Piper Michelle Yi is a contestant from Survivor: Fiji.
Considered the "cheerleader" of her tribes, Michelle found herself on good terms with everyone. At the merge, however, she fell victim to one of the most notorious Tribal Council-related twists in Survivor history, which separated her from her alliance, and resulted in her swift elimination.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Raised in Cincinnati, Michelle Yi is in her final year at the University of Cincinnati where she is studying fashion design at their college of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP).
Yi enjoys fashion photography, traveling and is an avid and competitive rock climber. She enjoys 80s pop music, drinking Eddie James, pirates, things that are green and video games prefaced with the name Mario. Yi admits she likes to eat—everything from Korean BBQ to Cincinnati Skyline Chili, with a particular weakness for ice cream and sushi. To complement her love for food, Yi practices yoga, lifts weights and trains for climbing. She's not a big fan of cardio workouts, but does it anyway because she believes it builds character and prevents heart disease.
Yi describes herself as very independent and is a true believer in following one's passions and staying inspired. She thinks a positive attitude will keep you smiling through anything. She believes her bubbly and laid back personality allows her to enjoy most people, but she claims if you rub her the wrong way, she'll be sure you know it! Yi's hero is her mother, who lives in Taipei, Taiwan.
Yi hopes to continue to travel, particularly to go "bouldering" in New Zealand and to spend some time in her favorite hotspot, Manhattan. Yi currently resides in Cincinnati. Her birth date is December 2, 1983.[1]
Survivor[]
Michelle started on the dysfunctional Ravu tribe which repeatedly lost Immunity Challenges, though Michelle was kept safe due to her strength and athleticism. Ravu remained winless, only avoiding Tribal Council after Moto forfeited immunity to keep their camp. Throughout this destitution, Michelle remained in the majority on Ravu until, much to her shock, her close ally Rita Verreos was eliminated on Day 14 due to being the most disposable member.
A tribe switch resulted in Michelle being moved to Moto which would go on to win every remaining tribal challenge sans one Reward Challenge. On Moto, she joined Earl Cole's Syndicate Alliance, which also included former Ravu Yau-Man Chan and Moto outsider Cassandra Franklin, giving them the majority even though they avoided Tribal Council until merge. During their newfound success, Michelle and Earl became tight allies; every morning, Michelle would update him on the tribal dynamics, prompting him to dub her his "spy".
At the merge, Michelle and Stacy Kimball took charge of decorating the merge flag, and Michelle noted that since the two were so alike and served a similar purpose, only one of them would be kept around. At the start of the merge, the players were divided into two teams of five. She was on a team with Dreamz Herd, Edgardo Rivera, Stacy, and her fellow former Ravu tribemate Mookie Lee. Michelle's team lost the Immunity Challenge, and were shocked to find out they would be heading straight to Tribal Council with no time to socialize or figure out a plan. During Tribal Council, Jeff asked Michelle for a reason that she might vote Dreamz, to which she responded that they had not played together and she did not really know him. This caused Dreamz to flip his vote and side with Edgardo and Alex in eliminating Michelle over Stacy, making her the third member of the jury.
At the Final Tribal Council, Michelle asked the Final Three what they think was the biggest hardship they faced. She voted for Earl to win, which he did in a unanimous 9-0-0 vote.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravu | Chariots of Mire | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost |
| 2 | Supply Ships | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | |
| 3 | Slip, Slide & Score | Reward | No | Lost | |
| U Pick, I Chews | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| 4 | By the Numbers | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Crab Pots | Immunity | No | Lost1 | ||
| 5 | Kung Fu Cannibals | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Concentration | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Switched Tribes, Day 15 | |||||
| 6 | Moto | Crosswalk | Immunity | No | Won |
| 7 | Hot La Cross Buns | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Blind Rage | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 8 | So You Think You Can Meke? | Reward | No | Won | |
| Warrior's Choice | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| Tribes Merged, Day 22 | |||||
| 9 | Bula Bula | River Rats | Reward/Immunity | Lost | |
| Voted Out, Day 24 | |||||
| Notes: ^1 After winning the Immunity Challenge, Moto was forced to decide whether to keep their immunity at the expense of giving up their luxurious camp to Ravu. Moto decided to forfeit their immunity to Ravu.
| |||||
Post-Survivor[]
- In 2008, Michelle appeared on the Canadian show Reality Obsessed.[2]
- On January 9, 2010, Michelle attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.
- In October 2021, Michelle was attacked in an apparent anti-Asian hate crime, being stabbed and beaten with a metal pipe. She was discharged from the hospital with stitches on the right side of her face.[3][4]
Trivia[]
- Michelle is the youngest contestant to compete on Fiji.
- Michelle is the only Asian-American contestant to compete on Fiji who was born in the United States.
- Michelle is the only female member of the original Ravu to make the jury and the merge.
References[]
| Survivor: Fiji Castaways | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
