Survivor is a reality TV show from CBS that’s been around since 2000, and it’s easily one of the most prolific and successful series on the network. Over the years, though, we’ve lost a good number of contestants. Here are all the people who have appeared on Survivor that have passed away.
Every Survivor Death
BB Andersen (Survivor Borneo)
- Jan. 18, 1936 – Oct. 29, 2013
BB Andersen appeared in Survivor‘s debut season, and was the oldest member of the Pagong tribe. He was also the second player to be eliminated in Borneo due to his abrasive nature and inability to get along with the rest of his tribe, which, to be fair, was largely consisted of very young people.
BB passed away of brain cancer in 2013.
Rudy Boesch (Survivor Borneo and Survivor All-Stars)
- Jan. 20, 1928 – Nov. 1, 2019
Aside from Richard Hatch, Rudy was probably the most popular player from Survivor Borneo. A lot of his quips haven’t aged well, but he was easily the most endearing contestant on that season. He made it all the way to the final three, but ultimately lost the challenge to Kelly Wigglesworth, who took Richard to the final two over Rudy.
Rudy passed away in 2019 after suffering from Alzheimer’s for years leading up to his death.
Sonja Christopher (Survivor Borneo)
- Jan. 28, 1937 – April 26, 2024
Sonja was the very first player to ever get voted off Survivor. She was one of the older members on the Tagi tribe, and was regarded as an easy first boot due to a slip-up during the immunity challenge.
Kim Johnson (Survivor Africa)
- Sept. 18, 1944 – July 29, 2024
Kim Johnson is one of the more beloved and popular contestants on Survivor Africa, having made it all the way to the end with winner Ethan Zohn. She was great at the immunity challenges, but ultimately lost the million dollars to Ethan because there was absolutely no way anyone was winning against golden boy Ethan that season.
Roger Sexton (Survivor Amazon)
- Sept. 26, 1946 – Oct. 26, 2022
Survivor Amazon was arguably the biggest turning point for the franchise as it brought out a new layer of strategy we hadn’t really seen before. Roger Sexton wasn’t exactly a big part of said strategy, though, as he’s largely remembered for his somewhat sexist and homophobic remarks on the show.
Jen Lyon (Survivor Palau)
- Feb. 27 , 1972 – Jan. 19, 2010
Jen was a fairly quiet player in Survivor Palau, but she made it pretty damn far by virtue of being on the dominant Koror tribe and a close ally of Gregg. After Gregg got voted, it wasn’t long before Jen followed suit.
Jen passed away of breast cancer in 2010.
Angie Jakusz (Survivor Palau)
- March 27, 1980 – Jan. 8, 2021
Aside from Stephanie, Angie was probably regarded as the biggest underdog of the Ulong tribe in Survivor Palau. The first time Ulong won immunity, she was so excited about the win that she fumbled her words while shouting, “We’re not going back to immunity!” She’d meant to say “tribal council.”
Angie passed away of cancer at age 40.
Ashley Massaro (Survivor China)
- May 26, 1979 – May 16, 2019
Ashley didn’t make it to the merge in Survivor China, but she definitely left a huge impression on the Zhan Hu tribe. She constantly butted heads with Dave, and when the tribe decided that the drama needed to end, they ultimately decided to vote off Ashley.
Ashley was reported to have committed suicide before her 40th birthday.
Dan Kay (Survivor Gabon)
- June 30, 1976 – Dec. 31, 2016
Dan was one of the funnier players to watch out for in Survivor Gabon. Aside from being unable to decipher the clues to the location of the immunity idol, he was also generally goofy and a little awkward in his social interactions.
Dan Lembo (Survivor Nicaragua)
- Oct. 7, 1946 – Sept. 3, 2022
Dan was one of the more outspoken and abrasive players in Survivor Nicaragua, but even then, he managed to make it all the way to the final five, which was very impressive considering the tribe dynamics.
Clay Jordan (Survivor Thailand)
- Dec. 30, 1955 – May 19, 2022
Clay Jordan made it all the way to the final two in Survivor Thailand, but ultimately lost out to Brian Heidik. One of his most iconic scenes in the show was during a physical challenge when Robb had his hands around his neck, and was disqualified for not being in the “attack zone.”
Ralph Kiser (Survivor Redemption Island)
- Oct. 27, 1965 – April 20, 2022
In one of the least popular Survivor seasons, Ralph was a shining star on the Zapatera tribe. He was part of the alliance that took out Russell Hantz early, and also went on to find an immunity idol on his own, though he did end up misplaying it later on.
Caleb Bankston (Survivor Blood vs. Water)
- March 26, 1987 – June 24, 2014
Caleb played alongside notorious Survivor quitter Colton in Blood vs. Water. Unlike Colton, who was seriously disliked by everyone on that season, Caleb was presented as a gentle player who got on fine with his tribe. He was a lot less dramatic than his partner, and proved that he was able to play his own game even without Colton in the picture.
Cliff Robinson (Survivor Cagayan)
- Dec. 16, 1966 – Aug. 29, 2020
Speaking of gentle players, NBA star Cliff Robinson got off to a very strong start in Survivor Cagayan, getting players like Woo and Lindsey over to his side. However, he was quickly blindsided by season winner Tony, who felt that Cliff was way too charismatic for his own good.
Keith Nale (Survivor San Juan Del Sur and Cambodia)
- Aug. 16, 1960 – April 18, 2023
Keith Nale was the unexpected star of San Juan Del Sur, and later made a return in Cambodia: Second Chance. He’s extremely lovable, though he’s probably best known for completely blowing up Reed’s plan to blindside Jon in the post-merge. His emphatic “Stick to the plan!” will likely be remembered by Survivor fans for years to come.
Sunday Burquest (Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X)
- Feb. 6, 1971 – April 18, 2021
Most players probably wouldn’t expect much of Sunday on a show like Survivor, but she actually had a pretty decent social game. She was able to fit in well with the Gen X tribe and secured a good alliance. However, she was still no match for the David-Ken alliance, who partnered up with Hannah and Adam to take her out towards the end.
And those are all of the Survivor cast deaths to date.
Published: Oct 7, 2024 11:21 pm