Sonja Cristóvão – the first person eliminated from the show “Survivor” – died… according to a current contestant on the show.
Liz Wilcox – who stars in the ongoing 46th season of “Survivor” – announced the sad news in X Friday … saying he met Sonja at Christmas and shared a photo of the two chatting on FaceTime on his account.
She writes: “Today, season one legend Sonja Christopher herself passed away. I had the pleasure of meeting her at Christmas. singing + playing your heart out somewhere beautiful, Sonja.”
On behalf of the family, Liz says people should not send flowers… but rather donations to Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek, CA, Community Cancer Support in SF or the Sjogren’s Foundation. She did not provide a cause of death.
Sonja competed on “Survivor: Borneo” in 2000 and despite getting along well with her teammates, she was kicked out after several mistakes led to her team’s defeat that first week. She was kicked out because of this, making her the first person to be voted off the island.
In a way, her appearance in the series was historic… and many still remember her.
Christopher is known for playing his ukulele on the show — and she seemed to fondly remember her time on “Survivor” despite her early exit… telling EW In 2020, the entire experience gave him a platform to raise money for causes he believed in.
Sônia was 87 years old.
TO TEAR APART