Rupert Boneham

Rupert Boneham is a contestant from ', ',  and.

With his trademark long beard, tie-dyed shirt, and signature victory cry, Boneham is considered by fans to be one of the show's most popular castaways. He is also the only contestant to win $1,000,000 via public vote.

Profile
Born in Detroit, Rupert Boneham moved with his parents at a young age to Indiana where he eventually attended Haworth High School in Kokomo. He then moved to Texas to study nursing at Cisco Junior College and San Angelo University. Boneham currently resides in Indianapolis, where he works as a vocational and clinical mentor for troubled teens. He previously worked as a gravedigger and a bartender. His hobbies include scuba diving, camping and coin collecting. His favorite sport is racquetball. He describes himself as strong, smart and brave. He is most proud of becoming independent/self-employed and being able to care for his family while not having to live the "Nine-To-Five" world. He believes his competitive advantages on SURVIVOR: PEARL ISLANDS are his ability to be a team player, hunter and gatherer, camper and all-around survivor. Boneham is married to his wife, Laura, and they have one daughter, Raya.

Survivor: Pearl Islands
Regarded as the likeable pirate, Rupert began his time on Survivor as part of the Drake Tribe. Upon arrival at the local fishing village to obtain supplies for their time at camp, he noticed that the rival Morgan tribe had left their raft, which contained their shoes, unattended.

"drake"

- Everything that was in their raft, I took. I've always said I'll lie, cheat, and steal to win this game. There's my stealing. I stole for the Drake.

Using these items to help boost their chances in securing more goods, Drake benefited from a more luxurious camp. After enjoying much success with their continuous victories, Boneham became the target of Burton Roberts and Jonny Fairplay after he fashioned a makeshift sarong, much to their enjoyment. Despite all this, Rupert became the resident fisherman, which kept him in good steed with the rest of his team he was never put up for the chopping block.

During the events of Pick a Castaway... Any Castaway, Boneham was kidnapped by Morgan and joined his rivals at their camp. Surprised by his work ethic, Morgan briefly flourished and came together with Rupert as the catalyst - although when he was offered the opportunity to switch tribes he rejected the proposal and became a member of Drake once again. Although he did not obtain Tribal Immunity with his original side, Rupert remained in a solid position, but after the elimination of Trish Dunn, he was upset to learn that Fairplay had voted against him, and confronted the art dealer at camp.

"drake"

- You're starting this s***!

After the outburst, Boneham apologized for his actions and stated that the team will be stronger after these events. When The Outcasts returned to compete in a challenge to win the opportunity to return, Drake lost, with Boneham and his alliance voting out Shawn Cohen, and then having Burton return back to camp shortly afterwards.

Upon merging the next day, Rupert opted to name the tribe Balboa after a small pet snake which everybody accepted. Due to Lillian Morris originally becoming outcasted by the Morgan tribe, led by Andrew Savage, she became the crucial swing vote in destroying the Morgan voting bloc. He enjoyed the next six days under the protection of Individual Immunity, but it was short-lived, as Rupert was deemed too likeable and blindsided by the former Outcasts, the remaining Morgan women, and Fairplay, finishing as the second member of the Jury.

Rupert voted for his friend and ally Sandra Diaz-Twine to win.

Survivor: All-Stars
Rupert returned as an All-Star in Survivor: All-Stars. He was placed on the yellow Saboga tribe. Early on Rupert made a strong alliance with Rudy Boesch, seeing him as a father figure. Both of them joined Jenna Lewis's alliance to get rid of the past winners Tina Wesson and Ethan Zohn. At the first Tribal Council on Day 3 their alliance successfully eliminated Tina.

Saboga continued losing, attending the second Tribal Council. Although the original plan was to eliminate Ethan, the alliance targeted Rudy for his weakness and injured foot. Rupert pleaded to the alliance to vote out Ethan, refusing to vote for Rudy. Unfortunately for Rupert, the rest of the alliance and Ethan decided Rudy was too much of a burden and he was blindsided in a 3-2 vote.

Luckily for Rupert Saboga remained safe when Mogo Mogo member Jenna Morasca quit the game on Day  9. On Day 12 Saboga finally won immunity keeping Rupert safe for another three days. After the Day 13 reward challenge Saboga was dissolved. Rupert and Jenna were sent to Chapera Jerri Manthey and Ethan joined Mogo Mogo. Rupert and Jenna quickly joined Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich's alliance.

While on Chapera Rupert did not have to visit Tribal Council, only losing a member on Day 17 when Susan Hawk quit. Rupert enjoyed safety throughout the pre-merge stage of the game. On Day 23 the tribes expected a merge but were shocked when Jeff revealed  there was going to be a Tribe switch. Rupert along with the other members of  the Chapera tribe were all switched to Mogo Mogo.

After the two tribes merged into Chaboga Mogo Rupert stuck with Rob's alliance and eliminated Lex van den Berghe and Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien in the first two Tribal Council's. On the Day 30, after the intended target Shii Ann Huang won immunity Rob convinced his alliance to vote out Alicia Calaway. When Shii Ann failed to win immunity Rupert voted with his alliance and eliminated her.

At the final 5 Tom Buchanan became the swing vote between Rupert and Jenna's alliance and Rob and Amber's alliance. Not wanting to force a tie Rupert and the other three blindsided Tom. When Amber won the final four immunity challenge Rob and Amber aimed to vote out Rupert, while Rupert aimed to oust Rob. Jenna decided to betray her original alliance with Rupert and he was sent home in a 3-1 vote. At the Final Tribal Council Rupert respected Rob's game play more than Amber's so he cast his jury vote for Rob to win the million.

Survivor: America's Tribal Council
At the finale of Survivor: All Stars, viewers were given the opportunity in a contest called "America Votes", to select one of the eighteen contestants to win one million dollars. The finalists were Rupert Boneham, Colby Donaldson, Tom Buchanan, and Rob Mariano. Rupert won the million dollars, receiving 85% of the 38 million votes cast. He spent his prize money on his family's debts, a college fund for his daughter, a new house for his family, and the creation of his charity, Rupert's Kids, which mentors troubled children.

Post-Survivor
After being awarded one million dollars on Survivor: America's Tribal Council, Boneham used a large percentage of his winnings to establish Rupert's Kids, to help "at-risk teens" in his hometown. The organization joined with the City of Indianapolis to create the Park Adoption Program.

Shortly after his Survivor appearances, Boneham briefly appeared at promotional appearances for the Hardee's restaurant chain. In 2004 he appeared as a stable hand named Paul in "The Big My Little Pony Episode", the third season premiere of the TV series Half & Half. In 2006, he appeared in the independent movie Open Mic'rs. He also made a cameo appearance as a homeless man in The Radford Reshuffle, the sixth season premiere of the show Yes, Dear.

In 2009, Rupert appeared in the Isreali version of Survivor, Survivor 10: Philippine Islands, as part of a reward challenge.

In 2011, Rupert developed a casino game called "Rupert's Island Draw", which was featured at Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas.

In 2012, Rupert ran for Governor of Indiana as a Libertarian, but lost to Republican candidate Mike Pence, receiving 4% of the vote.

Trivia

 * Rupert is the first and only contestant to be a member of the Jury in three different seasons.
 * Rupert was the only male contestant from the Saboga tribe to make the merge in Survivor: All-Stars.
 * Rupert is tied with Rob Mariano for highest number of tribe affiliations with nine
 * On Survivor: All-Stars, Rupert was part of every single tribe. Starting on the Saboga tribe, he was placed on the Chapera tribe when Saboga was dissolved. Later in the game, he was placed on the Mogo Mogo tribe as part of a tribe switch. He made the merge and was a member of Chaboga Mogo. During this entire time, Jenna Lewis was on the same tribe as Rupert.
 * Rupert lived with every tribe in Survivor: Pearl Islands. Starting on the Drake tribe, he was kidnapped by the Morgan tribe in episode 4 and he merged into the Balboa tribe.
 * Rupert went the longest time without visiting Tribal Council in Pearl Islands. He, along with the rest of the Drake tribe, was immune from the first three Tribal Councils, which were all attended by the Morgan tribe, then when Drake attended their first Tribal Council, Rupert was kidnapped by the Morgan tribe, meaning he did not attend that Tribal Council.
 * Rupert is the first contestant to compete in back-to-back seasons. He is one of seven players to appear on two back to back seasons (the others are Bobby Jon Drinkard, Stephenie LaGrossa, Amanda Kimmel, James Clement, Russell Hantz, and Malcolm Freberg).
 * Rupert is one of five contestants to make the merge three times (the others are Ozzy Lusth, Parvati Shallow, Amanda Kimmel, and Rob Mariano).
 * These five contestants are the only ones to have played 100 or more days.
 * Rupert is one of three players (along with Russell Hantz and Malcolm Freberg) to play multiple times in the same location as their original season.
 * Rupert is one of two players (along with Jerri Manthey) to compete three times and not participate in a Survivor Auction.
 * Rupert is the first contestant to never make the Final Tribal Council, yet still achieve the feat of playing for at least 100 days.
 * Rupert was on a blue tribe at one point in all three of his seasons.
 * Rupert has won the most money out of the winners of the Fan Favorite Award, with $1,000,000. Subsequent fan favorite winners Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth won a car. Starting with Survivor: China, all fan favorites earn $100,000.
 * Rupert is the first contestant from the state of Indiana.
 * Rupert is so far the only player to vote for the same person in two different Final Tribal Councils. In both and, he voted for Sandra Diaz-Twine to win.
 * Rupert and Jenna Lewis hold the record for most days without attending Tribal Council. In Survivor: All-Stars, they attended the first two Tribal Councils (on Days 3 and 6), and from Day 7 until the merge they didn't lose a single immunity challenge. The next time they went to Tribal Council was Day 27, which means they didn't attend it for a record 21 days.
 * The previous record was 15 days, achieved by Rupert in Pearl Islands and five members of the Rotu tribe in Marquesas.
 * Rupert is the first contestant to be kidnapped by another tribe.
 * Rupert is one of four people to compete in both All-Stars and Heroes vs Villains. The others are Colby Donaldson, Jerri Manthey, and Rob Mariano.
 * Rupert along with Jenna Lewis are the only people to be on four different tribes on one season.
 * Rupert was the lowest ranking contestant from Pearl islands to return.
 * Rupert is the second player to appear in four seasons following Rob Mariano.
 * Rupert is the oldest male on .