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Colby Donaldson
4 seasons · 111 days

Colby Donaldson

Survivor's original hero, whose Outback immunity tear set a bar he spent three returns chasing.

4
seasons played
111 days
on the island
2nd
best finish
1
final tribal council

Known for

In the Australian Outback, Colby won eight of the final ten challenges, leading Ogakor alongside Tina Wesson and Keith Famie while his flirt-and-feud with Jerri Manthey kept camp spicy. The merge came down to a 5-5 deadlock, and prior votes sent Kucha's Jeff Varner home instead of Colby. At the final three he held all the power, judged Tina more deserving than Keith, and took her to the end. She beat him 4-3, and fans have called it a big mistake ever since.

The returns were rougher. On Mogo Mogo in All-Stars, Jerri got her payback and helped vote him out. In Heroes vs. Villains his challenge form deserted him, but he outlasted every other Hero before the Villains cut him late. In the Hands of the Fans showed a sunnier Colby, building alliances on Vatu and with Coach Wade on Kalo, until a boat ran over his foot and the Blood Moon twist left him exposed. Cirie Fields decided he was the bigger danger.

Background: Survivor Wiki

Season by season

  1. Colby Donaldson, Survivor 2: The Australian Outback
    2Survivor 2: The Australian Outbackage 26, Dallas, Texas2nd of 16 · 42 days
  2. Colby Donaldson, Survivor 8: All-Stars
    12Survivor 8: All-Starsage 29, Los Angeles, California12th of 18 · 19 days
  3. Colby Donaldson, Survivor 20: Heroes vs. Villains
    5Survivor 20: Heroes vs. Villainsage 35, Los Angeles, California5th of 20 · 37 days · jury
  4. Colby Donaldson, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans

Photos and logos: CBS

Where they rank

  • 7thMost days played111 days
  • 6thMost seasons played4 seasons
The full Survivor record book →

Seasons played, finishing positions, day counts, jury status, ages and hometowns come from the contestant table in each season's Wikipedia article, cross-checked against the series overview before publication.

Sources (6)

  1. “Survivor: The Australian Outback,” Wikipedia, accessed September 28, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor:_The_Australian_Outback.
  2. “Survivor: All-Stars,” Wikipedia, accessed September 28, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor:_All-Stars.
  3. “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains,” Wikipedia, accessed September 28, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor:_Heroes_vs._Villains.
  4. “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans,” Wikipedia, accessed September 28, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_50:_In_the_Hands_of_the_Fans.
  5. “List of Survivor (American TV series) episodes,” Wikipedia, accessed September 25, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Survivor_(American_TV_series)_episodes.
  6. “Colby Donaldson,” Survivor Wiki, accessed September 28, 2026, https://survivor.fandom.com/wiki/Colby_Donaldson.

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