Eliza Orlins is a contestant from Survivor: Vanuatu and Survivor: Micronesia.
In Vanuatu, Eliza's argumentative personality made her an unpopular figure around camp. She was initially part of the Yasur Alliance, but eventually turned on that alliance and put aside her differences with Scout Cloud Lee and Twila Tanner to join the Final Four Alliance along with Chris Daugherty to effect a major power shift. However, she was ultimately betrayed by Chris at the final four, for her strength in challenges and dynamic strategic gameplay.
Eliza returned as one of the "Favorites" in Micronesia, where her initial allies were all taken out prior to the merge, thus forcing her to play from the bottom. Because of her status as an outsider and willingness to go against her original tribemates, she was left to be voted out in 10th place, becoming the first member of the jury. She is also remembered for reluctantly playing Jason Siska's fake Hidden Immunity Idol, and exposing Ozzy Lusth for having the authentic idol once Jason's was revealed to be counterfeit.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Age: 21 Eliza Orlins was born in New York City, where she grew up when not traveling to China with her family. When she was four years old, she and her parents went to Beijing, where they adopted her sister, Sabrina. Sixteen months later, her youngest sister, Emily, was born. Her father's career moved them to Hong Kong, where she attended Hong Kong International School. A couple of years later, her family moved back to New York until 1995, when they moved to Washington, DC. She attended the Sidwell Friends School where she ran varsity track and cross country. She participated in the Marine Corps Marathon with the AIDS Marathon Training Program her junior year. At Sidwell, she also wrote and edited for the school newspaper and was the assistant director of the Spring Musical during her senior year. Last summer, Orlins interned at the Legal Aid Society in New York City. Orlins is currently a senior at Syracuse University, where she is working a dual major in international relations and political science, with a minor in Chinese. She is a Dean's Scholar and has made Dean's List every semester. She is in the process of applying to law school and intends to be a public defender after graduation. She's a member of Alpha Phi Sorority and was the vice president of New Member Recruitment, for which they won the award for best overall recruitment at their national convention. Orlins is also a member of the Golden Key Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She is currently working on her Honor's Thesis and will graduate in May 2005. Orlins describes herself as an intense, vivacious, driven and politically active woman who loves reality television, sports and eating. She says she brings her competitiveness, speed, swimming skills and enthusiasm to Survivor: Vanuatu. She believes that she can be the Sole Survivor because "people will underestimate me." Orlins has been dating her boyfriend, Justin, for four years. Her birth date is December 25, 1982.[1]
Eliza Orlins was born in New York City to parents Susan and Steve. She grew up splitting her time between NYC and China. When she was four years old, she and her parents went to Beijing where they adopted her sister, Sabrina. Sixteen months later, her youngest sister, Emily, was born. Her father's career moved them to Hong Kong where she spent two years attending Hong Kong International School. Her family then moved back to New York until 1995 when they moved to Washington, D.C. In 2001, Orlins graduated from the Sidwell Friends School where she ran varsity track and cross country. She also completed the Marine Corps Marathon with the AIDS Marathon Training Program her junior year. At Sidwell, she also wrote and edited for the school newspaper and was the assistant director of the spring musical "Damn Yankees." In 2005, Orlins graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University in international relations and political science and a minor in Chinese. At Syracuse, she was a Dean's Scholar and made Dean's List every semester. Orlins also received Phi Beta Kappa honors upon her graduation. As a member of Alpha Phi Sorority, she was the vice president of New Member Recruitment, for which her chapter won the award for best overall recruitment at their national convention. Orlins is currently a third-year student at Fordham University School of Law and will graduate with her J.D. in December 2008. At Fordham, Orlins participates in many school activities. She describes herself as insanely over-committed, but happy. She is the Co-Intraschool Editor of the Brendan Moore Trial Advocates (Fordham's Mock Trial Team), the Co-Symposium Editor for the Urban Law Journal and the President of the Fordham Law Democrats. For the Moores, Orlins has competed in multiple trial advocacy competitions, bringing home an individual award for Best Opening Statement at the National Trial Advocacy Competition held at Michigan State University in Fall 2006. For the Urban Law Journal, Orlins and her co-editor are currently planning a symposium on the constitutionality of lethal injection. Orlins has worked for the Legal Aid Society, criminal defense division, Onondaga County District Attorney's Office, a large New York law firm, and interned for a New York Supreme Court Judge. Orlins describes herself as an intense, vivacious, driven and politically-active woman who loves reality television, sports, especially New York and Syracuse teams, and her puppy Oscar. She says she brings her competitive nature, athleticism and enthusiasm to Survivor. Orlins currently lives in Manhattan with her boyfriend Justin and her Yorkshire Terrier, Oscar. Her birth date is December 25, 1982.[2] |
Survivor[]
Vanuatu[]
Upon arriving on the beach, Eliza noticed quickly that the men and the women were being separated. She also realized that the men were the ones in the center of the action, despite supposedly everyone being a part of the opening ceremony. Once it was over, the tribes were divided by gender. Eliza's tribe was called Yasur. On the way to the camp, some of the members wanted to wait until morning to find the camp. Eliza along with Twila Tanner disagreed. Eventually, the women reached the camp that night. Eliza quickly befriended the other younger girls (Julie Berry, Dolly Neely, and Mia Galeotalanza). Twila and Scout Cloud Lee were annoyed by the girls' constant talking, with Eliza being deemed the most annoying. At the first Immunity Challenge, the women were able to win the challenge because of Chris Daugherty's inability to cross the balance beam. The women were also able to win the next Reward Challenge and blankets. At this point, the tribe was divided by youth and work ethic. The young women were joined by Lisa Keiffer. The women lost the Immunity Challenge and Eliza was in danger due to her constant talking. Dolly shifted the vote to Leann Slaby because of her flying under the radar. However, when she talked to Dolly, Eliza was left with the impression Dolly was going to flip and vote out Eliza. Although Dolly stayed loyal to the young girls, Eliza helped blindside her.
Eliza immediately rejoined her original alliance, but they were still wary of her. At the next challenge, it was revealed that both tribes would go to Tribal Council. Yasur lost the reward part of the challenge had to watch the Lopevi men compete for immunity. In a twist, the winner, John Kenney, stayed with the women until just before the vote to give one of them immunity. John K. separated the girls by who voted out Dolly to expose alliances. Eliza immediately explained her side of the story, unknowingly annoying him as well. Mia wanted Twila out due to a recent argument with her. Eliza suggested voting Scout out for being a detriment in challenges, but Mia didn't relent. At Tribal Council, John gave immunity to Ami Cusack and Mia was blindsided in a 5-3 vote. Lisa flipped to the older women's alliance because she didn't trust Eliza. The women won the next two challenges, with Eliza being the one responsible for the immunity win.
On Day 11, local tribesman came to the two camps and asked for a tribe chief. The women elected Scout due to being the wisest and the eldest. Later, it was revealed that the tribes were switching. Scout placed Eliza with Travis Sampson, Leann, Rory Freeman, and Ami. Lea Masters deemed the other group Lopevi. After being unpicked, Lisa willingly went to Yasur. Yasur went on a losing streak. Travis was the first to go due to telling Chris to "remember the merge" in earshot of Ami while at the Immunity Challenge. At the second Reward Challenge after the switch, Eliza was a hindrance and Yasur lost again. Rory felt that Eliza's poor performance would give him the ability to crack Ami's alliance. Eliza was unable to perform at the Immunity Challenge due to Leann's struggle in the underwater obstacle course. However, it would be Lisa who became the target because she asked Ami how to gather food "just in case". Yasur was able to make a comeback to win the next two challenges, winning a trip to a coffee house and immunity. The next challenge, Lopevi won milk, cookies, and chocolate cake.
The next day, the tribes merged. At the first individual Immunity Challenge, Eliza narrowly beat Chris for a spot in the final round but lost the challenge to Lea. Everyone moved to the Lopevi camp and was ecstatic to have a feast await them. Under Ami's influence, Twila and Julie flipped to the women and blindsided Rory in a 6-4 vote. At the next challenge, Eliza was the first woman out. She was angered by being on the bottom. When Leann and Julie returned from the reward, they shared the chicken wings with the women, leaving the men only the tips. At the Immunity Challenge, Eliza was the first woman out again. Ami won immunity and made sure the women stayed strong. Lea was voted out, with his vote going to Eliza.
At this point, Scout was fed up with Eliza and plotted with the men to oust her. At the Reward Challenge, Eliza's team won the challenge. They went to a local village and indulged in the culture and food. When they returned, Eliza noticed something was up due to Julie's behavior. At the Immunity Challenge, Twila defeated Chad Crittenden for the win. At Tribal Council, Eliza was questioned by Jeff Probst for bringing her bag at every Tribal Council. He referred to her as the girl who cried wolf. She countered by the fact that she was considered to be voted out every time and it was valid 100%. When the vote came, the women held strong and Eliza was spared while Chad was voted out.
The next challenge was the Loved Ones Challenge, with the winner getting an online chat with their loved one. Eliza beat out Julie to spend time with mother, Susan. However, her mother and the other loved ones were on location and Eliza got to spend a whole day with her mom. Eliza explained that she was nearly voted out for talking too much. Once she had to leave, Susan gave her daughter the shirt off her back because she needed one. Eliza was worried the visit would make the others jealous. The loved ones returned for the Immunity Challenge. Ami won the challenge with her girlfriend, Crissy. After the challenge, Chris told her that Julie claimed that Eliza was the one going home. Chris pleaded with Eliza to vote with him, Twila, and Scout to eliminate Leann. Eliza had her reservations but she agreed. Chris was right as she received the other votes; however, Leann was blindsided.
Eliza and Ami were angered at Twila and Scout for their betrayal. At the Reward Challenge, the castaways competed for a Pontiac G6 and a trip to a spa. Eliza was able to beat out Ami for the car and the girls were joined by Chris at the spa. Both Ami and Chris talked strategy with Eliza. Chris later defeated Ami for individual immunity. Eliza considered flipping to Ami and Julie to vote out Scout. At Tribal Council, Eliza agreed that Twila's swearing on her son's name was immoral but still voted out Ami.
Julie and Eliza started to realign themselves and hoped that Chris would join them. Julie won the Reward Challenge and took Chris with her. While trapped with Twila and Scout, they annoyed her to no end. Eliza declared she was done with both of them. When Chris returned, they talked. During the conversation, Chris promised that they were going to the final three. Eliza simply corrected him by saying the Final Two, which he hastily agreed. Eliza won the Immunity Challenge. Afterwards, Chris was weighing his options between siding with Julie or Twila. Twila caught Eliza talking about voting her out, leading to a major argument. At Tribal Council, Eliza was shocked when Julie was blindsided. After Tribal Council, Twila and Eliza accused each other of being undeserving of coming this far. Eliza talked to Chris and he claimed that his vote was the alliance. Eliza was amazed by who was in the final four. Eliza prayed that she would win immunity, however, Chris was victorious. Eliza was happy as she thought Chris and herself were going to Day 39. Unfortunately for Eliza, Chris deemed Eliza too much of a threat to win the Final Immunity Challenge and the jury vote. Eliza was voted out on Day 37. As her torch was snuffed, Eliza glared at Chris, who nonchalantly waved goodbye.
At Final Tribal Council, Eliza embarked on a long rant deriding the finalists for their deceptive conduct. Afterwards, Eliza demanded an apology from both finalists. Twila refused to entertain her request, while Chris complied. Because he apologized and she liked him better, Eliza voted for Chris to win.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yasur | Fire Starter | Reward/Immunity | No | Won |
| 2 | By the Numbers | Reward | No | Won | |
| Four on the Floor | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| 3 | Great Escape Run | Reward/Immunity1 | No | Lost | |
| 4 | Remembrance | Reward | No | Won | |
| Tribal Tiles | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 5 | Dive Masters | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Outwit, Outplay, Outrig | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| 6 | Pig Pen | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Strung Out | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| 7 | Jo-Coconut | Reward | No | Won | |
| Shoot Your Way Home | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 8 | Fire Fighter | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Tribes Merged, Day 20 | |||||
| 8 | Alinta | Jumper | Immunity | Lost | |
| 9 | Head Hunter | Reward | Lost | ||
| Memory Mosaic | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 10 | Sacrificial Lamb | Reward | Won | ||
| Get a Grip | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 11 | Played Out | Reward | Won | ||
| Love Is Blind | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 12 | Troubled Water | Reward | 1st | ||
| Island Hopping | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 13 | Redemption | Reward | Lost | ||
| Warrior | Immunity | Won | |||
| 14 | Vertical Maze | Immunity | Lost | ||
| Voted Out, Day 37 | |||||
| Notes: ^1 Both tribes were sent to Tribal Council. The tribe that won the Reward Challenge earned the right to compete in an individual Immunity Challenge.
| |||||
| Episode | Eliza's Votes |
Voted Against Eliza |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yasur Tribe Immune | |
| 2 | Dolly | - |
| 3 | Twila | - |
| 4 | Yasur Tribe Immune | |
| 5 | Travis | - |
| 6 | Lisa | - |
| 7 | Yasur Tribe Immune | |
| 8 | Rory | - |
| 9 | Lea | Lea |
| 10 | Chad | Chad, Chris |
| 11 | Leann | Ami, Julie, Leann |
| 12 | Ami | - |
| 13 | Twila | Individual Immunity |
| 14 | Twila | Chris, Scout, Twila |
| Voted Out, Day 37 | ||
| Voted for Sole Survivor |
Chris | |
Micronesia[]
After her memorable appearance in Vanuatu, Eliza returned for Survivor: Micronesia. Eliza began the game on the Malakal tribe, along with nine other fan-favorites. Early on, Eliza noticed the alliance of Parvati Shallow, James Clement, Amanda Kimmel, and Ozzy Lusth, which preempted her into forming an alliance with Yau-Man Chan, Jonathan Penner, and Ami Cusack against the "Couples". This act made her seem as a threat by Parvati's alliance, who conspired to vote her out during their first Tribal Council. However, this plan was put on hold when Jon Dalton asked the entire tribe to vote him out first in order to be with his expectant girlfriend.
When Eliza's alliance failed to convince Cirie Fields to join them, they found themselves as the minority, as Parvati's alliance (with whom Cirie sided) voted for Yau-Man due to his experiences with the Hidden Immunity Idol.
During the tribe switch, Eliza's alliance was split, as she and Jonathan were switched to Airai, while Ami stayed on Malakal. However, she quickly lost her ally Jonathan when he was injured during a challenge and had to be evacuated. During this time, Eliza befriended and aligned with Jason Siska, who, like herself, felt on the outs with his original tribe.
Following the merge, Eliza felt disheartened by Ami's elimination, as she had planned to bring Jason and Ami to the Final Three. Jason surprised Eliza, however, when he told her that he found the Hidden Immunity Idol. He promised that, should he win individual immunity, he would give his idol to Eliza. This was actually a fake idol that Ozzy had planted after finding the real idol on Exile Island, although Jason was certain it was real. When Jason won individual immunity, he gave the "idol" to Eliza, who immediately knew it was a fake, infamously asserting, "It's a f***ing stick", to his disbelief. She decided to play it anyway in the hopes of exposing that Ozzy had the real one, to which Ozzy admitted he did. Eliza was voted out 8-2 and became the first member of the jury. When Ozzy was blindsided at the following Tribal Council with his idol in his pocket, Eliza had a famously theatrical reaction, nearly bursting into laughter from the jury bench.
At Final Tribal Council, Eliza complimented finalists Parvati and Amanda on their strategic gameplay but criticized Parvati for being mean and Amanda for being superficial. Despite disliking her more, Eliza gave her jury vote to Parvati who won in a 5-3 vote.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malakal | First to Shore | Immunity1 | No | Lost |
| Reinventing the Wheel | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| 2 | Smash and Grab | Reward/Immunity | No | Won | |
| 3 | Beach Bash | Reward | No | Won | |
| Nut Bucket | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| 4 | Diver Down | Reward | No | Won | |
| Crosswalk | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| Switched Tribes, Day 13 | |||||
| 5 | Airai | Cat and Mouse | Reward | No | Won |
| A Stone's Throw | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 6 | Build It Up, Break It Down | Reward | No | Won | |
| United We Stand | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 7 | Money Roll | Reward | No | Lost | |
| What-er Drag | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 8 | The Gauntlet | Reward/Immunity | No | Won | |
| Tribes Merged, Day 22 | |||||
| 9 | Dabu | Last Gasp | Immunity | Lost | |
| Voted Out, Day 24 | |||||
| Notes: ^1 This challenge was played for individual immunity at each tribe's first Tribal Council.
| |||||
| Episode | Eliza's Votes |
Voted Against Eliza |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon | - |
| 2 | Malakal Tribe Immune | |
| 3 | Yau-Man | - |
| 4 | Malakal Tribe Immune | |
| 5 | Airai Tribe Immune | |
| 6 | Airai Tribe Immune | |
| 7 | Airai Tribe Immune | |
| 8 | Airai Tribe Immune | |
| 9 | Ozzy | Alexis, Amanda, Cirie, Erik, James, Natalie, Ozzy, Parvati |
| Voted Out, Day 24 | ||
| Voted for Sole Survivor |
Parvati | |
Post-Survivor[]
Corinne and Eliza's promotional photo for The Amazing Race 31.
- Eliza finished law school and currently works as a public defender in New York City.
- In March 2020, Eliza ran for District Attorney of Manhattan, but lost.
- Eliza used to write reviews about Survivor on the website Reality Nation until Philippines.
- On January 9, 2010, Eliza attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party along with all of her Vanuatu castmates.[3]
- On May 12, 2015, Eliza appeared on an episode of The Dr. Oz Show with her dog Oscar.[4]
- In April 2016, Eliza appeared on People Now along with Andrea Boehlke interviewing Neal Gottlieb.[5]
- On April 26, 2017, Eliza appeared on an episode of Pen Fan Forum hosted by Andrea Boehlke to discuss the tenth episode of Game Changers.[6] She appeared in another episode on May 17, 2017 along with Guatemala contestant Brian Corridan to discuss the finale of Game Changers.[7]
- In the summer of 2018, Eliza and fellow Survivor contestant and friend Corinne Kaplan competed on the thirty-first season of The Amazing Race.[8] They were eliminated in the fourth leg, finishing in 9th place.
Trivia[]
- Eliza is the youngest contestant to compete on Vanuatu.
- Eliza is the first woman to win a car in a challenge and the first woman to be a victim of the Car Curse.
- Eliza became the first person to be the fifteenth person voted out of a season in Vanuatu. Although Rupert Boneham in All-Stars was the first person to be the fifteenth person eliminated from a season, two people quit the game.
- Eliza was the first person to be featured in a Ponderosa video, as Ponderosa videos started during Micronesia, and she was the first member of the jury.
- Eliza is the only female member of Dabu who is not a member of the Black Widow Brigade.
- Eliza is the only person switched from Malakal to Airai to be voted out. This is because James Clement and Jonathan Penner were medically evacuated, while Parvati Shallow ended up making it to the Final Tribal Council.
- Eliza claimed to have applied for Survivor as soon as she turned 21.[9]
- Eliza lost 11 lbs. during her time in Micronesia.[10]
- Eliza is the only Favorite who made the merge in Micronesia who has not returned for a third time.
- Both times Eliza competed:
- She was on the same starting tribe with Ami Cusack and outlasted her.
- She voted for the eventual Sole Survivor, who received five votes to win.
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20050303002610/http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor9/survivors/bios/eliza.shtml
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20230909201323/https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/120/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ5_o4vGO6g
- ↑ https://twitter.com/eorlins/status/598331698556829698
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BDoSh_uqlDc/?hl=en
- ↑ https://twitter.com/andreaboehlke?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
- ↑ https://twitter.com/andreaboehlke?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
- ↑ https://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/photos/1008701/who-s-in-the-cast-of-the-amazing-race-season-31-/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ5_o4vGO6g
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODiKWLL_WRY
| Survivor: Vanuatu Castaways | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||
| Survivor: Micronesia Castaways | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
