Sonya Christopher, the first off-island contestant to vote on “Survivor,” has died at the age of 87.
The show’s official Instagram page confirmed the news with a message from host Jeff Probst.
“Sonya[sic] He was one of the kindest people to ever play Survivor. Every interaction I had with her over the years was lovely. She always greeted you with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. I’m honored that our paths crossed,” Probst wrote in the caption of Christopher’s photo.
Fox News Digital has reached out to “Survivor” and CBS for additional comment. The cause of death has not been released at this time.
Sonya Christopher, the first contestant to be eliminated from CBS’s “Survivor,” has died at the age of 87. (Acie Harper/Getty Images)
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Her death was first reported on Friday, April 26, and several alumni of the show paid tribute to her on social media.
Liz Wilcox, a current season 46 contestant, posted a message to “I had a lot of love for him,” he wrote. “Survivor” and what this show has brought to her life, I hope you sing and perform as hard as you can in beautiful places, Sonya. ”
Christopher competed on the first season of Survivor in 2000 at the age of 63, and was known for singing and playing the ukulele to boost the morale of his tribe during his brief appearance on the show.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly to commemorate the 20th anniversary of “Saliver” in 2020, Christopher reflected on appearing on the show three years after surviving breast cancer.
Christopher and the eventual winner of “Survivor” Season 1, Richard Hatch. (CBS via Getty Images)
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“I had just recovered from breast cancer treatment, and I had been in a relationship for 11 years, but during that cancer period, my partner was finding comfort elsewhere,” she said. . told the outlet at that time.
she continued. “So I moved to a retirement community for seniors, and I was alone and unrestricted and my son had grown up and was taking care of himself. I was reading the morning paper and I said, There was something in the CBS article about the search: 16 Americans were stranded on a deserted island to see who could survive 39 days. ”
Asked if he thought he was rejected because of age discrimination after struggling in his first attempt, Christopher admitted: “I definitely had mixed feelings.”
376782 04: Contestant Sonya Christopher arrives at the “Survivor: The Reunion” party at CBS Studios on August 23, 2000 in Los Angeles, California. Christopher was one of 16 contestants on the island where she spent more than a month participating in the popular TV game show “Survivor”. (Photo provided by Online USA) (Online USA)
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she continued. “I was pretty devastated…I still have a bruise that won’t go away…Someone once asked me if I thought it was because of age discrimination that I was voted out early. I said, “Oh my god.” The reason was that I didn’t have the concept of ageism, and I was always very good at sports and very physically active, so to some people I was an old lady. I didn’t realize that.”
Regardless, Christopher remains a fan of the show, saying: Video shared on X, In 2017, he posted on Twitter that he had never missed a show in the past 17 years.
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“I recently turned 80, so I’m looking forward to the next 17 years. survivorAnd you can happily hike to a giant tribal council in the sky. I hope they don’t vote me down,” she wrote at the time.
