and the potential to more quickly pay my debts.
Why you think you'll "survive" Survivor: I am strong and athletic (play soccer, softball and basketball) and I am an extremely good skier. I am "Outdoor Emergency Care" certified and can thus deal with unexpected and extreme situations with a calm approach. I am a leader and always ready and eager to step up!

Why you think you will be the Sole Survivor: I am tough, smart and driven. People will trust and like me even though they should not. I will piss people off, yet be convincing and heartfelt enough at the end to make them give me the money. I will mess with their minds and beat their bodies! I think it might actually be easy.[2]

Hometown: Willsboro, New York
Current residence: Santa Monica, California
Previous seasons: Winner of Survivor: South Pacific (Season 23)
Occupation: Healthcare Consultant
Hobbies: Soccer, skiing, podcasts, reading, and walking.
Pet peeves: Men who feign confusion about the difference between explaining and mansplaining.
Three words to describe you: Unclean, tenacious, and chameleon-like.
When did you first watch Survivor? May 31, 2000. I was 10 years old. My dad was writing a book about islands and thought the show was a "documentary" so made us watch for "research."
Do you still watch Survivor? Religiously.
Who is your inspiration in life? My grandmother. She's 90 and brilliant, effortlessly cooks dinner for 12, reuses postal stamps, gardens, paints beautifully, and writes IN CAPS LOCK FOR EFFECT.
What does Survivor mean to you and your family? To me, being a Survivor fan means that I get to live two lives at once. In one life, I spend my week working, cooking, exercising and sleeping... but in the other, I'm watching previews and catching up on behind-the-scenes on Mondays (research for my pool-pick), rushing home to watch live and follow along with the Know-it-Alls on Wednesdays, waking up early on Thursdays to soak in the Ponderosa edits, and debating the merits of "big moves" during long walks with my fiancé on Saturdays.
What is one way playing Survivor changed your life? Survivor built my confidence, giving me the guts to deviate from a more traditional path (I chose not to become a doctor after graduating medical school), and pursue a more uncertain career.
As Survivor approaches Season 40 and celebrates 20 years on television, what does it mean to be a part of the legacy? It's still so surreal to me that I was basically sucked into the screen of my favorite TV show and am beyond grateful and humbled to be etched into the Survivor canon, hanging on—however precariously—in the top 25 of Dalton Ross' winner rankings and on the tails of some of my favorite players of all time. Tony! Tom! Kim! Ethan! Cochran!

How will you play differently than you did in your past season? I hope to be less afraid of failure, more open to taking risks, and more embracing of, rather than frustrated by, unknown variables in the game.[1]

Survivor[]

South Pacific[]

Like most of her Upolu tribemates, Sophie was skeptical about the addition of Coach Wade to their tribe. This skepticism was furthered when Coach lost the first Reward Challenge over fellow returning player Ozzy Lusth. Upon reaching camp, Sophie introduced herself as a Russian and Economics major who "graduated four days ago." Knowing his "Dragon Slayer" baggage would be hard to release, Coach opened a conversation while stargazing at their first night, with the conversation concluding with the recruitment of Sophie to his five-person alliance, which also consisted of Albert Destrade, Brandon Hantz, and Rick Nelson. Coach fortified his alliance of five by adding a sixth member, Edna Ma. While Brandon kept his secret of being a relative of the infamous Russell Hantz from his tribemates, Sophie was observant enough to suspect he might be hiding something. Sophie was also seen as a strong competitor, being called "insane" by host Jeff Probst during the first Immunity Challenge, in which Upolu narrowly won.

After the Immunity Challenge loss on Day 5, Sophie received a vote coming from Stacey Powell, but Sophie's majority alliance eliminated Coach's biggest threat, Christine Shields Markoski. Days later, alliance partner Albert found the hidden clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol, but could not find the Idol itself. With Sophie and Coach's help, the three found the Idol, which was secretly kept by Coach, even from Rick and Brandon. The Upolu majority alliance successfully eliminated Stacey and Mikayla Wingle at their next Tribal Councils, entering the merge with the entire alliance intact.

When the tribes merged on Day 19 into the Te Tuna tribe, Sophie stuck with the Upolu alliance, and, along with Savaii member John Cochran, eliminated the five other Savaii members: Keith Tollefson, Ozzy, Jim Rice, Dawn Meehan, and Whitney Duncan. During the process of this "Pagonging," Sophie was able to win two consecutive Immunity Challenges, the second win which was especially key since she narrowly beat out Whitney.

After the ex-Savaii members were voted out, the original Upolu alliance of five decided to stick together and eliminated Cochran and Edna. The next round of the game saw the alliance turn against each other. Sophie was able to make Coach and Rick turn against fellow alliance member Brandon because of his antics and his unpredictability. However, when Brandon won immunity, they had to switch their target to Albert. Their plans changed again at Tribal Council when Brandon gave the Immunity Necklace to Albert. In the end, Coach sided with Rick and Sophie voting out Brandon and she narrowly escaped being sent to Redemption Island in a 3-2 vote.

At the final Redemption Island duel on Day 36, Ozzy defeated Brandon and came back in the game with an apparent target on his back. At the following Immunity Challenge, which required balancing wooden blocks, Sophie made an unattractive gesture—outright asking Albert to help her get her blocks, which was intercepted by Jeff. Her move failed, however, when Ozzy won Immunity. With Ozzy immune and Coach having his Hidden Immunity Idol, Sophie was on the hot seat at Tribal Council, being told by Ozzy that she was a "pretentious, spoiled brat" after her gesture at the Immunity Challenge, reducing the medical student to tears and anxiety, stating that her bluntness was natural to her. Despite this, Sophie dodged elimination once again after Rick was voted out for his quieter gameplay in a 3-2 vote.

At the Final Immunity Challenge on Day 38, a closely-contested battle between Ozzy and Sophie commenced. But at the puzzle-building part, Ozzy struggled, giving leeway to Sophie, who eventually won the challenge. As the last remaining Savaii member, Ozzy was voted out, leaving Sophie (declaring herself "the new Dragon Slayer"), Albert, and Coach as the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, while castigated by the jury for coming off as acerbic to others, Sophie used her frankness to her advantage by calling Coach "a little girl" and exposed all the lies he created. She also stated that she would change her perceived rudeness after Ozzy brought the topic up days ago. In the end, Sophie was rewarded the title of 23rd Sole Survivor and the million dollar prize, beating Coach and Albert in a 6-3-0 vote, receiving the votes of Brandon, Dawn, Jim, Keith, Ozzy, and Whitney.

At the Reunion Show, Sophie stated that it was hard for her to "act dumb", but she had to try in order to advance herself in the game.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Upolu Thrilogy Reward Yes Lost
Coconut Conundrum Immunity No Won
2 Crate Escape Reward/Immunity No Lost
3 Hitching a Ride Reward/Immunity No Won
4 Shoulder the Load Reward/Immunity No Lost
5 Pig Out Reward/Immunity No Won
6 Losing Face Reward/Immunity No Lost
7 Family Ties Reward/Immunity No Won
Tribes Merged, Day 19
8 Te Tuna Coconut Cradle Immunity Lost
9 Get Crackin' Immunity Lost
Bow Diddley Immunity Yes1 Lost
10 Price On Your Head Immunity Won
C.A.T. Immunity Won
12 Second Chance Reward/Immunity Lost
13 Flip Out Immunity Lost
14 Batman Wall Reward/Immunity Lost
15 Teeter Tower Immunity Lost
Lei of the Land Immunity Won
Sole Survivor, Day 39
Notes:
^1 Sophie elected to sit out of the challenge to eat pastries and iced coffee.

Episode Sophie's
Votes
Voted Against
Sophie
1 Upolu Tribe Immune
2 Stacey Stacey
3 Upolu Tribe Immune
4 Stacey -
5 Upolu Tribe Immune
6 Edna -
7 Upolu Tribe Immune
8 Keith;
Keith1
-
9 Ozzy -
Jim -
10 Dawn Individual Immunity
Whitney Individual Immunity
12 Cochran -
13 Edna -
14 Brandon Albert, Brandon
15 Rick Ozzy, Rick
Ozzy Individual Immunity
Jury Votes
for Sophie
Brandon, Dawn, Jim,
Keith, Ozzy, Whitney
Sole Survivor, Day 39

^1 In "Double Agent", the vote ended with a 6-6 tie between Keith and Rick, forcing a revote. Sophie did not change her vote on the revote.

Winners at War[]

Sophie returned to play in the all-winners season Survivor: Winners at War. Initially placed on the Dakal tribe, Sophie quickly found herself in a power position as she aligned with other one-time players who were perceived to be relatively disconnected from the Survivor social scene. She quickly formed a bond with Yul Kwon, who she wanted to prop up as a "nerd-shield"—someone who would protect her from being perceived as the most intelligent player on the island. When Dakal lost the second Immunity Challenge on Day 3, Sophie and the other 'disconnected' one-time players, Yul, Nick Wilson, and Wendell Holland, found themselves with all the leverage on the tribe, and which had narrowed their targets down to Amber Mariano, Kim Spradlin-Wolfe, and Tyson Apostol as they feared that the three, along with Jeremy Collins and Rob Mariano on the rival Sele tribe, had a "Poker Alliance" after appearing in a televised poker tournament a year prior. Eventually, the tribe decided on Amber as the best option to go, given her marriage to Rob.

When Kim found a Hidden Immunity Idol that required two people to activate the following day, she gave half of it to Sophie because she felt that she and Sophie could work well together. Sophie was happy that Kim shared the idol with her, but remained apprehensive about Kim due to her threatening reputation. When Dakal lost immunity again on Day 11, she joined the tribe in voting out Tyson, who had been throwing many names out and was perceived as a big threat due having played the game four times, as well as his connection with Rob outside the game. At some point during this time, Sophie gave back her half of the idol to Kim.

A Tribe Expansion occurred on Day 12, with Sophie and Sarah Lacina were sent to the new Yara tribe, finding themselves at a numerical disadvantage against original Sele members Rob, Adam Klein, and Ben Driebergen. Despite this, the clearly fractured nature of the three men left Sophie and Sarah with options moving forward. While Sarah and Sophie were apprehensive to divulge information, the Sele men revealed their tribe dynamics and the tensions between them. When the whole tribe began searching for a potential new idol at their new camp, Sophie was quick to find it and hide it from the rest of her tribemates. Similar to the idol she shared with Kim on Dakal, Sophie needed to give half of the idol to a tribemate to activate it, choosing to give it to Sarah and leaving the two closely bonded. After Yara lost the subsequent Immunity Challenge, Rob became the target for the girls due to his dictatorial attitude and reputation. Despite Rob trying to implement his "buddy system" strategy, leaving the girls unable to confirm their plans through conversation with Adam and Ben, Sophie felt confident that Rob would be voted out. Before Tribal Council, Sarah gave her idol half back to Sophie, before the two were joined by Adam and Ben in successfully blindsiding Rob.

Sophie and Sarah became closer to Ben over the next few days, with Adam being their next clear target. When Adam raised suspicions to Sophie about Ben or Sarah having an idol, Sophie decided to tell the two about Adam's suspicions in an attempt to solidify her alliance with them. Yara won the next two Immunity Challenges, sparing them from Tribal Council. However, her ally, Yul, was voted out on Day 18, bequeathing a Fire Token to Sophie.

When the tribes merged into the Koru tribe on Day 19, with Tyson returning from the Edge of Extinction, Sophie found herself in a large majority coalition comprised of herself, Adam, Ben, Jeremy, Kim, Sarah, Denise Stapley, and Tony Vlachos. After Denise and Jeremy won the first individual Immunity Challenge, the tribe wanted to target Nick, but Sophie attempted to drive the vote towards Wendell, fearing his friendship with Jeremy, who she perceived to be the most influential player, as well as fearing the possibility of the "big guys" coming together. She successfully led the charge in getting Wendell out, then joined the majority in voting Adam out at the next Tribal Council.

When Tony won the next Immunity Challenge, Jeremy campaigned to break up the duo of Sophie and Sarah, although Sophie's allies wanted to target Jeremy in return. The scrambling divided the tribe into two five-person alliances: Sophie, Ben, Nick, Sarah, and Tony, with the group targeting Jeremy, against Denise, Jeremy, Kim, Tyson, and Michele Fitzgerald, who wanted to target Sophie. After more scrambling at Tribal Council, where Jeremy used his Safety Without Power advantage to abstain from the vote at the cost of leaving his allies down a number, Sophie gathered her own allies, now firmly in control of the majority of the votes, to target Tyson, who they saw as a pressing threat. With Sophie's alliance now in the majority, they decided to split their votes between Jeremy and Michele at the next Tribal Council. However, Tony, fearing Sophie's relationship with Sarah and her influence on the tribe, decided to take advantage of the majority splitting the vote and target Sophie, recruiting Jeremy, Michele, and Nick. At Tribal Council, Sophie was blindsided with her idol in her pocket. She bequeathed a Fire Token each to Kim and Sarah before heading to the Edge of Extinction.

The following day on the Edge of Extinction, Sophie earned two Fire Tokens by coming second in a coconut-carry effort task, which she used to purchase a jar of peanut butter.[3] Sophie lost the second re-entry duel to Natalie Anderson on Day 35, resulting in her permanent elimination from the game and officially becoming a member of the jury.

Sophie was not present at the Day 38 Tribal Council due to illness, but returned to serve on the jury at the Final Tribal Council the following day. She was among the twelve jurors that voted for Tony to win, crowning him the Sole Survivor and second two-time winner over Natalie and Michele in a 12-4-0 vote.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Dakal Marooning Reward/Immunity No Won
Blue Lagoon Bustle Immunity No Lost
2 Draggin' the Dragon Reward/Immunity No Won
3 Along the Watch Tower Reward/Immunity No Won
4 Beyond the Wheel Reward/Immunity No Lost
Switched Tribes, Day 12
5 Yara Block in a Hard Place Immunity No Lost
6 Rice Race Reward/Immunity No Won
7 Ball-istic Missiles Reward1 No 1st
Dishwalla Immunity No 1st
Tribes Merged, Day 19
8 Koru Get a Grip Immunity Lost
9 New School Reward No Won
Bermuda Triangle Immunity Lost
10 A Bit Tipsy Immunity Lost
11 Chain Reaction Reward2 Won
10-Foot Pole Immunity Lost
Voted Out, Day 28
14 Koru Don't Call It a Comeback Re-entry Lost
Eliminated, Day 35
Notes:
^1 An unaired Reward Challenge was held on Day 17.
^2 An unaired Reward Challenge was held on Day 26.

Episode Sophie's
Votes
Voted Against
Sophie
1 Dakal Tribe Immune
Kim -
2 Dakal Tribe Immune
3 Dakal Tribe Immune
4 Tyson -
5 Rob -
6 Yara Tribe Immune
7 Yara Tribe Immune
8 Wendell -
9 Adam -
10 Denise1 Kim, Tyson
11 Jeremy Jeremy, Michele,
Nick, Tony
Voted Out, Day 28
12 On Edge of Extinction
13
14
Eliminated, Day 35
Voted for
Sole Survivor
Tony

^1In "The Full Circle", Kim used a Hidden Immunity Idol on Denise, negating Sophie's vote against her.

Post-Survivor[]

  • After her win, Sophie used her winnings to pay off her student loans.
  • Sophie returned to her hometown of Willsboro, New York where she discussed her Survivor experience at Willsboro Central School. She continued to pursue her studies to become an OB-GYN until May 12, 2017, when she graduated as a medical doctor. She currently works as Head of Clinical Service Line Strategy & Partnerships at Anthem, Inc.[4]
  • On March 9, 2017, Sophie, along with Courtney Yates, appeared on an episode of Pen Fan Forum hosted by Andrea Boehlke to discuss the first two episodes of Survivor: Game Changers.
  • Sophie attended Stephen Fishbach's wedding on June 9, 2018 along with a few other contestants.[5]
  • Sophie married Robert Shady at her parents' house on August 24, 2019.[6] They have two children: Robinson Bullard[7] and Teal Georgina.[8]

Trivia[]

References[]

Preceded by
Redemption Island
S22 rob t
Rob Mariano
Sole Survivor Titleholder
South Pacific
S23 sophie t
Sophie Clarke
Succeeded by
One World
S24 kim t
Kim Spradlin
Survivor: South Pacific Castaways
 Albert
Upolu
S23 albert t
 Brandon
Upolu
S23 brandon t
 Christine
Upolu
S23 christine t
 Coach
Upolu
S23 coach t
 Cochran
Savaii
S23 cochran t
 Dawn
Savaii
S23 dawn t
 Edna
Upolu
S23 edna t
 Elyse
Savaii
S23 elyse t
 Jim
Savaii
S23 jim t
 Keith
Savaii
S23 keith t
 Mark
Savaii
S23 mark t
 Mikayla
Upolu
S23 mikayla t
 Ozzy
Savaii
S23 ozzy t
 Rick
Upolu
S23 rick t
 Semhar
Savaii
S23 semhar t
 Sophie
Upolu
S23 sophie t
 Stacey
Upolu
S23 stacey t
 Whitney
Savaii
S23 whitney 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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