By Delaney Benison
“Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.” This is the motto of “Survivor,” one of the most popular reality TV shows of all time. Throughout the past 29 seasons, which began in 2000, “Survivor” has forced contestants to live with only the bare essentials as castaways on an island for 39 days. Competitors are tested physically and mentally while being forced to learn to live through the elements.
The latest “Survivor” season brought in couples from all over the United States: boyfriends and girlfriends, brothers, fathers and sons, husbands and wives and even twin sisters.
Natalie and Nadiya Anderson were born in Queens, NY but were brought to Sri Lanka at three years old. They came back to the United States for high school and then attended Fordham, graduating in 2008 from the College of Business Administrations with degrees in business management.
Graduating from Fordham is only one of the many things they have accomplished together. The sisters have been contestants on “The Amazing Race” twice and now most recently “Survivor.”
Natalie and Nadiya were contestants on “Survivor San Juan Del Sur: Blood Vs. Water.” While clearly showing the bonds of sisterhood right out of the gate, Nadiya was unfortunately voted off in the first week, forcing Natalie to continue on the rest of Survivor by herself, leading her to claim a very inspirational victory on the 29th season for the million dollar prize.
In a TV Guide interview, she said, “If Nadiya was there, I would not have been able to pull off what I did.” This is not to say she would not have wanted to have her sister competing with her, but being on her own seemed to force Natalie to make her own decisions and be one step ahead of everyone else right from the get go.
Inspiration to join these reality television shows came from friends who would submit videos of the twins. Clearly an interesting pair, they caught the eye of “The Amazing Race.” This would lead to their television stardom, opening doors for them to try out and successfully be chosen for “Survivor.”
Natalie again spoke with TV Guide interviewers to explain how she won. She says, “It would have been way more fun to play with Nadiya…but it would not have been easy for me to play the game I played, because I played a very subtle game as far as not letting people know what I was doing. I wasn’t out there like Jeremy and Jon, where I was in this position where people saw me as a threat.”
Well-liked in her approach to the game, she was able to win in the end by popular vote, receiving five, compared to the two other contestants who would receive two and one votes, respectively.
In the game of “Survivor,” everyone expects the winner to be the front runner and the strongest, but it always makes for the best seasons when you can watch someone use their underdog image to their advantage. This season, Natalie, a clear underdog, was able to weed through the trickery and the drama by embracing all aspects of the game, leading her to be the sole Survivor.
