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Survivor star Sonja Christopher recently passed away at 87.
The music therapist was known as the first contestant to get voted off of the long-running series while filming season one in Pulau Tiga, Malaysia in May 2000.
Fellow contestant Liz Wilcox — who stars in the 46th season filmed in Fiji last year and is currently airing — announced her dear friend’s passing on X, formerly known as Twitter.
She did not share the date or cause of death.
On Friday, Wilcox shared a screenshot of herself on a FaceTime call with Christopher as the star appeared to be showing off the notable signatures on her infamous ukulele.
Survivor star Sonja Christopher recently passed away at 87. The music therapist was known as the first contestant to get voted off of the long-running series while filming season one in Pulau Tiga, Malaysia in May 2000
Fellow contestant Liz Wilcox — who stars in the 46th season filmed in Fiji last year and is currently airing — announced her dear friend’s passing on X, formerly known as Twitter
‘Today, the legend herself Sonja Christopher of Season One passed away,’ she wrote in her tweet.
‘I had the pleasure of meeting her on Christmas,’ Wilcox continued. ‘She had so much spunk + love for Survivor and what the show brought to her life.’
She added: ‘I hope you’re singing + playing your heart out somewhere beautiful, Sonja.’
On behalf of the family, Wilcox shared that in lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek, California; the Cancer Support Community of the San Francisco Bay Area; or the Siogren’s Foundation.
Back in May 2020, Christopher sat down with Entertainment Tonight to talk about what she has been up to since appearing on the show during its inception two decades earlier.
She told the outlet that she was a music therapist for many years before she retired in December 2019.
At the time, she said she would spend her free time visiting retirement homes to play her banjo and sing with seniors.
She previously made history as the first person to get ousted from the show and voted off during the first week of the show’s debut season.
She was a music therapist for many years before she retired in December 2019. Back in 2020, she said she would spend her free time visiting retirement homes to play her banjo and sing with seniors; seen in 2000
She previously made history as the first person to get ousted from the show and voted off during the first week of the show’s debut season
She also was known as the oldest female contestant to ever compete on the game
She previously ended up on the show after seeing an article in the newspaper and applying because she was at a lonely period in her life but wanted to inspire people; seen with Gretchen Cordy
She also was known as the oldest female contestant to ever compete on the game.
At the time, she had explained how a pair of shoes caused her to have blisters on her feet and ended up costing her team the first game win.
At first, it was ‘humiliating’ to get voted off, but she started to take pride in making history.
At the time, she recalled to the outlet: ‘If somebody recognizes me—which is nothing like it used to be—and asks, “Weren’t you on Survivor?”, I’ll say “Yes, I have the dubious distinction of being the first person ever voted off Survivor.” Now, how many people can say that? I think it’s pretty funny.’
When asked how she ended up on the show, she revealed she was going through a lonely period in her life; she saw an article in the newspaper about the cast away opportunity and decided to try her hand at it.
‘I was newly recovering from breast cancer treatment. And I had been in a 11-year relationship and my partner got consolation elsewhere during that time of the cancer,’ she candidly revealed to ET. ‘So I had moved to a senior retirement community, and I was by myself, no ties, my son was grown and taking care of himself. I was reading the morning paper, and it said something in an article about CBS looking for 16 Americans to cast away on a deserted island and see who could survive for 39 days.
She recalled it was around October 1999 when she applied because she ‘had always wanted to see if I could survive using only my hands and my wits’ and also inspire other people.
On her great albeit short experience on the show, she previously said she was grateful for the opportunity as it gave her a platform to raise money and awareness about causes she believes in.
Back then, she had explained how a pair of shoes caused her to have blisters on her feet and ended up costing her team the first game win. At first, it was ‘humiliating’ to get voted off, but she started to take pride in making history
On her experience, she previously said she was grateful for the opportunity as it gave her a platform to raise money and awareness about causes she believes in
‘I’m so fortunate to have had it,’ she said in 2020. ‘And I’ve learned lessons about how to treat it, regard it, live with it, and go with the flow. The whole thing was so fortuitous.
‘I mean, if I hadn’t had breast cancer, we probably wouldn’t have broken up the relationship. And if I hadn’t been alone, I wouldn’t have tried out for Survivor. And if I hadn’t tried out for Survivor, I never would’ve got to go around the country speaking and raising money for causes and trying to inspire people with breast cancer that they could not only survive, but thrive.
‘And that’s been amazing.’
