From the jury vote to real life — catching up with the Survivor 47 cast three years on
The Survivor 47 cast of eighteen was split into Gata, Lavo, and Tuku tribes. The season produced a clear 7-1-0 winner, Rachel LaMont, who is a game founder, and a Survivor returnee, Genevieve Mushaluk, among other castaways who have become notable figures in media.
Source: Facebook
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Rachel LaMont won Survivor 47 and, since winning, has co-founded a board game company and co-hosted the On Fire with Jeff Probst podcast for Survivor 48.
- Sam Phalen, the Survivor 47 runner-up, got married in March 2025 and moved into an editorial role at Roundtable Sports Network.
- Genevieve Mushaluk returned for Survivor 50.
- Teeny Chirichillo publicly came out as a transgender man in April 2025.
Where is the Survivor 47 cast now?
Survivor 47 premiered on 18 September 2024 with eighteen cast members. In the jury phase, eleven contestants faced high stakes as some would head to Ponderosa, and the final three would have a chance at winning the $1 million prize.
The season was won by Rachel LaMont, who has turned her prize into a gaming empire. Here is a list of Survivor 47's jury phase cast and where they are now.
Rachel LaMont
Source: Facebook
- Full name: Rachel Ariyavatkul LaMont
- Date of birth: 8 March 1990
- Age: 36 years as of 2026
- Place of birth: Bangkok, Thailand
- Nationality: Thai-American
- Profession: Graphic designer, game designer
Rachel LaMont is best known for her domination of the 47th cohort of the adventure reality show and for serving as a co-host and guest on On Fire with Jeff Probst.
Before joining the show, Rachel worked as a user interface graphic designer. She worked for the Detroit College of Creative Studies as an imaging tech between 2010 and 2012. Later, she was a designer and art director for Organic, LOYAL3, Seeds Marketing and Design, McCann Worldgroup, and StockX until 2021.
Between 2021 and 2025, she was a visual designer for General Motors. Since then, she has transitioned into game design at RE:SOLVE Games.
In October 2025, her game Puzzle Hungry: Umami Rush launched a Kickstarter campaign, which raised 200% of its funding goal. The 2-to-4-player game contains 19 unique puzzles, perfect for indoor games and team-building games.
Sam Phalen
Source: Facebook
- Full name: Samuel 'Sam' Phalen
- Date of birth: 7 April 2000
- Age: 26 years as of 2026
- Place of birth: Schaumburg, Illinois, United States
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Publisher, columnist, broadcaster
Survivor 47 runner-up, Sam Phalen, has had a long career in journalism that started at his alma mater, covering Lipscomb University athletic events. Since appearing on the show, his career path has expanded from a sports writer to include publishing and broadcasting.
After the show, the American sports journalist worked for Rivals.com, A to Z Sports Nashville, and FanSided. He is currently the publisher and columnist for Roundtable Sports Network, covering the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bears, and Chicago Cubs, as per his LinkedIn profile.
Sue Smey
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Susan 'Sue' Smey
- Date of birth: 6 June 1965
- Age: 60 years as of May 2026
- Place of birth: Putnam Valley, New York, United States
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Pilot, flight school owner
Susan 'Sue' Smey made Survivor history as the oldest woman to ever win an Immunity Challenge and the oldest Final Tribal Council member at 59 years of age. She completed the experience in third place.
The American pilot's efforts as an underestimated player did not go unnoticed. After the show, she acknowledged the role her age played in keeping her motivated. In her final interview, she told Parade,
I’ve never been so proud of myself. I’m going to be 60 next year… I just want to inspire people that there’s so much more of life to live. Your age is just a number. And the fact that I could go out there, compete on Survivor, and have records… That was my whole goal. It’s amazing to me. And this was my goal.
In 2026, Smey made an appearance as Player 19 on 5 episodes of Beast Games. She is the founder and owner of Whiskey Foxtrot Aviation.
Sierra Wright
Source: Facebook
- Full name: Sierra Belle Wright
- Date of birth: 9 June 1997
- Age: 28 years as of May 2026
- Place of birth: Wilmington, Delaware, United States
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Registered nurse
Sierra Wright is a registered nurse, specialising in postoperative care at the Cross Medical Group in Philadelphia. She has worked as a nurse specialist for a plastic surgeon and an ICU nurse for ChristianaCare before she became a Survivor castaway.
On the show, Sierra was the eighth person eliminated on day 15 and thus the first jury member for Survivor 47. Her status as the inaugural juror was added to her collection of accolades, which includes the 2015 Miss Delaware Teen USA and the 2018 Miss Delaware USA.
Today, Wright is in a committed relationship with her fiancé, Justin Ammerman, and is a mother of one, Adelaide Olive.
Sol Yi
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Solomon Yi
- Date of birth: 9 June 1997
- Age: 28 years as of May 2026
- Place of birth: Del City, Oklahoma, United States
- Nationality: Korean-American
- Profession: Sales representative
Solomon ‘Sol’ Yi was eliminated on the sixteenth day and became the second juror. In 2024, he worked as a sales representative for Medtronic, where he specialised in selling deep-brain stimulation therapy equipment. Since April 2026, he has worked for global medical equipment company Abbott as a territory manager.
Gabe Ortis
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Gabriel 'Gabe' Ortis
- Date of birth: 12 January 1998
- Age: 28 years as of 2026
- Place of birth: Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Radio show host
3rd Juror, Gabe Ortis, was eliminated on day 18. Before joining the castaways, Ortis held a comprehensive resume that included being a barback, hosting a talk show on the radio, and serving as a communications director for a mayoral campaign.
In his Survivor exit interview, he explained why he chose to keep his resume on the back burner, only revealing his work as a barback. He told Parade's Mike Bloom,
So I was actually working as a communications director on a mayoral campaign in Baltimore City. And, right before that, I was hosting my own talk show on the radio in Baltimore for about two years. And then I ended up having to leave those jobs to prepare for Survivor.
Today, Gabe Ortis has maintained his media presence on radio, TV, and social media. He hosts the Two-Way Talk show and Flock Talk, a podcast about the Baltimore Ravens.
On 18 September, WYPR announced that he would be joining its staff as a radio show host for Midday. He is a frequent guest on Reality After Show, a YouTube channel best known for discussing reality shows such as The Challenge, Survivor, and Big Brother. He has also made appearances on The Roast of Matt Bischoff, Rob Has a Podcast, and Shot in the Dark.
Kyle Ostwald
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Kyle Rhen Ostwald
- Date of birth: 5 March 1993
- Age: 33 years as of 2026
- Place of birth: Cheboygan, Michigan, United States
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Construction worker
As per his Instagram profile, Kyle Ostwald, the fourth juror, is an entrepreneur. He is currently focused on raising his children, Ellie and Rhen, and building a family with his long-time partner, Shania Marie Jewell.
With a social media following of about 20,000, the former Survivor castaway frequently shares content related to his family life and outdoor activities, as well as his van conversion project.
Caroline Vidmar
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Caroline Vidmar
- Date of birth: 12 November 1996
- Age: 29 years as of May 2026
- Place of birth: Palos Verdes, California, United States
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Business consultant
Caroline Vidmar entered Ponderosa on day 22 as the fifth jury member. Before joining Survivor 47, Caroline worked at Bai & Company for 4 years as an associate consultant. She later became a Farber Fellow for Redefine Alliance in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Today, Vidmar works as a strategy consultant for a Fortune 500 company, Bain & Company.
In November 2025, she got engaged to her boyfriend, Austin. She took to Instagram to share the romantic picnic proposal set against the backdrop of lush greenery and a distant coastline in Laguna Miguel, California.
Andy Rueda
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Andrew 'Andy' Rueda
- Date of birth: 2 April 1993
- Age: 33 years as of 2026
- Place of birth: Buffalo, New York, United States
- Nationality: American
- Profession: AI research assistant
As per his LinkedIn profile, Andy Rueda is a forward-deployed engineer working at Cohere. He has worked at Cohere since October 2025.
Before joining Survivor 47, Rueda held various positions at Brandeis University. He was a graduate research assistant and a teaching assistant for an undergraduate course in Syntactic Theory.
Genevieve Mushaluk
Source: Facebook
- Full name: Genevieve Mushaluk
- Date of birth: 4 June 1991
- Age: 34 years as of May 2026
- Place of birth: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Nationality: Canadian
- Profession: Lawyer
Genevieve Mushaluk was the only Survivor 47 cast member to return for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, which featured 24 returning players selected by public vote.
Genevieve is a senior counsel and partner at Priceline, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Previously, she worked as a corporate counsel for Richardson International, an associate general counsel for Shared Health Inc., and an associate lawyer at Fillmore Riley LLP.
Teeny Chirichillo
Source: Facebook
- Full name: Christine 'Teeny' Chirichillo
- Date of birth: 29 August 2000
- Age: 25 years as of May 2026
- Place of birth: Manahawkin, New Jersey, United States
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Writer
Teeny Chirichillo competed on Survivor 47 and made history as the show's first openly non-binary person. After the season's airing, Teeny had top surgery.
In April 2025, Teeny publicly came out as a transgender man in a candid essay for Cosmopolitan. The essay partly reads,
My noncommitment to a label like non-binary and my lack of attachment to the policing of my own pronouns are because, until right now, I had been a closeted trans guy.
Chirichillo uses he/they pronouns and is currently in a relationship with Survivor 48 castaway Stephanie Berger. He hosts the Good for Them Podcast on YouTube and Spotify with his girlfriend and is an independent writer on Substack.
Who were the Survivor 47 contestants?
Survivor 47 brought together eighteen castaways: Jon Lovett, Sierra Wright, Teeny Chirichillo, Aysha Welch, Kishan Patel, Anika Dhar, Rome Cooney, Rachel LaMont, Solomon Yi, Caroline Vidmar, Tiyana Hallums, Terran Foster, Sam Phalen, Sue Smey, Kyle Ostwald, Genevieve Mushaluk, Gabe Ortis, and Andy Rueda.
Who won Survivor 47?
Rachel LaMont won Survivor 47 in a 7-1-0 jury vote on 18 December 2024. Kyle Ostwald was the only juror who voted for Sam Phalen. Sam and Sue Smey took the second and third runner-up positions.
What is Rachel LaMont doing now?
Survivor 47's sole survivor, Rachel LaMont, is a game designer. She is the co-founder of Play Resolve, a gaming company behind the puzzle board game Puzzle Hungry: Umami Rush. She is also a co-host at On Fire with Jeff Probst.
Did Jon Lovett win Survivor 47?
Jon Lovett did not win Survivor 47. He was the first person voted out of a reality show, eliminated on day 3 of the season's premiere.
Is Sam Phalen married?
Survivor 47's second runner-up castaway, Sam Phalen, is married to his long-time partner, Hannah Brothers. Their wedding ceremony was held on 23 March 2025 in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.
The Survivor 47 cast includes professionals in gaming, media, education, healthcare, and engineering, careers they have returned to since the show premiered in 2024. Additionally, all cast members have maintained their presence in the franchise by hosting watch parties, making fan videos, and taking part in post-show media appearances and interviews.
Legit.ng has recently published an article detailing the whereabouts of couples from Survivor. For fifty seasons, the American adventure reality series has become synonymous with survival, tension, competition, and, surprisingly, romance too.
Survivor's first real-life couple was All-Stars cast members Boston Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich. Read on for more information on Survivor couples and where they are now.
Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
