Russell Hantz’s Top 100 Greatest Survivors Ever
48. Sue Hawk (Borneo, All-Stars)
Sue Hawk might be the biggest name to come out of Survivor honestly, as without her, we don’t have the famous snakes and rats speech that so many jurors have tried to replicate over the years. Sue was a part of the original Tagi alliance and finished in fourth place in Borneo.
You can’t really discuss the legacy of Survivor without bringing up Sue Hawk’s name because that’s how big her jury speech was. It was iconic.
Her appearance on All-Stars didn’t go well and ended on a very uncomfortable note, but Survivor might not be what it is without Sue Hawk.
47. Kelly Wiglesworth (Borneo, Cambodia)
On the receiving end of that iconic speech was Kelly Wiglesworth, who was the show’s first-ever challenge beast, winning four individual immunities in a single season (which has since been tied by Jenna Morasca, Kim Spradlin, and Chrissy Hofbeck). She was the first player to try and flip on her alliance because she didn’t feel comfortable being in one.
Kelly returned for her second chance on Cambodia, but was mostly invisible throughout the season and it was clear she didn’t like what the game had turned into. She did have a memorable jury speech where she asked the final three to pick a number between one and ten because that’s what lost her the game on Borneo.
People say Survivor might be different if Kelly had won Borneo instead of Richard Hatch, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily the case. She paved the way for strong women to appear on the show and even though her second appearance was disappointing, she’s one of the all-time greats for sure.