Sandra Diaz-Twine
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Born: July 30, 1974
Hometown: Stamford, Connecticut Occupation: Office Assistant Seasons: Pearl Islands; Heroes vs. Villains; Game Changers; Winners at War Placing: Winner (Pearl Islands); Winner (Heroes vs. Villains); Fifteenth (Game Changers); Twentieth (Winners at War) Tribes: Drake; Balboa; Villains; Yin Yang; Mana; Nuku (v2); Dakal Total Challenge Wins: 22
Days Lasted: 110 Votes Against: 9 Awards: Social Butterfly (Heroes vs. Villains); Bamboozled (Heroes vs. Villains); How'd That Happen? (Heroes vs. Villains); Worst Strategic Move (Winners at War) |
Survivor: Pearl Islands
Sandra started out on the Drake Tribe. Early on, she proved herself an asset when her knowledge of the Spanish language helped her tribe get a huge advantage at the Panamanian village, where she helped secure a huge deal for her tribe in provisions and food. Although she was not a force in challenges, The Drake tribe dominated challenges early on. During this time, Sandra grew very annoyed with Jon Dalton (who called himself "Jonny Fairplay"). This conflict came to a head when he wanted her to sit out for being a weak swimmer. She countered by stating that she was on the shore well before him. Sandra was also the first person to loot opposing tribe, taking the Morgan tribe's tarp. Eventually, after finding the buried treasure, Burton Roberts proposed to throw a challenge to eliminate one of the weaker members. Despite doubts about the plan, the tribe went through with it. A twist was revealed that the winning tribe would kidnap one of the losing tribe's member. Morgan chose Rupert Boneham abstaining from the vote. The tribe voted out Burton for his failed plan. Unfortunately, Drake lost all remaining Immunity Challenges. Sandra's social status kept her safe as the tribe voted out Michelle Tesauro as she was blamed for an Immunity Challenge loss. When Sandra learned that Trish Dunn was attempting to blindside Rupert, Sandra redirected the vote toward Trish.
At the next challenges, everyone was shocked when The Outcasts, the game's first six eliminated contestants, returned for one final shot. The Outcasts won, sending both tribes to Tribal Council, where Sandra joined in voting out the increasingly volatile Shawn Cohen.
Ultimately, Burton returned to Drake and Lillian Morris returned to Morgan. The Drake tribe made amends with Burton. Because of this, Burton convinced the alienated Lill to aligned with the Drake tribe and vote out Andrew Savage, the former Morgan tribe leader and perceived biggest physical threat. Ryan Opray was quickly eliminated afterward. At the final eight, thinking that Darrah Johnson would be voted off, Sandra cast her vote for Jon. She was shocked when Rupert was voted off instead. Upon reaching the camp, Sandra stole the fish Rupert had caught earlier but accidentally spilled the very heavy bucket. Sandra was able to deflect suspicion off her, But her closest friend and ally Christa Hastie was blamed. Knowing that Christa would tell everyone, Sandra kept the fact that she was the real culprit to herself. At the loved one's challenge, Sandra was the only one to know that Jon was lying about his grandma's death. Unfortunately, Sandra's husband, Marcus was the first person out because of that. Sandra tried to convince Tijuana Bradley to betray Burton and Jon. However, the men regained the trust of the Drake women and voted out Tijuana. Unfortunately, the men flipped on Sandra, and Christa was ousted at the next opportunity.
At the final five, while on reward, Sandra formed an alliance with Darrah and Lillian. Neither Jon or Burton suspected a women's alliance, with Jon making Sandra swear on her kids her loyalty. She secretly said that she swears that she will screw him and Burton. When Darrah won her third straight immunity, the women turned to challenge threat Burton, over the antagonistic Jon. At the final four, Jon turned Lill and Darrah against each other. At the Immunity Challenge, all four castaways were vulnerable due to a twist that let the jury compete which they won. Sandra and Jon turned on Darrah for her challenge streak. At the Final Immunity Challenge, Sandra was the first out and Lillian ultimately won immunity. Sandra stated that she would be shocked if Lillian took her to the Final Tribal Council over Jon. However, Lillian was impressed by Sandra's willingly to provide for her family, and deemed her more deserving and chose her.
At the Final Tribal Council, some jurors addressed her gameplay, questioning whether she had worked for her position. Sandra answered the juror questions effectively and she noted that she was loyal to her alliances and worked hard. In the end, Sandra easily bested Lillian in a 6-1 vote, only losing Tijuana's vote.
At the next challenges, everyone was shocked when The Outcasts, the game's first six eliminated contestants, returned for one final shot. The Outcasts won, sending both tribes to Tribal Council, where Sandra joined in voting out the increasingly volatile Shawn Cohen.
Ultimately, Burton returned to Drake and Lillian Morris returned to Morgan. The Drake tribe made amends with Burton. Because of this, Burton convinced the alienated Lill to aligned with the Drake tribe and vote out Andrew Savage, the former Morgan tribe leader and perceived biggest physical threat. Ryan Opray was quickly eliminated afterward. At the final eight, thinking that Darrah Johnson would be voted off, Sandra cast her vote for Jon. She was shocked when Rupert was voted off instead. Upon reaching the camp, Sandra stole the fish Rupert had caught earlier but accidentally spilled the very heavy bucket. Sandra was able to deflect suspicion off her, But her closest friend and ally Christa Hastie was blamed. Knowing that Christa would tell everyone, Sandra kept the fact that she was the real culprit to herself. At the loved one's challenge, Sandra was the only one to know that Jon was lying about his grandma's death. Unfortunately, Sandra's husband, Marcus was the first person out because of that. Sandra tried to convince Tijuana Bradley to betray Burton and Jon. However, the men regained the trust of the Drake women and voted out Tijuana. Unfortunately, the men flipped on Sandra, and Christa was ousted at the next opportunity.
At the final five, while on reward, Sandra formed an alliance with Darrah and Lillian. Neither Jon or Burton suspected a women's alliance, with Jon making Sandra swear on her kids her loyalty. She secretly said that she swears that she will screw him and Burton. When Darrah won her third straight immunity, the women turned to challenge threat Burton, over the antagonistic Jon. At the final four, Jon turned Lill and Darrah against each other. At the Immunity Challenge, all four castaways were vulnerable due to a twist that let the jury compete which they won. Sandra and Jon turned on Darrah for her challenge streak. At the Final Immunity Challenge, Sandra was the first out and Lillian ultimately won immunity. Sandra stated that she would be shocked if Lillian took her to the Final Tribal Council over Jon. However, Lillian was impressed by Sandra's willingly to provide for her family, and deemed her more deserving and chose her.
At the Final Tribal Council, some jurors addressed her gameplay, questioning whether she had worked for her position. Sandra answered the juror questions effectively and she noted that she was loyal to her alliances and worked hard. In the end, Sandra easily bested Lillian in a 6-1 vote, only losing Tijuana's vote.
Voting History
Episode |
Value |
|
4 |
--- |
|
5 |
Michelle Tesauro |
--- |
6 |
Trish Dunn |
--- |
7 |
Shawn Cohen |
--- |
8 |
Andrew Savage |
--- |
9 |
Ryan Opray |
--- |
10 |
--- |
|
11 |
Tijuana Bradley |
--- |
12 |
Lillian Morris |
--- |
13 |
--- |
|
14 |
--- |
|
14 |
--- |
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
Sandra would start the game amongst the majority alliance with Rob Mariano, Courtney Yates, Jerri Manthey, Tyson Apostol and Coach Wade. Her main allies were Courtney and Rob. The plan to get rid of Russell Hantz, who was suspected of having a Hidden Immunity Idol, was to split the votes 3-3-3, with 3 of the alliance voting for Russell, 3 voting for Russell's ally Parvati Shallow, and expecting the rival of alliance of Russell, Pavarti, and Danielle DiLorenzo to all vote for either Rob or Tyson. This would flush out the idol, and allow one of the opposing alliance to be voted out on the revote. However, Tyson foolishly cast a 4th vote for Parvati, leading to his elimination when Russell unexpectedly played the idol for Parvati rather than on himself; Tyson was eliminated 3 votes to 2 for Russell.
After this, the majority alliance would crumble. Jerri and Coach would both switch over to Russell's alliance, and Rob was first voted out. When the Villains lost immunity on Day 21, Sandra lied to Russell, telling him that Coach was gunning for him; Russell bought the lie and Coach was voted out 4-3. The Villains did manage to win the Reward Challenge on Day 22, getting to eat at an Outback Steakhouse, during which Sandra made a remark that her husband was probably jealous of her since they both love Outback. On Day 24, Villains lost the Immunity Challenge and Courtney was voted out unanimously 5-1 with Sandra voting against her, leaving Sandra at the bottom of the Villains' alliance at the merge. With the numbers at 5 Heroes and 5 Villains at the merge, Sandra would be the one to warn J.T. Thomas, Jr. and the other Heroes about Russell lying about a proposed all girls' alliance, to not trust him, and that she was willing to flip and help them. She warned that the Villains had every intention of sticking together, and Russell had no plans to help them. Though Rupert was wondering if what Sandra said was true, J.T. and the other Heroes would refuse to believe this after J.T. gave Russell his Hidden Immunity Idol, which Russell would then pass on to Parvati, Parvati would play 2 idols for both Sandra and Jerri (negating all 5 of the Heroes' votes against Jerri), leaving J.T. to be voted out with all five of the Villains' votes.
Sandra would again attempt to switch to the Heroes' side, but would be thwarted by Candice Woodcock flipping to the Villains' side. Sandra would make one last attempt to help the Heroes, but her good friend Rupert Boneham would instead try to work with Russell, and told of Sandra's plan to Russell, leaving Sandra no choice but to vote him out. After already having tried to vote Rupert out at the previous Tribal Council, Sandra, sensing danger, would play her Hidden Immunity Idol for safety, negating 2 votes against her, but Rupert would have been voted out 4-2 regardless.
Sandra would mostly fly under the radar in the late stages, but would benefit from Russell orchestrating blindsides of both Candice and Danielle. The remaining Heroes would also be eliminated leaving a final 4 of Jerri, Russell, Pavarti, and Sandra. The others, seemingly unaware of the large jury threat Sandra posed, did not target her. Russell wanting Jerri to be voted out, and Jerri targeting Pavarti. Pavarti had said she wanted Sandra voted out, believing she was the biggest jury threat, but after Russell won the Final Immunity Challenge, Pavarti was forced to go along with the others in voting Jerri out.
At the Final Tribal Council, Russell received negative comments from the Jury, rendering him a non-factor. Parvati would try to own up to her game, but would be criticized for aligning too closely with Russell, and also for not making enough of an attempt to socialize or even talk strategies with anyone of the Heroes. She was also criticized for, at times, outright mocking the Heroes and belittling their attempts to get into the game, in particular mocking J.T.'s letter. Sandra played up that she had wanted Russell out since Day 1, that she had interacted well with both sides and many times tried to help the Heroes, and her ability to get to the end despite losing her core allies early, and being at the bottom of the Villains alliance. Parvati attempted to point out Sandra's poor performance in challenges, and lack of any big strategic moves. The jury awarded Sandra with her historic second Sole Survivor title with 6 votes to 3 for Parvati and 0 for Russell. All 5 Heroes jury members, along with close friend Courtney, would award Sandra their votes.
After this, the majority alliance would crumble. Jerri and Coach would both switch over to Russell's alliance, and Rob was first voted out. When the Villains lost immunity on Day 21, Sandra lied to Russell, telling him that Coach was gunning for him; Russell bought the lie and Coach was voted out 4-3. The Villains did manage to win the Reward Challenge on Day 22, getting to eat at an Outback Steakhouse, during which Sandra made a remark that her husband was probably jealous of her since they both love Outback. On Day 24, Villains lost the Immunity Challenge and Courtney was voted out unanimously 5-1 with Sandra voting against her, leaving Sandra at the bottom of the Villains' alliance at the merge. With the numbers at 5 Heroes and 5 Villains at the merge, Sandra would be the one to warn J.T. Thomas, Jr. and the other Heroes about Russell lying about a proposed all girls' alliance, to not trust him, and that she was willing to flip and help them. She warned that the Villains had every intention of sticking together, and Russell had no plans to help them. Though Rupert was wondering if what Sandra said was true, J.T. and the other Heroes would refuse to believe this after J.T. gave Russell his Hidden Immunity Idol, which Russell would then pass on to Parvati, Parvati would play 2 idols for both Sandra and Jerri (negating all 5 of the Heroes' votes against Jerri), leaving J.T. to be voted out with all five of the Villains' votes.
Sandra would again attempt to switch to the Heroes' side, but would be thwarted by Candice Woodcock flipping to the Villains' side. Sandra would make one last attempt to help the Heroes, but her good friend Rupert Boneham would instead try to work with Russell, and told of Sandra's plan to Russell, leaving Sandra no choice but to vote him out. After already having tried to vote Rupert out at the previous Tribal Council, Sandra, sensing danger, would play her Hidden Immunity Idol for safety, negating 2 votes against her, but Rupert would have been voted out 4-2 regardless.
Sandra would mostly fly under the radar in the late stages, but would benefit from Russell orchestrating blindsides of both Candice and Danielle. The remaining Heroes would also be eliminated leaving a final 4 of Jerri, Russell, Pavarti, and Sandra. The others, seemingly unaware of the large jury threat Sandra posed, did not target her. Russell wanting Jerri to be voted out, and Jerri targeting Pavarti. Pavarti had said she wanted Sandra voted out, believing she was the biggest jury threat, but after Russell won the Final Immunity Challenge, Pavarti was forced to go along with the others in voting Jerri out.
At the Final Tribal Council, Russell received negative comments from the Jury, rendering him a non-factor. Parvati would try to own up to her game, but would be criticized for aligning too closely with Russell, and also for not making enough of an attempt to socialize or even talk strategies with anyone of the Heroes. She was also criticized for, at times, outright mocking the Heroes and belittling their attempts to get into the game, in particular mocking J.T.'s letter. Sandra played up that she had wanted Russell out since Day 1, that she had interacted well with both sides and many times tried to help the Heroes, and her ability to get to the end despite losing her core allies early, and being at the bottom of the Villains alliance. Parvati attempted to point out Sandra's poor performance in challenges, and lack of any big strategic moves. The jury awarded Sandra with her historic second Sole Survivor title with 6 votes to 3 for Parvati and 0 for Russell. All 5 Heroes jury members, along with close friend Courtney, would award Sandra their votes.
Voting History
Episode |
Sandra Voted For |
Voted For Sandra |
3 |
--- |
|
6 |
--- |
|
7 |
--- |
|
8 |
--- |
|
9 |
--- |
|
10 |
J.T. Thomas, Jr. |
Hidden Immunity Idol |
11 |
--- |
|
12 |
--- |
|
12 |
--- |
|
13 |
||
14 |
||
14 |
--- |
|
14 |
--- |
Jury Vote: Amanda Kimmel, Candice Woodcock, Colby Donaldson, Courtney Yates, J.T. Thomas, Jr., Rupert Boneham |
Survivor: Game Changers
Sandra entered Survivor: Game Changers as one of three former winners. She had an especially big target on her back since she had won twice prior. She was initially placed on the Mana tribe. After Mana lost the first Immunity Challenge on Day 3, the tribe made an easy vote and decided to unanimously vote Ciera Eastin out for playing too hard too early. The next day, Sandra made an alliance with fellow former winner Tony Vlachos on the basis that they were both major threats, with the duo planning to link up with J.T. Thomas, Jr., the third winner in the season, should they ever meet on the same tribe. Sandra and Tony pulled in Aubry Bracco, Caleb Reynolds, and Malcolm Freberg, and thus the alliance of five controlled the nine-person Mana tribe. However, on Night 5, Tony caught Sandra talking with Troyzan Robertson in the middle of the night. Even though Sandra had not reneged on the alliance, Tony misinterpreted the conversation and confronted her. This resulted in Sandra and Tony turning against each other - Tony for seeing Sandra as too major a threat, and Sandra for not wanting to be controlled by another person. Mana narrowly lost their second challenge on Day 6. Sandra gathered her troops; she spoke to those who were on the outs of the alliance of big threats, namely Troyzan, Hali Ford, Jeff Varner, and Michaela Bradshaw, wanting them to vote with her to take out Tony. At Tribal Council, Sandra voted against Aubry in the event that Tony played a Hidden Immunity Idol while the rest of the tribe voted in her favor and sent Tony packing.
Day 7 brought a Tribal Switch, with Sandra being sent to the Nuku tribe with her former Mana tribemates Aubry, Jeff, Malcolm, and Michaela, leaving J.T., the sole original Nuku, on the outs. Nuku won the third Immunity Challenge, and later the first Reward Challenge. During this time, J.T. plotted with Malcolm to take Sandra out of the competition behind her back. At the Immunity Challenge on Day 11, host Jeff Probst revealed that only one tribe would win immunity and that the two tribes who lost the challenge would be sent to a Joint Tribal Council, where they would collectively vote one person out. Nuku had an early lead but the tribe would narrowly lose the challenge to the Tavua tribe, sending to Tribal Council with Mana. That afternoon, J.T. continued plotting against Sandra, mainly with his new ally Malcolm. However, the rest of the tribe planned to vote together. They planned to vote against Mana's Sierra Dawn-Thomas for being their strongest female competitor. At a chaotic Tribal Council, J.T. revealed to his original Nuku tribemates on Mana that Sierra was Nuku's target, and hoped to get the Mana tribe to blindside Sandra. In the end, Nuku continued with their original plan, piling their votes onto Sierra. Unfortunately, Tai Trang played his idol on Sierra, negating the six votes cast against her. Malcolm was taken out, much to the chagrin of the Nuku tribe.
Malcolm's untimely blindside infuriated Sandra, who, after the Tribal Council, confronted J.T. Sandra planned to get J.T. out for his "dirty deed" should Nuku lose the next Immunity Challenge. After Nuku won the challenge, Sandra played on the brewing feud between J.T. and Michaela, escalating the tension by consuming the tribe's sugar and putting the blame on Michaela. Nuku went on to lose the Immunity Challenge, with Sandra seizing the opportunity to exact revenge on J.T. At Tribal Council, J.T. and Michaela's feud reached a fever pitch. Sandra took advantage of this to secure Michaela's vote. She pulled the wool over Aubry and J.T., and with Jeff's vote, J.T. was sent home with an idol in his pocket.
A second Tribe Switch occurred on Day 14, placing Sandra on the third revision of the Nuku tribe. She was relegated to the bottom with Jeff, as the original Nuku members who were sent to Tavua in the first switch held the majority. The Tavua Alliance planned to get Sandra out for being a two-time winner. Sandra's fate was sealed when Nuku lost the next Immunity Challenge. However, she saw through the majority's lie that she was safe over Tai and tried to gather votes against him by telling Andrea Boehlke, Ozzy Lusth and Sarah Lacina that she would vote with them come the Merge. At Tribal Council, Tai whispered to Sandra, telling her to vote against Ozzy. Sandra made a last-ditch attempt to gather votes against Ozzy or against Tai for his perceived duplicity, but this was all for naught. Sandra was voted out in a 5-2 vote. However, she received a positive ovation from her tribemates when leaving and also emerged as the highest-placing former winner in the season.
Day 7 brought a Tribal Switch, with Sandra being sent to the Nuku tribe with her former Mana tribemates Aubry, Jeff, Malcolm, and Michaela, leaving J.T., the sole original Nuku, on the outs. Nuku won the third Immunity Challenge, and later the first Reward Challenge. During this time, J.T. plotted with Malcolm to take Sandra out of the competition behind her back. At the Immunity Challenge on Day 11, host Jeff Probst revealed that only one tribe would win immunity and that the two tribes who lost the challenge would be sent to a Joint Tribal Council, where they would collectively vote one person out. Nuku had an early lead but the tribe would narrowly lose the challenge to the Tavua tribe, sending to Tribal Council with Mana. That afternoon, J.T. continued plotting against Sandra, mainly with his new ally Malcolm. However, the rest of the tribe planned to vote together. They planned to vote against Mana's Sierra Dawn-Thomas for being their strongest female competitor. At a chaotic Tribal Council, J.T. revealed to his original Nuku tribemates on Mana that Sierra was Nuku's target, and hoped to get the Mana tribe to blindside Sandra. In the end, Nuku continued with their original plan, piling their votes onto Sierra. Unfortunately, Tai Trang played his idol on Sierra, negating the six votes cast against her. Malcolm was taken out, much to the chagrin of the Nuku tribe.
Malcolm's untimely blindside infuriated Sandra, who, after the Tribal Council, confronted J.T. Sandra planned to get J.T. out for his "dirty deed" should Nuku lose the next Immunity Challenge. After Nuku won the challenge, Sandra played on the brewing feud between J.T. and Michaela, escalating the tension by consuming the tribe's sugar and putting the blame on Michaela. Nuku went on to lose the Immunity Challenge, with Sandra seizing the opportunity to exact revenge on J.T. At Tribal Council, J.T. and Michaela's feud reached a fever pitch. Sandra took advantage of this to secure Michaela's vote. She pulled the wool over Aubry and J.T., and with Jeff's vote, J.T. was sent home with an idol in his pocket.
A second Tribe Switch occurred on Day 14, placing Sandra on the third revision of the Nuku tribe. She was relegated to the bottom with Jeff, as the original Nuku members who were sent to Tavua in the first switch held the majority. The Tavua Alliance planned to get Sandra out for being a two-time winner. Sandra's fate was sealed when Nuku lost the next Immunity Challenge. However, she saw through the majority's lie that she was safe over Tai and tried to gather votes against him by telling Andrea Boehlke, Ozzy Lusth and Sarah Lacina that she would vote with them come the Merge. At Tribal Council, Tai whispered to Sandra, telling her to vote against Ozzy. Sandra made a last-ditch attempt to gather votes against Ozzy or against Tai for his perceived duplicity, but this was all for naught. Sandra was voted out in a 5-2 vote. However, she received a positive ovation from her tribemates when leaving and also emerged as the highest-placing former winner in the season.
Voting History
Episode |
Sandra Voted For |
Voted For Sandra |
1 |
--- |
|
1 |
--- |
|
3 |
--- |
|
4 |
--- |
|
5 |
Survivor: Winners at War
At the beginning, Sandra formed an alliance with her old enemy, Tony and his close ally Sarah, along with Yul, Wendell, Nick and Sophie. This left Tyson, Amber and Kim on the outs. Sandra was also sold a Hidden Immunity Idol for one Fire Token and it was good for her next three Tribal Councils. Sandra was angry at Boston Rob (who was on the other Tribe), because they spent 39 days together as "Idols" on Survivor: Island of the Idols, and he never told her he was playing again. Because of this, Sandra wanted his wife, Amber out first. After losing Immunity the first time, the plan went in order as Amber was eliminated.
Sandra wanted Tyson out next, but after losing Immunity, Tony started wondering about if Tyson made an effective shield for them, thinking that if they voted Tyson out, then they'd all be next. Sandra thought that it was a good point and briefly considered joining them to vote out Nick. However, Sandra decided to stick to her guns and Tyson was voted out.
The Tribes then swapped and Sandra wound up in the majority, with Tony and Kim of her old Tribe being joined by Denise and Jeremy from the other. After losing Immunity, Tyson and Kim were down to vote out Denise. However, Sandra didn't want Denise to go, so she gave her her Hidden Immunity Idol, as it was only good for one more Tribal, telling Denise to vote out anyone she wants except herself or Kim. However, at Tribal, Denise played Sandra's Idol for herself and then played her own Idol for Jeremy, meaning that Denise's one vote was the deciding vote and Sandra was voted out and sent to Edge of Extinction. Once Sandra got to Edge of Extinction, she immediately decided to raise the white flag and officially leave the game.
Sandra wanted Tyson out next, but after losing Immunity, Tony started wondering about if Tyson made an effective shield for them, thinking that if they voted Tyson out, then they'd all be next. Sandra thought that it was a good point and briefly considered joining them to vote out Nick. However, Sandra decided to stick to her guns and Tyson was voted out.
The Tribes then swapped and Sandra wound up in the majority, with Tony and Kim of her old Tribe being joined by Denise and Jeremy from the other. After losing Immunity, Tyson and Kim were down to vote out Denise. However, Sandra didn't want Denise to go, so she gave her her Hidden Immunity Idol, as it was only good for one more Tribal, telling Denise to vote out anyone she wants except herself or Kim. However, at Tribal, Denise played Sandra's Idol for herself and then played her own Idol for Jeremy, meaning that Denise's one vote was the deciding vote and Sandra was voted out and sent to Edge of Extinction. Once Sandra got to Edge of Extinction, she immediately decided to raise the white flag and officially leave the game.
Voting History
Episode |
Sandra Voted For |
Voted For Sandra |
1 |
--- |
|
4 |
--- |
|
6 |
Trivia
- Sandra was Survivor's first two-time winner.
- Sandra is one of nine Sole Survivors (along with Tina Wesson, Yul Kwon, Earl Cole, Todd Herzog, Natalie White, Tony Vlachos, Sarah Lacina, Ben Driebergen and Tommy Sheehan) to win Survivor without winning individual immunity.
- In "Flames and Endurance", the finale of Survivor: Pearl Islands, Jeff Probst refers to her as "the lippiest mother we've ever had on the show."
- Sandra was the first Hispanic castaway to make it to Final Tribal Council and is currently the only Hispanic winner.
- Sandra is the only castaway from Pearl Islands to never receive a vote against her.
- Sandra was the first Sole Survivor to not win any individual challenge even indirectly, as Tina Wesson's family won the Loved Ones Challenge in Survivor: The Australian Outback for her.
- Sandra was invited back for Survivor: All Stars but declined because she was still recovering from the parasites she got from Survivor: Pearl Islands.
- Sandra and Parvati Shallow are the only former winners to make it to the end twice.
- Sandra is the first female contestant to play a Hidden Immunity Idol during a season and go on to win that season.
- Sandra is one of four Survivor contestants (the others being Parvati Shallow, Amanda Kimmel, and Russel Hantz) to play at least 3 times and only be voted out once.
- In Sandra's voting confessionals in all of her seasons, she always ended her confessional by saying "Adios."
- Both times Sandra reached the Final Tribal Council, she received six votes to win.
- Sandra was the highest-placing previous winner in Survivor: Game Changers, outlasting both Tony Vlachos and JT Thomas.
- Sandra is the only castaway to be the highest-placing previous winner in two different seasons.
- Sandra is the only castaway to be the highest-placing previous winner in two different seasons.
- Sandra is the oldest woman on the original Dakal tribe.
- Sandra is the first castaway to purchase an item with a Fire Token.
- Sandra, J.T., Russell, and Kim Spradlin-Wolfe are the only castaways to attend both a Double Tribal Council and a Joint Tribal Council.
- Both times Sandra was voted out, she was voted out of Day 16.
- Sandra lasted the shortest amount of time on the Edge of Extinction.
- Sandra is the second person to win the title of Sole Survivor and then later finish in last place in a future season, following Tina Wesson.