From the infamous “Black Widow” Parvati Shallow to the “Queen” Sandra Diaz-Twine, “Survivor” has seen its fair share of femme fatale castaways over the last 26 years.
While 22 women have managed to outwit, outplay and outlast their way to the title of “Sole Survivor” and the $1 million grand prize that comes with it over the last 49 seasons, the distinct honor of being named the “deadliest” castaway in franchise history actually belongs to a non-winner — Cirie Fields.
Fields officially received the accolade following the most recent episode of “Survivor 50” — her fifth appearance on the longrunning CBS reality competition series — as she successfully voted out fellow castaway Christian Hubicki, bringing her career head-count to a whopping 40.
During her time on Season 50, Cirie established her place in “Survivor” history by breaking the record for most “votes for boot” (VFB), or, the most contestants eliminated by a single castaway.
Cirie Took Out Seven Other Players During Her ‘Survivor’ Debut
GettyShe kicked off her “deadly” spree on the cast of 2006’s “Survivor: Panama.” On route to the Final Four of her debut season, Cirie successfully eliminated seven castaways: Tina Sheer, Bobby Mason, Nick Stanbury, Austin Carty, Sally Schumann, Courtney Marit and Shane Powers.
Fields ultimately finished the season in fourth place, though she wasn’t voted out. Instead she had her torch snuffed after failing to defeat fellow finalist Danielle DiLorenzo in a fire-making challenge.
11 ‘Micronesia’ Castaways Fell to Cirie’s ‘Black Widow’ Alliance
CBSHer list VFB skyrocketed to 18 during her follow-up appearance on 2008’s “Survivor: Micronesia – Fans vs. Favorites.”
As part of the infamous “Black Widow Brigade” alliance, Cirie directly contributed to the elimination of 11 castaways — Jonny Fairplay, Yau-Man Cham, Joel Anderson, Chet Welch, Tracy Hughes-Wolf, Amy Cusack, Elizabeth Orlins, Ozzy Lusth, Jason Siska, Erik Reichenbach and Natalie Bolton.
At the time, the feat tied the record that had been previously set by Kim Johnson on “Survivor: Africa” and later matched by both Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick and Rafe Judkins on “Survivor: Guatemala.”
The single-season VFB record has since been shattered, and is currently held by Natalie White and Russell Hantz, who both successfully eliminated 14 players on “Survivor: Samoa.”
Once again, Cirie was not eliminated from the season traditionally, falling to a shocking Tribal Council in the Final Three, where Amanda Kimmel chose to face off against Parvati Shallow instead of Fields in the Final Two. The choice ultimately cost Kimmel the million.
Even at Her ‘Survivor’ Worst, Cirie Still Slayed Two Competitors
CBSDuring her third series appearance on the cast of 2010’s “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains,” Fields tally inched forward as she added the eliminations of both Sugar Kiper and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick before she herself was voted out in 16th place – bringing her total to 20.
The 10th anniversary season marks the only instance to-date where Cirie was voted out of the game traditionally, with Colby Donaldson, J.T. Thomas and Tom Westman being the only castaways to ever successfully eliminate her.
It similarly stands out as the only time Fields hasn’t made it to the Merge on “Survivor.”
Cirie Neared the Record with Four ‘Game Changers’ Eliminations
CBS/GettyThe New Jersey-native gained momentum during her return for “Survivor: Game Changers” in 2017, bringing her VFB total to 24.
Despite not attending the first seven Tribal Council ceremonies of the season, Cirie managed to successfully eliminate four other castaways – Debbie Warner, Zeke Smith, Sierra Dawn Anglim and Andrea Boehlke – before finishing the competition in sixth place.
At the time, Cirie fell just one elimination short of the standing VFB record of 25, held by Amanda Kimmel courtesy of her domineering runs on “Survivor: China,” “Survivor: Micronesia” and “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains,” respectively.
Once again, Fields’ “Game Changers” elimination was unconventional – a “Survivor” first, in fact – as she had her torch snuffed simply because she was the only present castaway who didn’t have Immunity from the vote.
Everyone else in the Final Six – Aubry Bracco, Tai Trang, Troyzan Robertson, Brad Culpepper and Sarah Lacina – had secured invulnerability at that night’s Tribal Council in one way or another. Brad by winning the episode’s Individual Immunity challenge, Tai, Aubry and Troyzan by playing Hidden Immunity Idols, and Sarah through the power of the Legacy Advantage.
Despite not being the primary target of that particular voting ceremony, Cirie was ultimately eliminated by default as the only player eligible to receive votes.
A Global Showdown Adds Eight Names to Cirie’s VFB Count
It’s Fields’ fifth “Survivor” appearance where things get a little muddy regarding her VFB record.
While she’d eventually return for a record-matching fifth season on “Survivor 50,” Cirie’s appearance on 2025’s “Survivor: Australia vs. the World” that some fans refuse to consider “canon” when it comes to franchise records.
For instance, Parvati Shallow – who similarly competed on the international battle royale season – technically joined the two-time winners club alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine and Tony Vlachos, both of whom have also competed on Australian iteration of the show, though the fact has been hotly contested by fans and former players, including former series champion Jeremy Collins, alike.
If her eight successful vote outs from the installment are added to her career total, it would bring her count to 32.
As a duo, Cirie and Parvati managed to eliminate Rob Bentele (“Survivor: South Africa”), Tony Vlachos, Sarah Tilleke (“Australian Survivor”), Kirby Bentley (“Australian Survivor”), Kass Bastarache (“Survivor: Quebec”), Tommi Manninen (“Survivor: Finland”), Lisa Holmes (“Survivor: New Zealand”) and Shonee Botwell (“Australan Survivor”).
While Cirie managed to make it to the Final Four, ultimately losing another fire-making challenge to “Australian Survivor” star Luke Toki, Parvati went on to not only win the season, but also set the new VFB record at 35 career eliminations, regardless of franchise.
Cirie Officially Shatters the VFB Record on ‘Survivor 50’
CBSDuring her time on “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” – which is still a few weeks away from its upcoming May 20 finale – Fields has added an additional eight players to her ever-growing VFB list to a record-breaking 40!
So far on the milestone season, Cirie has successfully voted out Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, Savannah Louie and Charlie Davis in the pre-Merge. After the individual portion of the game began, Fields continued her spree by taking out Colby Donaldson, Dee Valladares, Chrissy Hofbeck, Benjamin “Coach” Wade and Christian Hubicki in rapid succession.
Our kill-count of 40 is one higher than the VFB record reported by “The True Dork Times,” though the discrepancy likely alludes to the fact that Cirie executed the elimination of both Hofbeck and Wade with a single Tribal Council vote.
By our count, Cirie actually holds the global VFB record, topping out over “Australian Survivor” alum Shonee Botwell, who racked up 39 eliminations across her four series appearances.
Even without her eight points from “Australia vs. the World,” Cirie would still come out on top of her closest US-only competition, Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano, who successfully voted out 27 competitors across his five series appearances on “Survivor: Marquesas,” “Survivor: All-Stars,” “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains,” “Survivor: Redemption Island” and “Survivor: Winner at War.”
Fields stands to extend her lead as “Survivor 50” continues. Assuming the milestone season stages a traditional Top 3 Final Tribal Council, Cirie could potentially participate in seven more elimination ceremonies before the installment wraps up. If she voted correctly at each and every Tribal Council from now until then, Cirie could set a near-unreachable VFB record of 47 – 39 of which would have been acquired solely on the U.S. flagship series.
What’s Next for Cirie Fields?
Cirie’s record-breaking career on the hit CBS reality competition series has resulted in her being called “the best to never win the game” by its own longtime host, Jeff Probst.
With 20 years of experience under her belt, Cirie has similarly celebrated appearances on series like Peacock’s “The Traitors” – which she won during its debut season in 2021 – USA’s “Snake in the Grass” and Season 25 of CBS’s “Big Brother,” where she appeared as a surprise 17th houseguest alongside her son, Jared.
The 55-year-old has since announced, however, that “Survivor 50” will be her swan song from the franchise. That being said, the fandom will forever remember her as the mother who was brave enough to get up off the couch to take part in the “greatest adventure on television.”
As to what comes next, the reality star has yet to confirm any upcoming appearances, though she has reportedly been contacted to participate in a future all-star season of “The Traitors.”
Unfortunately, the unconfirmed installment likely wouldn’t air until January 2028, following a fifth standard season of the Emmy-winning competition series currently slated to hit the streaming platform in January 2027.
In the meantime, be sure to catch an all-new episode of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” this Wednesday, April 29 at 8:00pm ET, exclusively on CBS.
