Gillian Larson is a contestant from Survivor: Gabon.
The oldest contestant on Gabon, Gillian was best known for her overall positive attitude, which was antithetical to Michelle Chase's negativity. Unfortunately for her, Gillian was unanimously voted out at her second Tribal Council due to being a liability, even being referred to as "dead weight" by a few of her tribemates.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Gillian Larson (61)
Hometown: Temecula, California
Occupation: Retired Nurse
Retired after working as a registered nurse for 41 years, Gillian Larson has never satisfied her appetite for adventure and travel despite her wide array of experiences throughout her 61 years. She has traveled through 46 countries and all but a few U.S. states, much of it backpacking. This adventurous "granny" can climb and rappel 4,000 foot mountains and swim with the Great Whites. Not only is she versatile, but she is competitive by nature and feels as though she is an perfect fit for the game of Survivor, having applied 15 times, always believing she would one day be selected.
Married 37 years to her husband, Ron, Gillian has three married daughters and four grandchildren. Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, she was awarded several academic and athletic honors. Gillian met her husband in Germany and moved to the United States. The couple has relocated 18 times and currently resides in Temecula, Calif. since 2001. Her proudest achievement is her awesome family.
When she isn't scuba diving or hiking through the mountains, Gillian enjoys travel, writing, photography, gardening, spending time with her family and her eclectic group of friends who range from 2 to 92.
For her 60th birthday, she got a purple butterfly tattoo on her left hip. A very good swimmer, this Survivor-addict feels that she has what is takes to be the oldest winner yet.
After Survivor, Larson's new goal is to be a motivational speaker, focusing on "believe in yourself and you can achieve anything"
Gillian's birthday is February 24, 1947.[1]
Survivor[]
As the eldest woman on the season, Gillian was assigned make the first pick for the Fang tribe during the Schoolyard Pick on Day 1; she chose Crystal Cox. After her tribe was assembled, host Jeff Probst gave announced to both tribes the first individual Reward/Immunity Challenge. Gillian struggled to keep up during the challenge, and ultimately had to be helped by the other members of her tribe, causing Fang to lose. After Fang lost the first tribal Immunity Challenge on Day 3, Gillian was targeted for her age and weakness in the challenge. However, Michelle Chase was ultimately eliminated for her negative attitude.
On the morning of Day 5, GC Brown woke up early and began to work around camp. All of his noise awoke Gillian, who got into an argument with GC, which ultimately resulted in him resigning from his position as leader of the tribe. Following Fang's next Immunity Challenge loss, Gillian attempted to make an alliance with Susie Smith to vote out Ken Hoang, whom Gillian thought of as useless. However, at Tribal Council, Gillian's performances in challenges were viewed as too much of a burden, and she was unanimously voted out.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fang | One for All | Immunity1 | No | Lost |
| Reward | Lost | ||||
| Temptation Valley | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Lemme Go Rock 'N' Roll | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Voted Out, Day 6 | |||||
| Notes: ^1 This challenge was played for individual immunity at each tribe's next Tribal Council.
| |||||
| Episode | Gillian's Votes |
Voted Against Gillian |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michelle | Michelle |
| Ken | Crystal, Dan, GC, Ken, Matty, Randy, Susie | |
| Voted Out, Day 6 | ||
Post-Survivor[]
- After Gabon, Gillian founded Reality Rally, an event where fans can talk, race, and have fun with their favorite reality stars, including many castaways. The 3-day event is held yearly in the Spring in Temecula, California. It raises money to support Michelle's Place, a breast cancer resource center in Temecula.[2] She also does speaking engagements focused on being the best person you can be, tying it into her Survivor experience.[3]
- On January 9, 2010, Gillian attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party along with all of her Gabon castmates.
Trivia[]
- Gillian applied for Survivor 15 times over the course of eight years before being cast to compete on Gabon.[4]
- Gillian is the oldest contestant to compete on Gabon.
- Gillian is the second of two women to compete on Survivor in their 60s, following Sonja Christopher from Borneo.
- Gillian is the third castaway to receive votes from all of their original tribemates, but not be voted out at their first Tribal Council, following Shii Ann Huang and Ashley Massaro.
- They would later be followed by J'Tia Taylor, Alecia Holden, and Patrick Bolton.
References[]
| Survivor: Gabon Castaways | |||||||||||||||||
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