Erika Casupanan has made history by becoming the first Filipina-Canadian immigrant to be crowned the Sole Survivor of the hit American reality show “Survivor”.
Casupanan emerged as the strongest castaway of the long-running reality competition series after outwitting, outplaying, and outlasting 17 others for the coveted title and the $1 million cash prize.
Casupanan is the first Canadian citizen of Filipino descent to win the prestigious competition and the show’s third Asian winner after Cook Islands’ Yul Kwon and San Juan del Sur’s Natalie Anderson.
During the show, Casupanan scored a landslide victory with seven out of eight jury votes from the Final Tribal Council in the Season 41 finale which aired via American television network CBS on December 15, 2021 (December 16, Manila time).
Born in Hermosa, Bataan, Casupanan immigrated to Canada when she was young. She currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, and reportedly left her job before coming to Fiji for the game that had the castaways stranded in the islands and battling each other in mental and physical challenges.
“So if you want any proof that we’re in a new era of Survivor, it is that I am the winner. I am a Filipino immigrant woman who lives in Canada, and I won the game,” Erika Casupanan said in a video shared by the reality show on social media.
The 32-year-old sole female survivor also offered some advice for future contestants of the reality show.
“I was able to make my dream of dreams come true and win the game. And what I want to say is, if I can do it, anybody can do it,” Casupanan continued.
“So I don’t care what you look like, what you sound like, where you’re from, your background, what you believe in, I’m telling you, you can win the game. I’m proof,” Casupanan adds.
“And I hope that if you’ve ever wanted to play Survivor, you throw your hat in the ring because it’s such an adventure, you’re going to learn so much about yourself.”
The recently-crowned champion of Filipino descent also said she was also looking forward to seeing more “Survivor” winners with diverse backgrounds.
“Survivor” which premiered in 2000, invites players to battle the elements and each other in tough challenges for $the 1 million prize and the title of Sole Survivor. The show is hosted and executive produced by Emmy Award winner Jeff Probst.
Filipinos who have won international reality shows include Fil-Kiwi fashion designer Stephanie Dods who won Sony Channel’s “The Apartment: Passion for Design” and the London-based Filipino Lee Johnson and his Irish partner Sinead Campbell who bagged a hefty investment from the BBC reality show “My Million Pound Menu.”
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to Erika Casupanan for making history by becoming the first Filipina-Canadian immigrant to be crowned the Sole Survivor of the hit American reality show “Survivor” and WATCH her talk about winning here:
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