‘Survivor’ Alum Sonja Christopher Dead at 87

The retired music therapist was known for being the first person to have their torch put out by Jeff Probst when she competed on ‘Survivor: Borneo.’

Sonja Christopher, who became the very first person ever voted off of Survivor when she competed in the popular reality show’s debut season in 2000, Survivor: Borneo, has died. Christopher passed away on Friday, April 26 at the age of 87, longtime host Jeff Probst confirmed in a statement shared to the CBS show’s socials. A cause of death was not disclosed.

“Sonya [sic] was one of the kindest people to ever play Survivor,” Probst said in a statement shared alongside an image of Christopher from her time on Survivor. “She would always greet you with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. I’m honored that our paths got to cross.”

Liz Wilcox, who stars in the currently airing 46th season, was first to share news of Christopher’s death. In a post shared to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Wilcox told fans, “Today, the legend herself Sonja Christopher of Season One passed away. I had the pleasure of meeting her on Christmas. She had so much spunk + love for Survivor and what the show brought to her life. I hope you’re singing + playing your heart out somewhere beautiful, Sonja.”

Christopher, a former music therapist, competed on Survivor: Borneo in 2000 when she was 63, joining the show after battling cancer and following a breakup. Although she quickly became a fan-favorite when she helped boost her tribe’s moral by playing the ukulele and singing “Bye Bye Blues,” she went on to make Survivor history when she became the first person ever voted off of the show, her torch being put out by Probst after she tumbled several times during the first immunity challenge. Richard Hatch, who she had serenaded with her ukulele, went on to be crowned the debut season’s winner.

“I had mixed feelings, that’s for sure. I was pretty beaten up… To this day, I still have bruises that don’t go away,” Christopher told Entertainment Weekly in 2020 of her time on the CBS reality show. “Someone once asked me if I thought my being voted off early was due to ageism. And I said, ‘Oh, no.’ And you know why is because I had no concept of ageism. I was always good at sports and very active physically. I just didn’t realize I was, to some of these people, an old lady.”

News of her passing sparked an outpouring of tributes from Survivor alums. Joel Klug, who competed against Christopher on Survivor: Borneo and was the sixth contestant to be voted off, wrote in a Facebook tribute, “if not for Survivor we would have never crossed paths in life. We kept in touch over the past 25 years and I can honestly say, we never had a negative interaction. She was a funny and exceptionally kind person. We were in touch last month…she said she was doing what we both had experience in, Surviving. She will be missed.”

According to Wilcox, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek, California, the Cancer Support Community in SF, or the Sjogren’s Foundation.