Among Survivor fans, Cirie Fields is widely considered the best player to never win the game.
From the time she was first introduced to audiences during Survivor: Panama — Exile Island in 2006, Cirie has proven herself to be one of the most adept social strategists in the show’s history. Despite not being the strongest physical competitor, the reality TV veteran excels at talking herself out of tight spots.
Cirie made history in August 2023 when she was revealed as the surprise 17th houseguest on Big Brother 25, making her the first Survivor alum to play the game of Big Brother.
Keep scrolling for a full breakdown of Cirie’s legendary reality TV career:
‘Survivor: Panama — Exile Island’
Cirie described herself as a “couch potato” during her first Survivor season in 2006 and became an early target after losing the first Immunity Challenge due to her lack of athleticism. However, she quickly made an alliance with two of her fellow Casaya tribe members and managed to shift the target on to Tina Scheer, who was then eliminated in a 3-1 vote.
Later in the competition, Cirie made one of her most famous strategic movies at final six when she realized that several castaways planned to take Courtney Marit to the final Tribal Council. She then coordinated a 3-2-1 split vote to successfully blindside and eliminate Courtney. The crafty move was a testament to her social game, as it required her to know for certain how every other player was voting while concealing her own motives from half of them.
Cirie ultimately placed fourth after losing a fire-making tie breaker to her ally Danielle DiLorenzo.
‘Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites’
Cirie returned to Survivor for Micronesia in 2008, joining the Black Widow Brigade alliance along with Parvati Shallow, Alexis Jones, Amanda Kimmel and Natalie Bolton. The four women successfully pulled off a number of blindsides, convincing men to vote with them before swiftly turning on them when their assistance was no longer needed.
The alliance’s most notable victim was Erik Reichenbach. At final five, Cirie convinced Erik to give his Immunity necklace to Natalie so they could vote out Amanda, telling him that the move was the only way to repair his reputation as a player that kept his word. Erik fell for Cirie’s tricks and the Black Widow Brigade blindsided and eliminated him.
Amanda, Cirie and Parvati stayed true to their word at the final four and voted out Natalie, but then learned that only two players would advance to the final Tribal Council. Cirie lost to Amanda at the Final Immunity Challenge and Amanda, concerned that she couldn’t beat Cirie in the finals, eliminated her.
‘Survivor: Game Changers — Mamanuca Islands’
After being eliminated early in the game during Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains in 2010, Cirie returned for Survivor: Game Changers in 2017. During the season, Cirie made a risky move after her ally Sarah Lacina let her hold onto her Steal a Vote advantage during a Tribal Council as a sign of trust.
Without reading the full rules of the Steal a Vote, Cirie attempted to use the advantage to vote against Tai Trang twice. Sarah then revealed that the power was non-transferable and successfully used it to steal Tai’s vote and scheme with Brad Culpepper and Troyzan Robertson to eliminate Cirie’s No. 1 ally, Michaela Bradshaw.
Although Cirie’s actions initially sparked backlash from Sarah, she repaired the relationship by explaining that she made the move to protect Sarah from Tai, who was going after her. Sarah then apologized to Cirie.
Cirie’s elimination at the following Tribal Council came down to the fact that she was the only remaining player without immunity. She was automatically eliminated despite having no votes against her, prompting the jury to clap with respect as she handed host Jeff Probst her torch.
‘The Traitors’
Cirie tried her hand at another reality show in 2023, competing as one of several traitors on the Peacock series of the same name. (She also competed on one episode of Snake in the Grass in 2022, splitting the $100,00 prize with Janelle Pierzina and Rachel Reilly after they successfully identified Stephenie Kendrick (née LaGrossa) as the Snake.) Despite her reputation as a Survivor legend, Cirie managed to lay low and make numerous allies who trusted her completely.
When her fellow traitor Cody Calafiore proposed eliminating her ally Rachel, Cirie successfully switched the target to Ryan Lochte, whom Cody had grown increasingly close to.
She ultimately betrayed all three of her fellow traitors, despite being given an opportunity at the final four to end the game and split the prize money with Arie Luyendyk Jr. At final three, the two remaining faithfuls, Andie Thurmond and Quentin Jiles, were convinced of Cirie’s loyalty and she became the sole winner as the last traitor standing.
‘Big Brother’
During the final moments of the Big Brother 25 premiere in 2023, Cirie was announced as the surprise 17th houseguest, joining her son, Jared Fields, in the game.
