Tina Wesson

Tina Marie Wesson is the Sole Survivor of. She later competed on and.

She is remembered most for being the first female Sole Survivor, having achieved the title by playing under-the-radar and as a motherly figure at camp.

Profile
Retrieved from CBS.com

The Australian Outback
Tina Wesson currently works as a private duty C.N.A. nurse while also working as a full-time mom. Formerly, she worked as a community education director, flight attendant, substitute teacher and a swimming instructor. Wesson obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in therapeutic recreation from the University of Tennessee in 1983.

An avid athlete, she is most proud of having completed the Dublin, Ireland Marathon, placed first in the Tennessee State Racquetball Tournament and placed first in her age division in her hometown mini-triathlon, all in the same year (1998). Her quest in life continues to be to "live the life less ordinary."

Wesson describes herself as happy, content, adventurous, outgoing, and very much in love. Her favorite hobbies are racquetball, paddleball, running, swimming, and motorcycling. Her favorite television show is Rosie, while her favorite feature films are Out of Africa and Shadowlands. She prefers classic, contemporary Christian, and pop rock music, citing Match Box 20 as her favorite band.

While rooting for the University of Tennessee Volunteers, she's always game for a round of Balderdash. Her perfect day consists of eating a good breakfast followed by a ride on her motorcycle to the mountains with her husband and her best friend. After a hike, she'd play racquetball, take a shower, have dinner, see a movie while eating a big bag of popcorn and then head home to bed. She's an early riser.

Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Wesson currently resides there with her husband, Dale, and her two children, Katie and Taylor. She is a member of the Outstanding Young Women of America and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Her birth date is December 26.

All-Stars
Since being declared Sole Survivor of SURVIVOR: THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, Tina Wesson has been working as a motivational speaker, which has enabled her to travel around the country encouraging people to do whatever it takes in order to live a fulfilling life. She takes her motto, "It is a mistake to not live all you can!," very seriously. She previously worked as a private duty nurse, a community education director, flight attendant, substitute teacher and a swimming instructor. Tina obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in therapeutic recreation from the University of Tennessee in 1983. An avid athlete, she is most proud of having completed the Dublin, Ireland Marathon, as well as placing first in the Tennessee State Racquetball Tournament and in her age division in her hometown mini-triathlon, all in the same year (1998).

Tina describes herself as happy, content, adventurous, outgoing and very much in love. Her favorite hobbies are racquetball, paddleball, running, swimming and motorcycling. Her favorite television show is SURVIVOR, while her favorite feature films are "Out of Africa" and "Shadowlands." She prefers contemporary Christian and pop rock music, citing Matchbox 20 and John Mayer as her favorite artists. While rooting for the University of Tennessee Volunteers and the Tennessee Titans, she's always game for a round of backgammon. Her perfect day consists of eating a good breakfast followed by a ride on her motorcycle to the mountains with her husband and her best friend. After a hike, she'd play racquetball, take a shower, have dinner, see a movie while eating a big bag of popcorn and then head home to bed. She's an early riser.

Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tina currently lives there with her husband, Dale, and her two children, Katie, 16 and Taylor, 15. She is a member of the Outstanding Young Women of America and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Her birth date is December 26, 1961.

Blood vs. Water
Name (Age): Tina Wesson (52)

Tribe Designation:

Relationship to Significant Castaway: Katie's Mother

Previous Season: Survivor: Australia – winner; Survivor: All-Stars – 1st out

Current Residence: Robbinsville, N.C.

Occupation: Motivational Speaker

'''Why Did You Want to Return to Survivor and Play with Your Loved One? 'Survivor'' gets in your blood. It is a thrill and an honor and a quest to get to play! Then to be able to share the experience with my daughter who happens to also be my best friend, what a gift!

Survivor: The Australian Outback
As part of the Ogakor tribe, Wesson was not targeted in the beginning of the game, seeming to mesh well with all the contestants and was not seen as a physical liability, despite losing the Day 6 Immunity Challenge for Ogakor.

Wesson proved to be a strategic player when she managed to convince allies Keith Famie and Colby Donaldson to force a tie between Mitchell Olson (who was aligned with Amber Brkich and Jerri Manthey) and Famie, whereby Olson would be voted off due to his previous vote at the Day 12 Tribal Council. She eventually made it to the merge, where her strategic prowess was believed to be the reason of the ex-Ogakors subsequent success over the ex-Kuchas by systematically eliminating them, while having a perfect timing to eliminate two of their own at the same time, in that case, Jerri and Amber.

After Brkich's departure, Wesson, Donaldson, and Famie took control and eliminated the remaining two Kuchas, Rodger Bingham and then Elisabeth Filarski, at the next two Tribal Councils. After the Final 3 Immunity Challenge, Donaldson continued his winning streak and chose to eliminate the unpopular Famie instead of Wesson, which cost him the win (which many fans believe that he could have won if he had chosen Famie instead).

At Final Tribal Council, Wesson became the Sole Survivor in a 4-3 vote, in which she gained the votes of Famie, Filarski, Jerri, and Alicia Calaway.

Voting History
In The Killing Fields, the vote ended with a 3-3 tie between Keith and Mitchell, forcing a revote. Tina did not change her vote on the revote. In The Merge, the vote ended with a 5-5 tie between Colby and Jeff, forcing a revote. Tina did not change her vote on the revote.

Survivor: All-Stars
"saboga"

- It's our game now, get off our playing field!

As part of the Saboga tribe who lost immunity in the first episode, Tina, a previous winner, was immediately targeted. She was chosen to be eliminated over winner Ethan Zohn, as he was needed for strength in challenges. Tribemate Jenna Lewis, who showed disdain for the possibility of a former winner winning again, and Jerri Manthey, who had conflicts with Wesson in their first season orchestrated Tina's elimination. With the very first votes against her, Tina was voted out of Survivor: All-Stars in the first episode, by a 4-2 vote.

Voting History
In It's My Night, Tyson used a Hidden Immunity Idol on Gervase, negating Tina's vote against him.

Post-Survivor

 * In May 2001, Tina was featured as a panelist on  along with the other Australian Outback castaways for Survivor Week. Tina appeared in three episodes, two as an individual and one where she was paired with Maralyn.
 * In 2001, Tina also graced the cover of the July–August issue of Racquetball magazine.
 * On January 6, 2002, Tina, along with Gervase Peterson, appeared on a celebrity edition of The Weakest Link. She was the fourth one voted out, but did receive the house minimum of $10,000 for her charity.Tina's book.jpg
 * On January 10, 2002, Tina was seen in the audience at the Reunion Show, sitting beside  castaway Rudy Boesch.
 * On May 19, 2002, Tina, along with winner Ethan Zohn, appeared live going into commercial break chatting with  who would host the Marquesas Reunion. Rosie asked Tina who she thinks would win Marquesas and Tina said Neleh Dennis would win.
 * Tina wrote an inspirational book entitled, "Out Live, Out Laugh, Out Love". that was published in 2006.
 * In Summer of 2009, Tina, along with the other first eighteen Survivor winners, appeared on a TVGuide special "Survivor Millionaires: Where Are They Now?"
 * On December 3, 2013, Tina's son, Taylor Lee Collins, died in a car accident.
 * Tina, along with Rob Mariano, Rupert Boneham, Cirie Fields, Woo Hwang, Natalie Anderson, Jeremy Collins, Kelley Wentworth, and Joe Anglim, competed on a Survivor edition of The Price Is Right primetime special that aired on May 23, 2016. Tina and her partner, Donna, did not make it up on stage.

Trivia

 * Tina's luxury item in The Australian Outback was a backgammon board.
 * Tina is the first winner to not get a single vote against her in Tribal Council.
 * Tina was the first winner to win Survivor without winning individual immunity.
 * Tina currently owns the old Barramundi tribe flag after a deal with Colby Donaldson that whoever won would have the right to own the flag. She claimed that it still smelled as it did during the game.
 * As revealed at the reunion, Tina was not originally chosen to compete in . She was an alternate, who was called to the show only a week before filming began.
 * Tina is the first former finalist to return in a future season and be voted off.
 * Tina is the first contestant to finish in 18th place in a season of Survivor.
 * Tina is the oldest castaway in.
 * After the tribe switch on Blood vs. Water, Tina is the only person to have a relative on their same tribe, as her daughter Katie was assigned to be on Galang.
 * Tina is the only person to return twice after being crowned Sole Survivor. She won The Australian Outback and returned for All-Stars and Blood vs. Water. Other Sole Survivors have only appeared once after winning their seasons.
 * Tina is the only castaway to play in multiple seasons of Survivor that were longer than 39 days.
 * She is the only castaway to play in a season with 39 days, 39.5 days, and 42 days.
 * Tina is third winner to become a member of the jury on a subsequent attempt. She follows J.T. Thomas and fellow Blood vs. Water castaway Aras Baskauskas. Tina is also the only former winner to return from Redemption Island.
 * Tina lost 18 lbs. (8 kg) during her time in Blood vs. Water.
 * Tina, along with Colby Donaldson, Jerri Manthey, Rob Mariano, Rupert Boneham, and Coach Wade are the only five castaways to compete in seasons with 16, 18, and 20 castaways.
 * Tina, along with Stephenie LaGrossa, Cirie Fields, Parvati Shallow, Amanda Kimmel, James Clement, Rob Mariano, Russell Hantz, Coach, Candice Cody, Rupert, and Tyson Apostol competed in an all-new-players season, an all-returning-players season and a season with both new and returning players.
 * Tina is one of the five castaways that experienced all the phases of all the game, being voted out pre-merge, post-merge and making it to Final Tribal Council. She was voted out pre-merge on, post-merge on , and made it to Final Tribal Council on . Her fellow Outback finalist Colby Donaldson, Rob Mariano, Stephenie LaGrossa, and Tyson Apostol are the others.
 * Out of the sixteen people who have played Survivor at least three times, Tina is one of only three who has never won individual immunity. The others are James Clement and Cirie Fields.