12. Amber Mariano
Second season: All-Stars
There’s a case to be made that Amber could be number one on this list. She went from being just another player on The Australian Outback to making the All-Stars cast to finding her future husband to winning Survivor‘s first ever All-Stars season. She did all of that in her second season. What a dream, right?
While all of that happened for Amber in her second crack at the game, she’s typically considered a lower tier winner because she sat back and let Boston Rob take all of the heat (which as I mentioned in my less touted winners article, was a good move on her end). Even still, Amber took advantage of everyone hating Rob and won the season in a 4-3 vote.
So, let’s recap, Amber got a spot on All-Stars because another contestant from her original season said no. She went on to meet her future husband and win a million dollars. Hopefully Amber sent Elisabeth Hasselbeck a Christmas card in 2004.
11. Michele Fitzgerald
Second season: Winners at War
Michele won her original season of Kaoh Rong and it was a controversial win to say the least. Her getting an invite for Winners at War was likely because of the lack of female winners since it didn’t appear that Jeff Probst was a huge fan of Michele’s win.
Michele’s second chance might not have resulted in a second Survivor title, but she got so much more than that on shot number two. For one, she got a very positive edit and casual fans adored her and were rooting for her to win it all. She made it to the end, but unfortunately was a zero vote finalist.
Despite all of that, Michele became a fan favorite in her second outing and she seems to be a near lock to return the next time there’s a returning players season, assuming she fits the theme. Not bad for someone who many considered to have “robbed Aubry” of a win. You go, Michele!