Survivor birthday: Sonja Christopher (Borneo) turns 81

The very first player voted out of Survivor just so happened to be the oldest woman ever to play. Happy 81st birthday, Sonja Christopher!

Player: Sonja Christopher
Occupation: Musician
Hometown: Walnut Creek, CA
Season: Survivor Borneo
Tribe: Tagi (Orange Buff)
Finished: 16/16

Despite airing almost 18 years ago, many, many people remember the first season of Survivor. Tens of millions of people were tuning in each week, intrigued by a social experiment where 16 Americans from all walks of life came together to compete on an island with minimal supplies, food and water and had to hash it out for 39 days.

The players didn’t know how big the game would be until it aired, meaning Sonja Christopher had no idea that she would become a monumentally important person in Survivor due to the fact that she would be the first person voted out. Even in the very first episode, the show was about survival of the fittest, with Richard Hatch just barely showing glimpses of the “devilish” alliance plan he sought to … hatch.

As such, in the first episode of the show, Sonja’s happy-go-lucky sensibilities and sweet ukelele playing did wonders for her social game, but being the oldest woman to play Survivor in its first season (and oldest woman to ever play in 36 seasons), her inability to stay strong through the first Individual Immunity Challenge (plus the minor injuries sustained) caused Tagi to vote her out of the game. It was about tribe strength first, “dubious strategies” second.

Even though she was the first player out, she still remains loyal to the Survivor community. Sure, she may not be out at all the reality charity events, but according to her first-ever Instagram post timed supporting the show’s 500th episode, she still keeps up to date with each season and hasn’t missed an episode yet.

Next: Survivor: Ranking 34 seasons

From all of us at Surviving Tribal, we’d like to wish Sonja Christopher a very happy 81st birthday!