Parvati Shallow, the 25-year-old veteran from the Cook Islands season of Survivor, defeated recent Survivor: China contestant Amanda Kimmel to become the $1 million winner of Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites.
“I honestly haven’t even thought about it,” Shallow tells PEOPLE of her big payout. “I figured that would be presumptuous to assume that I won, so I haven’t been planning out what I’m going to do with the money. I do have a charity I am very involved with and doing public relations for that’s called Knockouts for Girls and we provide scholarships and boxing training for underprivileged girls, so I’m just going to help out the charity and keep working for it and maybe do a little shopping!”
Shallow was one of the main architects of this season’s self-dubbed Black Widow Brigade, an alliance of women that one by one eliminated the biggest threats in the game with a series of exciting blindsides. “That’s probably the best ensemble performance by a group of Survivors that we ever had,” host Jeff Probst told PEOPLE before the finale. “I can’t say she’s surprised me but I’m impressed with how Parvati’s played.”
The woman on the short end of the 5-3 vote, 23-year-old L.A. designer and actress Amanda Kimmel, broke several records in becoming the runner up including being the first woman to participate in back-to-back seasons, surviving the most days (78 ) ever in the game, having to choose who to bring with her to the final vote in both her seasons, and being the first woman to find a hidden immunity idol. “I could have possibly been a $2 million winner but I didn’t win any of them,” Kimmel says with a laugh. “But back-to-back seasons are hard, emotionally and physical draining, but it was the best experience of my life. I’m really proud of the game I played, I’ve set a lot of records and I am one of the best women players of Survivor and I know that!”
Kimmel also struck up a relationship with fellow Favorite Oscar “Ozzy” Lusth, the 26-year-old actor based in Los Angeles. “I’m really glad I met Ozzy on the show,” Kimmel says. “He lives in Venice and I just moved to Venice, so it’s going really well.” Adds Lusth about Kimmel, “She’s just a great person. She’s got a really good heart. She’s funny, and she’s amazing. We’re being mellow.”
Just missing a guaranteed spot in the final two as a consequence of losing the last immunity challenge was Panama: Exile Island alumna Cirie Fields, the 36-year-old registered nurse from Walterboro, S.C. About playing Survivor for the second time, Fields says, “I feel like I was awarded another $1 million lottery ticket and how can you turn that down, however many times it takes? If they have another all-stars, remember me!” In the end, she voted for Shallow over Kimmel. “I played more closely with Parvati,” Fields says, “and I just feel she made some instrumental moves that were bigger than the moves that Amanda made and that’s why she got my vote.”
Gravedigger James Clement, 31, became the winner of the $100,000 fan favorite prize for the second season in a row. “Seriously, it is really shocking and I had no idea. I thought it would be Erik [who would win it],” Clement says of the added cash flow. “I’m going to do pretty much the same with it as the first [prize], take part of it and invest it, spread it out evenly and have some fun with it.” –Cynthia Wang
John Paul Filo/CBS
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