Survivor fans were treated with two legends from the CBS flagship series on The Traitors US season 2, which includes the reality competition show’s queen, Sandra Diaz-Twine. So, who is she?
Like her fellow Traitors castmate, Parvati, Sandra has played on four seasons of the American version of Survivor and has appeared on five. But most importantly, Sandra is the first-ever castaway to win Survivor twice, and stands as one of only two players to ever accomplish the feat.
Let’s take a brief look at her tenure.
Sandra made her reality television debut in 2003 as one of 16 individuals who were marooned in the Pearl Islands in Panama for season 7. Flying under the radar, the 29-year-old channeled her now-famous “anyone but me” mantra to secure herself the $1 million check after 39 days. Although she wasn’t regarded as one of the greats after the triumph, Sandra made herself undeniable after her second outing. She returned to the franchise seven years later for season 20’s Heroes vs. Villains.
Because of her cutthroat nature, Sandra was placed in the Villains’ tribe alongside Parvati.
Once again, Sandra navigated nearly 40 days of blindsides, betrayals, and physical, mental, and emotional exertion, and was crowned the queen of Survivor. Sitting with Parvati and Russell Hantz during the final Tribal Council, Sandra was awarded her second $1 million check by besting them with a 6-3-0 spread. It’s extremely difficult to win Survivor, let alone twice. And that’s exactly what Sandra accomplished, making her reality competition royalty forever.
We’ve seen Sandra three times on CBS’s version of Survivor since Heroes vs. Villains. She played during season 34’s Game Changers but Sandra suffered the first torch snuff of her Survivor tenure early into the game. Then, Sandra returned as a mentor for season 39’s Island of the Idols alongside “Boston Rob” Mariano. She wasn’t an official player, however.
Unsurprisingly, Sandra joined the highly anticipated Winners at War during 2020’s season 40. But, like Game Changers, Sandra was ousted early. She later tried her hands at the Australian version of Survivor and was fifth out.
Although her recent stretch of reality competition appearances is full of abrupt exits, Sandra wrote history with her back-to-back championships. Only Tony Vlachos has earned the same two-time status — he won season 28’s Cagayan and Winners at War.
Like Parvati, when Sandra was announced as a player in Peacock’s second iteration of The Traitors US, the Survivor community celebrated. Sandra is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and has all the makings of becoming a two-franchise queen.