Amber Brkich
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Born: August 11, 1978
Hometown: Beaver, Pennsylvania; Pensacola, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada Occupation: Administrative Assistant Seasons: The Australian Outback; All Stars; Winners at War Placing: Sixth (The Australian Outback); Winner (All Stars); Nineteenth (Winners at War) Tribes: Ogakor; Barramundi; Chapera; Chaboga Mogo; Dakal Total Challenge Wins: 16
Days Lasted: 107 Votes Against: 18 Awards: How'd That Happen? (The Australian Outback); Chillin' Like A Villain (All Stars) |
Survivor: The Australian Outback
Amber was a participant in the second season of Survivor, having auditioned for the season to put off getting a job after college. She was a member of the green Ogakor tribe. She was quick to fortify a strong friendship with fellow contestant Jerri Manthey, who helped construct an alliance with Colby Donaldson and Mitchell Olson. Ogakor seemed to be the weaker of the two tribes, losing three consecutive Immunity Challenges. Before Ogakor's first Tribal Council, Amber's ally, Jerri, accused fellow tribemate Kel Gleason of smuggling beef jerky into the game. Amber helped the tribe search Kel's bag when he was away, but they failed to find anything. Amber voted for Kel at Tribal Council because she considered him to be the least trustworthy member of the tribe.
After losing the next challenge, Amber targeted Maralyn Hershey because of her weakness at the Immunity Challenge. At Tribal Council Maralyn was voted off. At Ogakor's next Tribal Council Amber thought her four-person alliance was going to eliminate the tribal annoyance Keith Famie. She was surprised to learn that her ally Colby had flipped on her alliance, thus causing a tiebreaker between Mitchell and Keith. Amber's ally, Mitchell was eliminated by the tiebreaker. Ogakor went on to win all the following Immunity Challenge's, keeping Amber safe until the merge.
Upon the merge, Ogakor managed to use the knowledge that one of Kucha's members, Jeff Varner, had received votes beforehand, and eliminated him through a tiebreaker, thus gaining a numeric advantage over the Kucha tribe. The ex-Ogakor members stuck together in eliminating Alicia Calaway, but the ex-Kucha tribe then convinced Keith, Colby, and Tina Wesson to turn on their alliance and vote out Amber's closest ally, Jerri. After Jerri's elimination, the Ogakor Alliance once again came together to oust Nick Brown. In No Longer Just a Game Amber felt secure in her alliance and thought they were going to vote out Rodger Bingham. Unfortunately for Amber the remaining Kucha members once again convinced Tina and Keith to turn on their alliance. At Tribal Council, Amber was voted out for playing an "under-the-radar game", and was a threat to win the show, ultimately landing in sixth place. Colby was the only one to not vote against her.
At Final Tribal Council, as a member of the jury, Amber cast her vote for Colby, who failed to win the million dollars. Colby ended up losing to Tina Wesson.
After losing the next challenge, Amber targeted Maralyn Hershey because of her weakness at the Immunity Challenge. At Tribal Council Maralyn was voted off. At Ogakor's next Tribal Council Amber thought her four-person alliance was going to eliminate the tribal annoyance Keith Famie. She was surprised to learn that her ally Colby had flipped on her alliance, thus causing a tiebreaker between Mitchell and Keith. Amber's ally, Mitchell was eliminated by the tiebreaker. Ogakor went on to win all the following Immunity Challenge's, keeping Amber safe until the merge.
Upon the merge, Ogakor managed to use the knowledge that one of Kucha's members, Jeff Varner, had received votes beforehand, and eliminated him through a tiebreaker, thus gaining a numeric advantage over the Kucha tribe. The ex-Ogakor members stuck together in eliminating Alicia Calaway, but the ex-Kucha tribe then convinced Keith, Colby, and Tina Wesson to turn on their alliance and vote out Amber's closest ally, Jerri. After Jerri's elimination, the Ogakor Alliance once again came together to oust Nick Brown. In No Longer Just a Game Amber felt secure in her alliance and thought they were going to vote out Rodger Bingham. Unfortunately for Amber the remaining Kucha members once again convinced Tina and Keith to turn on their alliance. At Tribal Council, Amber was voted out for playing an "under-the-radar game", and was a threat to win the show, ultimately landing in sixth place. Colby was the only one to not vote against her.
At Final Tribal Council, as a member of the jury, Amber cast her vote for Colby, who failed to win the million dollars. Colby ended up losing to Tina Wesson.
Voting History
Episodes |
Amber Voted For |
Voted For Amber |
2 |
Kel Gleason |
--- |
3 |
Maralyn Hershey |
--- |
4 |
--- |
|
7 |
Jeff Varner Jeff Varner (Re-Vote) |
--- |
8 |
--- |
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9 |
--- |
|
10 |
Nick Brown |
Elisabeth Filarski, Rodger Bingham |
11 |
Rodger Bingham |
|
15 |
For Sole Survivor: Colby Donaldson |
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Survivor: All Stars
As one of the quieter personalities of Survivor: The Australian Outback, Amber's inclusion in the All-Stars installment of Survivor came as a surprise to most fans. She was a member of the red Chapera tribe, a boisterous group including "Boston Rob" Rob Mariano, Susan Hawk, and fellow Survivor: The Australian Outback alumna Alicia Calaway.
As part of the most dominant tribe in Survivor: All-Stars, Amber enjoyed a healthy winning streak, until Day 12, where they suffered their first loss in an Immunity Challenge. Boston Rob and Amber's relationship was a matter of discussion at the Tribal Council, but Amber claimed to have come to play Survivor, not a dating game. Ultimately, the tribe decided to remove Rob Cesternino, who was perceived as the biggest strategic threat.
The following day, in a twist that "dissolved" the yellow Saboga tribe, two of its four remaining members, Jenna Lewis, and Rupert Boneham, joined Chapera. Rob and Amber quickly fortified a long-term alliance with the tribe's two new members, one of the pair's many "agreements." The Chapera tribe then enjoyed a lengthy winning streak, winning immunity the next three times. The group did lose one member, however, when Sue Hawk opted to leave the game due to an indecent encounter with Richard Hatch.
In the season's ninth episode, a tribal shuffle managed to merely make each contestant switch buffs, with the exception of Amber, who remained on the Chapera tribe with Lex van den Berghe, Shii Ann Huang, Jerri Manthey, and Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien. The tribe went on to lose the next challenge and, in one of the season's more famous moments, Rob said to Lex, "You take care of her, I'll take care of you." In perhaps an ironic twist of fate, it came down to Amber and her former Outback ally Jerri at that night's Tribal Council. Jerri was eliminated, with Lex staying true to his deal with Rob, and Amber was spared.
In the following episode, the merge occurred, and Lex was chosen to be eliminated, despite Rob's promise to "take care of him." In the episodes following, Rob and Amber managed to maintain several "alliances," including their agreement with Rupert and Jenna, an agreement with Tom Buchanan, and an agreement with Alicia Calaway. With all these castaways believing themselves to be safe, Rob and Amber proceeded through the game, eventually finding themselves in the final four with Jenna and Rupert.
In the final four, Amber won her first individual Immunity Challenge, and she and Rob convinced Jenna to vote out her ally Rupert instead of forcing a tie. In the final three, Rob won immunity and chose Amber to continue with him to the final two. Facing the Jury, Rob and Amber met much criticism for their gameplay.
In the season finale several months later, Rob and Amber revealed they were still dating, Amber even wore a yellow "I Love Rob" shirt (and was booed by the audience in the process) at the Finale/Reunion. Just before the votes were read, Rob surprisingly proposed to Amber and she accepted. It was revealed that, in a 4-3 decision, Amber was the Sole Survivor.
At the Survivor: America's Tribal Council special, Amber was one of ten females from the first eight seasons to be in the "Hottest Survivor Woman" category. Amber ended up winning.
As part of the most dominant tribe in Survivor: All-Stars, Amber enjoyed a healthy winning streak, until Day 12, where they suffered their first loss in an Immunity Challenge. Boston Rob and Amber's relationship was a matter of discussion at the Tribal Council, but Amber claimed to have come to play Survivor, not a dating game. Ultimately, the tribe decided to remove Rob Cesternino, who was perceived as the biggest strategic threat.
The following day, in a twist that "dissolved" the yellow Saboga tribe, two of its four remaining members, Jenna Lewis, and Rupert Boneham, joined Chapera. Rob and Amber quickly fortified a long-term alliance with the tribe's two new members, one of the pair's many "agreements." The Chapera tribe then enjoyed a lengthy winning streak, winning immunity the next three times. The group did lose one member, however, when Sue Hawk opted to leave the game due to an indecent encounter with Richard Hatch.
In the season's ninth episode, a tribal shuffle managed to merely make each contestant switch buffs, with the exception of Amber, who remained on the Chapera tribe with Lex van den Berghe, Shii Ann Huang, Jerri Manthey, and Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien. The tribe went on to lose the next challenge and, in one of the season's more famous moments, Rob said to Lex, "You take care of her, I'll take care of you." In perhaps an ironic twist of fate, it came down to Amber and her former Outback ally Jerri at that night's Tribal Council. Jerri was eliminated, with Lex staying true to his deal with Rob, and Amber was spared.
In the following episode, the merge occurred, and Lex was chosen to be eliminated, despite Rob's promise to "take care of him." In the episodes following, Rob and Amber managed to maintain several "alliances," including their agreement with Rupert and Jenna, an agreement with Tom Buchanan, and an agreement with Alicia Calaway. With all these castaways believing themselves to be safe, Rob and Amber proceeded through the game, eventually finding themselves in the final four with Jenna and Rupert.
In the final four, Amber won her first individual Immunity Challenge, and she and Rob convinced Jenna to vote out her ally Rupert instead of forcing a tie. In the final three, Rob won immunity and chose Amber to continue with him to the final two. Facing the Jury, Rob and Amber met much criticism for their gameplay.
In the season finale several months later, Rob and Amber revealed they were still dating, Amber even wore a yellow "I Love Rob" shirt (and was booed by the audience in the process) at the Finale/Reunion. Just before the votes were read, Rob surprisingly proposed to Amber and she accepted. It was revealed that, in a 4-3 decision, Amber was the Sole Survivor.
At the Survivor: America's Tribal Council special, Amber was one of ten females from the first eight seasons to be in the "Hottest Survivor Woman" category. Amber ended up winning.
Voting History
Episodes |
Amber Voted For |
Voted For Amber |
4 |
--- |
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9 |
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10 |
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11 |
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12 |
--- |
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13 |
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14 |
--- |
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15 |
Individual Immunity |
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15 |
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Survivor: Winners at War
Amber was brought back among the 20 winners for Survivor: Winners at War, as a member of the Dakal Tribe. Amber was immediately linked to Tyson and Kim, who were grouped because of her husband's connection to the two. There was also an alliance of Sandra, Tony and Sarah, who had played together, and a group of players who joined together because of their lack of relationships in the game: Nick, Wendell, Yul and Sophie. After losing Immunity, Tyson, Amber and Kim tried to get Sandra, Tony and Sarah to help them go after the people with no connections, but Sandra held a grudge against Boston Rob, so she joined with the no-connection alliance to vote out Amber, making her the second person who was sent to Edge of Extinction. Amber was on the Edge until the very end, being solidified as a member of the Jury as she was unsuccessful in getting back into the game at either of the Edge of Extinction challenges.
Voting History
Episode |
Amber Voted For |
Voted For Amber |
2 |
||
14 |
For Sole Survivor: Tony Vlachos |
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Trivia
- Amber is the first contestant from Pennsylvania.
- Amber was the youngest contestant in The Australian Outback.
- Amber is the first contestant to buy a "mystery item" at the Survivor Auction that was revealed to be a "trap item". She bought a pitcher of water from the Herbert River.
- In a pre-game interview for All-Stars, Amber considered Rob Cesternino and Richard Hatch the best players of the game at the time.
- Amber was the only person to remain on Chapera during the entire pre-merge.
- Amber is the only contestant to reach the merge in All Stars to never have been a member of Mogo Mogo.
- Amber received exactly six votes against her in both of her seasons.
- Amber is the first of two contestants to obtain a car without winning the car challenge (the second being Dreamz Herd).
- Amber is the first castaway to win a season with three starting tribes. She was followed by Denise Stapley in Survivor: Philippines, Tony Vlachos in Survivor: Cagayan, Mike Holloway in Survivor: Worlds Apart, Michele Fitzgerald in Survivor: Koah Rong, and Ben Driebergen in Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.
- Amber is the first returning player to win the game and the first of seven overall.
- She would later be followed by Parvati Shallow in Micronesia, Sandra Diaz-Twine in Heroes vs. Villains, Rob Mariano in Redemption Island, John Cochran in Caramoan, Tyson Apostal in Blood vs. Water, Jeremy Collins in Cambodia and Sarah Lacina in Game Changers.
- Amber is the first winner to win a season featuring all returnees.
- Amber is one of fifteen castaways, along with Rob Mariano, Keith Tollefson, John Palyok, Ethan Zohn, Richard Hatch, Hayden Moss, Whitney Duncan, Twila Tanner, Jenna Morasca, Jon Dalton, Natalie Anderson, Nadiya Anderson, Michael Jefferson, and Caleb Reynolds to compete on another reality show besides Survivor.
- According to his profile for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, husband Rob Mariano listed Amber as the previous Survivor castaway that he respects the most.
- In Survivor: Redemption Island, Amber was referenced by her husband numerous times. The most noteworthy mention was when Rob compared Matthew Elrod and Andrea Boehlke's relationship to his with Amber. Also, the namesake of that season's Merged Tribe was the name of one of Amber's stuffed animals.
- By returning in Winners at War 16 years and 32 seasons after their appearance in All-Stars, Amber and Ethan Zohn broke Kelly Wiglesworth's record for the longest period in between appearances on the show.
- In addition, Amber holds the record for longest period between her original and most recent appearance, with 38 seasons.
- In addition, Amber holds the record for longest period between her original and most recent appearance, with 38 seasons.
- Amber is the lowest placing juror in Survivor history.