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Sylvia Kwan is a contestant from Survivor: Fiji.

Because she began her season on Exile Island, Sylvia failed to make strong social connections, and her attempts at leading her tribe only caused them to perceive her as bossy, and she quickly became an outsider. After surviving her first Tribal Council and making a second visit to Exile Island, her tribemates were unsure whether she had a Hidden Immunity Idol, causing Sylvia to be the first contestant to fall victim to the split vote strategy.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Sylvia Kwan was born in Hong Kong, where she lived for eight and a half years before moving with her parents and five siblings to Los Angeles. After graduation from high school, she relocated to the Bay Area where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Architecture degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Kwan is the founder and Chairman of a renowned architectural firm located in San Francisco. As Chairman, she is responsible for strategic planning and development for her award-winning firm. She has resided as the Board Chair of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on the board of a number of Bay Area non-profit and for-profit boards. She is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Kwan is especially proud of designing the interiors of Pacific Bell Park (now AT&T Park), home of the San Francisco Giants.

Kwan describes herself as creative, energetic and determined, and according to her husband, holds the unofficial title of "Ultimate Consumer." In her spare time, Kwan plays tennis, skis, hikes and plays golf. She's also happy that she finally learned how to swim, because it was sink or swim as a Survivor contestant. Kwan's never met an exercise routine she didn't like, keeping in shape with Pilates, yoga, Tai Chi, and any new type of gym equipment introduced.

Kwan resides in Marin County with her husband of 26 years, Denis Henmi. They are currently building their dream house, a mid-century modern creation that was inspired by years of designing homes for their clients. Kwan and Henmi have two children, Drew, 18 and Derek, 15. Kwan was born on August 18, 1954.[1]

Survivor[]

When the castaways were setting up their initial shelters, Sylvia used her background in architecture to help with the building process, but some other castaways, such as Rocky Reid, were annoyed by her efforts to be a leader. On Day 3, Sylvia was chosen as the leader who divided up the two tribes, before being sent to Exile Island to join whichever tribe lost the first Immunity Challenge. That night, she joined the Ravu tribe after they voted out Jessica deBen.

Due to her early stay on Exile Island, Sylvia was out of the loop when the tribe began forming internal alliances, and the fact that she had access to drinking water during her time away further irritated her tribemates (who did not have a way to make fire so they could boil water), who proceeded to make no effort to welcome her into the tribe. Sylvia tried to forge better relations with tribemates such as Anthony Robinson and Michelle Yi, but they were not interested, later telling a surprised Sylvia at her first Tribal Council that she was being pushy. Although they voted out Erica Durousseau instead of her, Sylvia knew her time in the game would not last much longer unless she could use the clues from Exile Island to find a Hidden Immunity Idol. She was sent back to the island after Ravu lost the next Reward Challenge on Day 7. There, she received another clue, giving her a good idea of where the idol was located, but she had neither the time nor the tools to really look for it. After Ravu lost its third straight Immunity Challenge, a few players considered keeping Sylvia around, but she never overcame her rough start and became the third person voted out of Survivor: Fiji.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
Exiled, Day 3
1 None1 Chariots of Mire Reward/Immunity Exiled
Joined Ravu, Day 4
2 Ravu Supply Ships Reward/Immunity No Lost
3 Slip, Slide & Score Reward No Lost
U Pick, I Chews Immunity No Lost
Voted Out, Day 8
Notes:
^1 After dividing the 18 other castaways into two tribes, Sylvia was exiled without a tribe until after the next Immunity Challenge, when she joined the losing tribe.

Episode Sylvia's
Votes
Voted Against
Sylvia
1 On Exile Island1
2 Erica Anthony, Erica
3 Anthony Anthony, Earl,
Michelle, Yau-Man
Voted Out, Day 8

^1 In "Something Cruel Is About to Happen... Real Soon", Sylvia was not placed on a tribe and was sent to Exile Island, granting her immunity from Tribal Council.

Post-Survivor[]

  • On January 9, 2010, Sylvia attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.
  • On June 10, 2014, Sylvia attended the wedding of Fiji castmate Rita Verreos.

Trivia[]

  • Sylvia is the oldest woman to compete on Fiji.
  • Sylvia is the only contestant born in 1954.
  • Sylvia holds the record for the longest time without a tribe affiliation, at 4 days. Joining Ravu after they lost the first challenge, she became an official member only at their next challenge.
    • She is also the only castaway in Survivor to be given their first tribe affiliation only after someone with a tribe affiliation had been eliminated.
  • Sylvia is the first contestant on Survivor to be voted out via split vote.

References[]

Survivor: Fiji Castaways
 Alex
Moto
S14 alex t
 Anthony
Ravu
S14 anthony t
 Boo
Moto
S14 boo t
 Cassandra
Moto
S14 cassandra t
 Dreamz
Moto
S14 dreamz t
 Earl
Ravu
S14 earl t
 Edgardo
Moto
S14 edgardo t
 Erica
Ravu
S14 erica t
 Gary
Moto
S14 gary t
 Jessica
Ravu
S14 jessica t
 Liliana
Moto
S14 liliana t
 Lisi
Moto
S14 lisi t
 Michelle
Ravu
S14 michelle t
 Mookie
Ravu
S14 mookie t
 Rita
Ravu
S14 rita t
 Rocky
Ravu
S14 rocky t
 Stacy
Moto
S14 stacy t
 Sylvia
Ravu
S14 sylvia t
 Yau-Man
Ravu
S14 yauman t
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