Elyse Umemoto

Elyse Umemoto was a contestant on Survivor: South Pacific.

Profile
CBS Profile

Name (Age): Elyse Umemoto (27) Tribe Designation: Savaii Current Residence: Las Vegas Occupation: Dance Team Manager Personal claim to fame: I was the second runner-up to Miss America and I raised my three younger sisters. Inspiration in life: My Grandma, Viola. God rest her beautiful soul. She taught me three of the most important things I’ll ever learn: how to read, how to pray and how to appreciate music. Hobbies: Baking cupcakes, amassing useless trivia and quotes and reading memoirs. Pet peeves: Professional athletes with bad attitudes, wet laundry that doesn’t get moved to the dryer immediately, pretty girls wearing ugly shoes and people who drink decaf. 3 words to describe you: Enchanting, indomitable and spunky! SURVIVOR contestant you are most like: Brenda from Nicaragua and Parvati. They know what they want and how to get it. They truly understand the social game. Reason for being on SURVIVOR: I thrive on challenge and the rush of competition. I always push the envelope and my limits. There’s no better avenue to do this than “Survivor.” Why you think you’ll “survive” SURVIVOR: I’m engaging, personable and a master at reading people. I’m controversial in many ways and I embrace that I’m a “character.” I’m naturally athletic and can seamlessly blend into a group. I radiate confidence and always compete to win. Why you think you will be the sole SURVIVOR: It’s not just my character traits that make me a winner. It’s literally in my blood to survive. My Japanese grandfather spent his childhood in an internment camp. My German grandmother’s family has strong, long-standing ties with the government and fled immediately before the war. My Native American grandfather was the son of a deaf mute who learned English as a second language on the reservation by age 9. I have a passion for competition and I am the product of generations of TRUE survivors- their strength and resilience are a natural part of who I am.

Survivor: South Pacific
During the opening moments of the game, Elyse felt confident about being able to do well in the game, thinking and hoping that her Native American ancestors will guide her to help her survive the harsh environment. After losing the first Immunity Challenge, Elyse joined the rest of the tribe in eliminating the person who was perceived to performed the worst at the challenge, Semhar Tadesse.

Being one of the physically able of the, tribe Elyse was invited by Survivor veteran Ozzy Lusth to the majority Savaii alliance along Keith Tollefson, Jim Rice, Whitney Duncan. Jim proposed to Ozzy a "3+2" plot—that once their pact successfully eliminated the rest of the competition, the three males would subsequently eliminate the two women. However, any strategizing was put on hold, as Savaii won the second Immunity Challenge.

After Savaii lost at the third Immunity Challenge, the majority alliance were torn between three of the perceived weaklings, John Cochran, Dawn Meehan and Mark Caruso. That afternoon, Elyse caught Caruso sprinting thorugh the woods, suspecting that he was searching out for a Hidden Immunity Idol (unknown to the tribe, Ozzy already had it). Elyse and the rest of the alliance saw through his bluff, sending the retired police officer packing. Elyse and the rest of Savaii went on winning the subsequent Immunity Challenge.

Since Semhar's elimination from the tribe, Jim noticed Elyse's closeness to Ozzy, making him plot with the remaining outsiders Dawn and Cochran. After losing the fifth Immunity Challenge, Jim furthered his plan by telling Keith and Whitney about their plan to get more votes, perplexing the two, for they will lose Ozzy's trust. At Tribal Council, Ozzy and Elyse went on with their original plan of eliminating Cochran, while Keith and Whitney threw their votes at Dawn to not step on Ozzy's toes. Jim's plan went into fruition, sending an unsuspecting Elyse to Redemption Island in a 3-2-2 vote. Elyse was permanently eliminated from the competition after losing the duel to Christine Shields Markoski. She finally left on Day 15.

Trivia

 * Elyse was Miss Washington 2007 and the 2nd Runner-up at Miss America 2008.
 * Elyse is part American Indian (Yakama), German, Japanese and Latina.
 * Elyse is one of 8 contestants to be voted out by a relative majority (less than 50% of the votes). The others are: Gretchen Cordy, Bobby Mason, Brendan Synnott, Jill Behm, Francesca Hogi, Christine Shields Markoski and Leif Manson.