Over the last 26 years and 49 seasons, as many as 751 castaways have embarked on the “greatest adventure on television” by joining the “Survivor” family.
Thanks to “Blood vs. Water” installments like 2013’s “Survivor: Caramoan” and 2014’s “Survivor: San Juan del Sur,” several former castaways have even returned to the franchise to play the game alongside their loved one, be it their siblings, such as Aras Baskauskas and his brother Vytas, their spouses, like Jeremy Collins and his wife Val, or even their parents, like Ciera Eastin and her mother Laura Morett.
One milestone the U.S. franchise has yet to see, however, is a former castaway’s child continuing their parent’s legacy by joining a “Survivor” season independently.
Now, as the highly-anticipated premiere of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” approaches – set to debut on CBS screens nationwide on Wednesday, February 25 – some of the show’s most legendary castaways are opening up about whether or not they’d ever let their kids play “Survivor.”
Amongst their ranks are former series champions Parvati Shallow, Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano, Tony Vlachos and Sandra Diaz-Twine.
The quartet, widely considered the four greatest castaways to ever play the game, addressed the question in a new interview with Parade published in anticipation of the milestone season’s upcoming premiere.
Would Boston Rob Mariano Let His Daughters Play ‘Survivor’?
CBS/GettyRob Mariano – better known to fans as “Boston Rob” – originally appeared on the cast of 2002’s “Survivor: Marquesas” before celebrating follow-up appearances on seasons like “Survivor: All-Stars,” where he met and proposed to his now-wife Amber Brkich, and “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” before finally taking home the “Sole Survivor” title on 2011’s “Survivor: Redemption Island.”
Mariano later returned for additional installments like “Survivor: Island of the Idols,” where he served as a mentor to the season’s castaways, and 2020’s “Survivor: Winners at War,” where he set the record for the most days of “Survivor” played (on the U.S. flagship franchise), a record that he holds to this day.
Between his record-breaking appearances, Rob and Amber welcomed four daughters together – Lucia Rose, 16, Carina Rose, 15, Isabetta Rose, 13, and Adelina Rose, 11.
While the quartet appeared on “Survivor: Winners at War” briefly, during the season’s touching family visit episode, they all remain too young to apply to join the franchise as castaways themselves.
According to Boston Rob, he’d encourage his daughters to wait a good long while before throwing themselves head first into a game like “Survivor,” telling Parade, “I have pretty strong feelings that you have to have a certain amount of life experience before you do these kinds of shows. I definitely would not encourage my kids to go play ‘Survivor’ at 18 or 19 or even 20. I just wouldn’t want to put them in a position where they got crushed.”
Mariano added, however, that he wouldn’t be opposed to one of his daughters continuing his “Survivor” legacy on a future season.
“They’re such good kids. They’re so adventurous,” he added. “And if one of them wanted to do that someday, of course, I would support them”
Sandra Diaz-Twine’s Daughter has Already Played ‘Survivor’ Twice
Sandra Diaz-Twine made history as the first-ever castaway to win the “Sole Survivor” title twice, taking home the $1 million grand prize on both “Survivor: Pearl Islands” and “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.”
While she has since returned to the franchise for follow-up performances on “Survivor: Game Changers” and “Survivor: Winners at War,” including a stint as a mentor on “Survivor: Island of the Idols,” her victorious reputation has prevented her from replicating the success.
Sandra similarly made history as the first former castaway to return to the competition to play alongside their child, a feat that Diaz-Twine and her daughter, Nina Twine, achieved on the cast of “Australian Survivor: Blood vs. Water.”
Nina, now 28, would later return to the franchise independently, competing on “Australian Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” in 2023.
According to Sandra, however, Nina nearly accomplished the feat in the U.S. first, narrowly missing out on a spot on the cast of 2018’s “Survivor: David vs. Goliath.”
“[Nina] had interviewed and spent a week in California for ‘David vs. Goliath,’” Diaz-Twine told Parade. “I thought she was a shoo-in. And then she wasn’t picked at the last minute. And then they called me for ‘Australian Survivor’ And I had to bring forth a couple of people for them to pick from, and she was the one, and they fell in love with her.”
“She’s so smart that she could handle something like that,” Sandra continued. “And then she ended up playing again. That’s how strong Nina is. The universe wanted it to happen when it did happen, and it was the right time for her.”
More recently, Sandra and Nina joined the cast of the currently-airing second season of FOX’s “Extracted.” The mother-daughter duo were joined by Nina’s boyfriend, Eric Rivera, for the survivalist reality competition series.
Tony Vlachos Reveals He Doesn’t Want His Kids to Play ‘Survivor’
Tony Vlachos, to date, holds the record for the most money ever won by a singular castaway on “Survivor” after winning his first “Sole Survivor” title on 2014’s “Survivor: Cagayan” before returning to take home the franchise’s first – and only – $2 million grand prize on “Survivor: Winners at War.”
While Vlachos has similarly celebrated appearances on installments like “Survivor: Game Changers” and “Survivor: Australia vs. the World,” he has since retired from the franchise, instead choosing to focus on his career as an officer on the Jersey City police force, and on his role as a father to his two younger children, Anastasia Marie, 13, and Constantine Anthony, 11.
Despite his record-breaking “Survivor” payday, Tony told Parade that he actively discourages his children from setting their sights on becoming reality TV stars.
“I tell them, ‘You don’t want to go out there and do what your dad did to try to win money for the family,” he said. “That money that I brought home once in a lifetime, you want to bring that home every year. Go to school, educate yourself, go to college, get a great job where you don’t need to be in the jungle, suffering and struggling like your dad did.”
Parvati Shallow Says Her Daughter is Already Training for ‘Survivor’ Success
CBS/GettyParvati Shallow was just 23 years old when she began her “Survivor” journey on the cast of 2006’s “Survivor: Cook Islands.”
Two years later, Shallow would claim her first “Sole Survivor” title on the cast of “Survivor: Micronesia,” forming the still-infamous “Black Widow Brigade” all-female alliance on the “Fans vs. Favorites” season before returning for follow-up appearances on installments like “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” and “Survivor: Winners at War” in the U.S..
While Parvati narrowly missed out on becoming the show’s first-ever two-time winner, wrapping up a second-place finish on “Heroes vs. Villains,” she would later secure her second “Sole Survivor” title by winning “Survivor: Australia vs. the World” in 2025.
Though her status as a “real” two-time champion has been hotly contested by former castaways like Jeremy Collins, the recent victory similarly marked Parvati’s official retirement from the franchise, with Shallow reporting that she’d shifted her focus towards penning her debut memoir, producing her own reality competition series, and raising her 7-year-old daughter, Ama Fincher, whom she shares with her ex-husband and former “Survivor: Samoa” star John Fincher.
While Parvati previously reported that her daughter was “in training” to become the next “Survivor” superstar, she told Parade, “there’s probably easier paths [to success] than playing ‘Survivor.’”
That being said, Shallow added, “When it comes to that competitive spirit, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. She did watch the arm-raising challenge, where I held my arm up for six hours. And she will do that sometimes. At one point, she was with some friends, and she’s like, ‘Let’s hold our arms up for an hour.’ And they timed her. And she was painting a painting and holding one arm up.”
