Sophie Clarke

Sophie Clarke
Contestant Profile
Born	July 10, 1989 (1989-07-10)
Hometown	Willsboro, New York; Santa Monica, California
Occupation	Medical Student; Healthcare Consultant
Survivor Career
Version	United States
Tribe(s)	Upolu Te Tuna
Finish	Winner
Alliance(s)	The Family
Challenge Wins	7
Votes Against	5
Days Lasted	39
Tribe(s)	Dakal
Challenge Wins	3

Sophie Georgina Clarke is the Sole Survivor of Survivor: South Pacific. She later competed on Survivor: Winners at War.

Known for her blunt, witty disposition and sharp-tongued confessionals, Sophie played an under-the-radar game and relied on her challenge prowess, as well as a tight, dominating five-person alliance formed on Night 1 to advance in the game. She is also remembered for swaying ally Coach Wade into backstabbing Brandon Hantz in a well-crafted "Ozzy's Pleasure Dome" argument. She won a critical Final Immunity Challenge against Ozzy Lusth. After a legendary performance at the Final Tribal Council, which is considered as one of the best performances in Survivor history, Sophie won the title of sole Survivor over Coach and Albert in a 6-3-0 vote.

Profile

Retrieved from CBS.com

South Pacific Winners at War Name (Age): Sophie Clarke (22) Tribe designation: Upolu Current residence: Willsboro, N.Y. Occupation: Medical Student Personal claim to fame: I won Prom Princess at my small rural high school where my graduation class was 28 students. Inspiration in life: I am skeptical of lionization of any one person. I do admire, however, Albert Schweitzer. He came from a well-off family and yet chose something much less grand with his life than he could have. True humanitarian. True passion. True dedication. Hobbies: Cooking, scrabble and reading. Pet peeves: Smart women who pretend to be dumb, particularly if they wear a lot of eye makeup, and people who walk slowly in cold weather. 3 words to describe you: Purposeful, resilient and shrewd. Survivor contestant you are most like: I relate to Russell's determination to win at any cost, Stephen's intelligence, Stephenie's competitiveness and Susan's trueness to character. Reason for being on Survivor: To win money! I have been bragging to friends for way too long about how easy Survivor is and how good I would be. I would like to have the freedom in Med. School to choose my specialty based on passion and not money and the potential to more quickly pay my debts. Why you think you'll "survive" Survivor: I am strong and athletic (play soccer, softball and basketball) and I am an extremely good skier. I am "Outdoor Emergency Care" certified and can thus deal with unexpected and extreme situations with a calm approach. I am a leader and always ready and eager to step up! Why you think you will be the Sole Survivor: I am tough, smart and driven. People will trust and like me even though they should not. I will piss people off, yet be convincing and heartfelt enough at the end to make them give me the money. I will mess with their minds and beat their bodies! I think it might actually be easy. Hometown: Willsboro, New York Current residence: Santa Monica, California Previous seasons: Winner of Survivor: South Pacific (Season 23) Occupation: Healthcare Consultant Hobbies: Soccer, skiing, podcasts, reading, and walking. Pet peeves: Men who feign confusion about the difference between explaining and mansplaining. Three words to describe you: Unclean, tenacious, and chameleon-like. When did you first watch Survivor? May 31, 2000. I was 10 years old. My dad was writing a book about islands and thought the show was a "documentary" so made us watch for "research." Do you still watch Survivor? Religiously. Who is your inspiration in life? My grandmother. She's 90 and brilliant, effortlessly cooks dinner for 12, reuses postal stamps, gardens, paints beautifully, and writes IN CAPS LOCK FOR EFFECT. What does Survivor mean to you and your family? To me, being a Survivor fan means that I get to live two lives at once. In one life, I spend my week working, cooking, exercising and sleeping... but in the other, I'm watching previews and catching up on behind-the-scenes on Mondays (research for my pool-pick), rushing home to watch live and follow along with the Know-it-Alls on Wednesdays, waking up early on Thursdays to soak in the Ponderosa edits, and debating the merits of "big moves" during long walks with my fiancé on Saturdays. What is one way playing Survivor changed your life? Survivor built my confidence, giving me the guts to deviate from a more traditional path (I chose not to become a doctor after graduating medical school), and pursue a more uncertain career. As Survivor approaches Season 40 and celebrates 20 years on television, what does it mean to be a part of the legacy? It's still so surreal to me that I was basically sucked into the screen of my favorite TV show and am beyond grateful and humbled to be etched into the Survivor canon, hanging on—however precariously—in the top 25 of Dalton Ross' winner rankings and on the tails of some of my favorite players of all time. Tony! Tom! Kim! Ethan! Cochran! How will you play differently than you did in your past season? I hope to be less afraid of failure, more open to taking risks, and more embracing of, rather than frustrated by, unknown variables in the game.

Survivor

South Pacific

Sophie, like several members of the Upolu tribe, was skeptical about the addition of Coach Wade to their tribe. This skepticism was furthered when Coach lost the first Reward Challenge over fellow returning player Ozzy Lusth. Upon reaching camp, Sophie introduced herself as a Russian and Economics major who "graduated four days ago." Knowing his "Dragon Slayer" baggage would be hard to release, Coach opened a conversation while stargazing at their first night, with the conversation concluding with the recruitment of Sophie to his five-person alliance, which also consisted of Rick Nelson, Albert Destrade, and Brandon Hantz. Coach fortified his alliance of five by adding a sixth member, Edna Ma. While Brandon kept his secret of being a relative of the infamous Russell Hantz from his tribemates, Sophie was observant enough to suspect he might be hiding something. Sophie was also seen as a strong competitor, being called "insane" by Jeff Probst during the first Immunity Challenge, in which Upolu narrowly won.

After the Immunity Challenge loss on Day 5, Sophie received a vote coming from Stacey Powell, but Sophie's majority alliance eliminated Coach's biggest threat, Christine Shields Markoski. Days later, alliance partner Albert found the hidden clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol, but could not find the Idol itself. With Sophie and Coach's help, the three found the Idol, which was secretly kept by Coach, even from Rick and Brandon. The Upolu majority alliance successfully eliminated Stacey and Mikayla Wingle at their next Tribal Councils, entering the merge with the entire alliance intact.

When the tribes merged on Day 19 into the Te Tuna tribe, Sophie stuck with the Upolu alliance, and, along with Savaii member John Cochran, eliminated the five other Savaii members: Keith Tollefson, Ozzy, Jim Rice, Dawn Meehan, and Whitney Duncan. During the process of this "Pagonging," Sophie was able to win two consecutive Immunity Challenges, the second win which was especially key since she narrowly beat out Whitney.

After the ex-Savaii members were voted out, the original Upolu alliance of five decided to stick together and eliminated Cochran and Edna. The next round of the game saw the alliance turn against each other. Sophie was able to make Coach and Rick turn against fellow alliance member Brandon because of his antics and his unpredictability. However, when Brandon won immunity, they had to switch their target to Albert. Their plans changed again at Tribal Council when Brandon gave the Immunity Necklace to Albert. In the end, Coach sided with Rick and Sophie voting out Brandon and she narrowly escaped being sent to Redemption Island in a 3-2 vote.

At the final Redemption Island duel on Day 36, Ozzy defeated Brandon and came back in the game with an apparent target on his back. At the following Immunity Challenge, which required balancing wooden blocks, Sophie made an unattractive gesture—outright asking Albert to help her get her blocks, which was intercepted by Jeff. Her move failed, however, when Ozzy won Immunity. With Ozzy immune and Coach having his Hidden Immunity Idol, Sophie was on the hot seat at Tribal Council, being told by Ozzy that she was a "pretentious, spoiled brat" after her gesture at the Immunity Challenge, reducing the medical student to tears and anxiety, stating that her bluntness was natural to her. Despite this, Sophie dodged elimination once again after Rick was voted out for his quieter gameplay in a 3-2 vote.

At the Final Immunity Challenge on Day 38, a closely-contested battle between Ozzy and Sophie commenced. But at the puzzle-building part, Ozzy struggled, giving leeway to Sophie, who eventually won the challenge. As the last remaining Savaii member, Ozzy was voted out, leaving Sophie (declaring herself "the new Dragon Slayer"), Albert, and Coach as the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, while castigated by the jury for coming off as acerbic to others, Sophie used her frankness to her advantage by calling Coach "a little girl" and exposed all the lies he created. She also stated that she would change her perceived rudeness after Ozzy brought the topic up days ago. In the end, Sophie was rewarded the title of 23rd Sole Survivor and the million dollar prize, beating Coach and Albert in a 6-3-0 vote. Sophie received votes from Jim, Keith, Dawn, Whitney, Brandon, and Ozzy.

After the game, at the Reunion Show, she stated that it was hard for her to "act dumb", but she had to in order to advance herself in the game.

Voting History

Sophie's Voting History
Episode	Sophie's Votes	Voted Against Sophie
1	Upolu Tribe Immune
2	Stacey	Stacey
3	Upolu Tribe Immune
4	Stacey	-
5	Upolu Tribe Immune
6	Edna	-
7	Upolu Tribe Immune
8	Keith; Keith1	-
9	Ozzy	-
	Jim	-
10	Dawn	Individual Immunity
	Whitney	Individual Immunity
12	Cochran	-
13	Edna	-
14	Brandon	Albert, Brandon
15	Rick	Ozzy, Rick
	Ozzy	Individual Immunity
Jury Votes for Sophie	Brandon, Dawn, Jim, Keith, Ozzy, Whitney
Sole Survivor, Day 39

^1 In Double Agent, the vote ended with a 6-6 tie between Keith and Rick, forcing a revote. Sophie did not change her vote on the revote.

Winners at War

Voting History

Sophie's Voting History
Episode	Sophie's Votes	Voted Against Sophie
1	Dakal Tribe Immune
	Kim	-
2	Dakal Tribe Immune
3	Dakal Tribe Immune
4	Dakal	Dakal

Post-Survivor

• After her win, Sophie decided to use her money to pay for her education, stating she "has lots of loans." She also stated to be "sunnier" after meeting all the criticisms about her blunt personality.
• Sophie returned to her hometown of Willsboro, where she discussed her Survivor experience at the Willsboro Central School. She continues to pursue her medical career, studying to become an OB-GYN.
• On March 9, 2017, Sophie, along with Courtney Yates, appeared on an episode of Pen Fan Forum hosted by Andrea Boehlke to discuss the first two episodes of Survivor: Game Changers.
• On May 12, 2017, Sophie graduated and became a medical doctor.
• Sophie attended Stephen Fishbach's wedding on June 9, 2018.
• Sophie married Robert Shady at her parents' house in Willsboro on August 24, 2019.

Trivia

Statistics of Sophie Clarke
Longevity
Seasons competed:	2
Days lasted:	39
Challenge Wins
Tribal wins:	4
Individual wins:	3
Total wins:	7
Tribal Council
Total votes received:	5
Exile Island
Times sent to Exile Island:	N/A
Redemption Island
Duels won:	N/A
Days spent on Redemption Island:	N/A

• Sophie revealed during the season premiere that she knows Russian and is also an Economics major.
• Her father is journalist Thurston Clarke.
• Sophie is the youngest woman on South Pacific.
• Sophie is the second first-time player to defeat a returning player at the Final Tribal Council, following Danni Boatwright in Guatemala, and later followed by Denise Stapley in Philippines.
• Sophie is one of three Sole Survivors, and the most recent one, to receive a vote against them at the first Tribal Council they attended, following Jenna Morasca and Chris Daugherty.
• Sophie won the most individual Immunity Challenges in South Pacific, with three wins.
• On Day 27 of South Pacific, Sophie became the first and so far only contestant to win two Immunity Challenges in one day.
  • Sophie is the only contestant on South Pacific to win consecutive challenges, excluding duels.
• Sophie is the youngest woman on the original Dakal tribe.
• Sophie is the only contestant in Winners at War to have never participated in a Tribe Switch in any of their prior appearances.

References

Preceded by Redemption Island Rob Mariano

Sole Survivor Titleholder South Pacific Sophie Clarke

Succeeded by One World Kim Spradlin

Survivor: South Pacific Castaways
Albert Upolu	Brandon Upolu	Christine Upolu	Coach Upolu	Cochran Savaii	Dawn Savaii	Edna Upolu	Elyse Savaii	Jim Savaii
Keith Savaii	Mark Savaii	Mikayla Upolu	Ozzy Savaii	Rick Upolu	Semhar Savaii	Sophie Upolu	Stacey Upolu	Whitney Savaii