Survivor: Nicaragua’s Jane Bright has become the 17th American Survivor contestant to pass away

Jane was voted “player of the season” by fans in season 21, Survivor: Nicaragua, where players were divided by age. Her daughter, Ashley Hammett, shared the news of her death at the age of 71 in a Facebook post on May 15.

“Today Jane Hammett Bright was found passed away within her home by a good friend and county sheriff,” Ashley wrote.

The tattooed bartender was initially an outsider on season 10, Palau, but won her tribe mates over when she showed herself to be a strong competitor in challenges. She lost her battle with cancer in 2021, passing away in the arms of her husband Steven Calandra at the age of 40. Her family set up a GoFundMe to cover her medical bills.

When Ashley went on Survivor: China, the show’s 15th season, she was already famous as a professional wrestler. Her strength was expected to make her an asset in the game, but she got sick and was the second person voted out. She took her own life in 2019, aged 39. Fellow contestant Leslie Nease told People magazine that Ashley “had a very soft and kind side”. 

Another cast member from Borneo, B.B. rubbed a lot of his tribemates the wrong way, telling People he “didn’t have the energy to be phoney”. He was the second person voted off the show. B.B. died in 2013, aged 77, after battling brain cancer.

Caleb came into season 27, Blood vs. Water, as the fiancé of One World’s Colton Cumbie. He turned out to be a better player than the fiery Colton, with Jeff Probst later describing him as “one of the most humble and likeable” contestants ever. Caleb, who worked in the railways, was killed in a derailment in 2014, just a few months before he was due to marry Colton.  

In season 5, Thailand, Clay made it to the final tribal council, losing by one vote to Brian Heidik. He died in 2022, aged 66, following a short illness, just a few months after his wife, Linda Sue, died from COVID. His daughter Shanda said he would be “reunited with his beautiful bride”.

Cliff came into season 28, Cagayan, following a long career in basketball, and, not surprisingly, was put into the “brawn” tribe, where he proved capable of almost single-handedly winning challenges. After suffering a string of serious health issues, including lymphoma, he died in 2020. Jeff Probst said having Cliff, an NBA All-Star, play Survivor was “a personal highlight”.

Dan was a lawyer who left his job and sold his investment properties before going on Gabon, the show’s 17th season.

“I had my midlife crisis early,” he told People at the time.

He was voted off after being sent to Exile Island and failing to find the hidden immunity idol. The dad of two died “unexpectedly” in 2016 at the age of 40.

Real estate executive Dan was the oldest player in Nicaragua, and turned up wearing a pair of alligator shoes, but somehow made it to the final five. He died in 2022, at the age of 75, from progressive supranuclear palsy, with his family remembering him as “a charismatic, larger-than-life, outgoing bon vivant”.

 In Palau, Jenn had a romance with Gregg Carey – and made Survivor history for losing the first ever fire-making tiebreaker at tribal council. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, the same year she appeared on Survivor, and died in 2010, aged 37. Jeff Probst told Entertainment Weekly he and Jenn had “some beautiful talks about life and death”.

Going on season 29, San Juan del Sur, with his son Wes, firefighter Keith seemed to struggle at first, but he turned out to be a challenge beast. He finished in fourth place, and then returned two seasons later for Survivor: Cambodia. In 2023, he died after a short battle with cancer.

“It happened so quickly,” his brother Kevin told ET.  

The former schoolteacher impressed everyone in the third season, Africa, when she defeated Ethan Zohn and Lex van den Berghe in a gruelling immunity challenge. She went on to lose to Ethan 5-2 at the final tribal council. Kim lost her battle with cancer in July last year, aged 79, with Ethan posting that it was “a blessing” to call her his friend.

Farmer Ralph became notorious in season 22, Redemption Island, for speaking with a southern accent so thick that he needed subtitles – and for misspelling people’s names at tribal council. He suffered a massive heart attack in 2022, while lying in bed with his partner LaVonda Wood.

“Ralph had a good heart – he had a lot of generosity in him,” LaVonda told WJHL.

A former Marine, Roger was not popular with the other cast members in Survivor: The Amazon, the show’s sixth season, and was blindsided as soon as the tribes merged. Roger passed away in 2022, aged 76, after being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. In an online obituary, his family affectionately described him as “an exacerbating force”.

Blunt-talking former Navy SEAL Rudy was a fan favourite in Borneo, and, not surprisingly, was invited back for season 8, the first All-Stars. He lived to the age of 91, passing away in 2019 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Borneo winner Richard Hatch tweeted that he and Rudy “helped open minds and undermine prejudices”.

Ukulele-playing Sonja was the first person ever voted off Survivor, way back in the original season, Borneo. Her death was announced in April last year, with host Jeff Probst calling her “one of the kindest people to ever play Survivor”. She was 87.

When Sunday went on Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, the show’s 33rd season, she said she was “most proud” of being a breast cancer survivor. “It was important to me that my kids saw me as a warrior, rather than as a whiner,” the youth pastor added. In 2020 she revealed she was fighting oesophageal and ovarian cancer, and she died the following year, aged 50.