Who competed in Survivor: Island Of The Idols and which contestant won the season? With 40 seasons under its belt, CBS series Survivor ranks as one of the longest-running reality shows on television. Hosted by Jeff Probst, each season of Survivor drops a group of contestants in a remote and exotic locale where they are divided into “tribes” and must fend for themselves. All the while, they take part in a series of grueling challenges designed to test their physical and mental capabilities to become the “Sole Survivor” and take home a hefty cash prize.
Some seasons of the reality competition mix up the format by introducing new themes or twists, like Survivor: Worlds Apart, which featured tribes divided by social class while Survivor: Blood Vs. Water pitted returning contestants against their own family members and loved ones. The titular twist in Survivor: Island Of The Idols (AKA Survivor season 39) saw the introduction of a secret island where contestants were periodically exiled to learn survival skills from previous Survivor winners Sandra Diaz-Twine and Rob Mariano to give them an advantage in the competition.
Survivor: Island Of The Idols was filmed in Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands, which the series has called home since season 33. A total of 20 brand-new contestants competed in Island Of The Idols but who were they and who won the title of Sole Survivor? Read on for a complete list of every Survivor season 39 contestant in order of their elimination through to the eventual winner.
Ronnie Bardah
Molly Byman
Vince Moua
Chelsea Walker
Tom Laidlaw
Jason Linden
Jack Nichting
Kellee Kim
Jamal Shipman
Aaron Meredith
Missy Byrd
Elizabeth Beisel
Karishma Patel
Elaine Stott
Dan Spilo
Janet Carbin
Lauren Beck
Noura Salman
Dean Kowalski
Winner: Tommy Sheehan
Survivor: Island Of The Idols featured a handful of notable contestants, including retired hockey player Tom Laidlaw, Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel and professional poker player Ronnie Bardah – the latter of whom was the first to be eliminated. The season was also rocked by controversy when on Day 36 contestant Dan Spilo went down in TV history as the first person ever ejected from the Survivor franchise following an off-camera incident in which he inappropriately touched a female crew member.
Janet Carbin, Lauren Beck, Noura Salman, Dean Kowalski and Tommy Sheehan all made it to the final stages of the competition but it was Sheehan who was crowned the winner of Island Of The Idols after winning over the jury of eliminated contestants. Sheehan scooped the $1 million cash prize for his troubles, but that didn’t mean other contestants went home empty-handed. Celebrity Survivor super-fan Sia gifted her three favorite Survivor: Island Of The Idols contestants a cash prize of her own with Jamal Shipman receiving $15,000 and Elaine Stott and Janet Carbin being gifted $100,000 each by the singer.