Survivor fans are loving Season 41 of the show, and the top-notch cast is one of the reasons. Of the 19 castaways, none have made so big a splash as Shan Smith, the scheming, charismatic pastor who has been driving votes on the Ua tribe and holding onto her solid position as the tribes have dissolved. Most notably, perhaps, was her domination of the JD vote, where she convinced a young Survivor student to give her his advantage and then orchestrated the others on the Ua tribe to blindside him.
Shan's plan went off without a hitch, as it seems to whenever the clever and enterprising 34-year-old is at the helm. She has remained tight with Ricard Foyé going into the merge, though fans suspect that tensions may flare soon and we will see their friendship become a rivalry. However it goes down, Shan Smith has made for some really entertaining TV this season already, and we're excited to see her take it all the way to the end - or go down in flames. Here's everything we know about the sly, charming contender who may just take it all.
8 Yes, She's Really A Pastor
Shan Smith may have a diabolical streak on the show, but in her regular life, yes, she's actually a pastor at Emmanuel Brinklow SDA just outside of Washington, D.C. She has a PhD in Biblical Hebrew/Aramaic and a Masters in Divinity, which she also utilizes when she teaches workshops and intensives on reading the Bible. A course linked to her Instagram describes a program called "How to Read the Bible Like a Boss."
7 ...But She's No Stick In The Mud
Just because she lives a devout life doesn't mean she's not wild and weird. Shan has hilarious TikTok and Instagram accounts where she had been posting comedic content long before she was considered for Survivor. Her characters and situational humor make for a great scrolling experience.
6 She Was In A Gang
Fans were already connecting to Shan Smith in the first few episodes, but when she opened up to fellow contestant Liana Wallace about her childhood, they felt even more drawn to her. Shan's mom was addicted to drugs when she was growing up and wasn't around for her daughter much. Sadly, Shan got involved with some shady people and ended up in a gang. "I was homeless, I was living on the streets," she said about this time in her life.
5 She Spent Time In Foster Care
With no one to care for her in her mom's absence, Shan ended up in the foster care system. She hasn't shared very openly about specifics, but it was undoubtedly a difficult time in her life, during which she lost contact with her mom and didn't have many parental figures.
4 She's Done A Lot Of Therapy Since Then
Shan is proud of the hard work she's done in therapy to overcome the difficult things in her early life. She speaks openly about that work: "The accomplishment that I am MOST proud of is doing the hard work in therapy and confronting my demons, working through the pain and the feelings of injustice, and then being willing to cultivate a relationship with those who let me down when I was little."
3 Her Background Could Be Her Ticket To Winning 'Survivor'
When she was homeless and living on the streets, Shan Smith picked up a lot of skills that might just make her a Survivor winner. "When you’re in that environment, you encounter a ton of different people," she said. "You face a number of circumstances that most people just don’t probably face in their life, and you really learn how to read people - both cops and people who live on the streets who say that you’re friends." That certainly explains her sharp instincts and keen eye for strategy and alliances on Survivor.
2 She Lost Her Mom Tragically
Shan Smith lost contact with her mom while she was in foster care, but they reconnected later in life and her mom was on a much better path, having gotten sober and made some positive changes for herself. Just when they were healing their relationship, though, Shan's mom passed away. Though this is sad, Shan said on the show that she's grateful that she got to have that time with her mom before she passed. "She gave me the best life she knew how and loved me with all the love she had in her. She is my image of beauty and strength," Shan said.
1 She Felt Connected To Jeff Probst And 'Survivor' Long Before Going On The Show
Shan Smith has shared that she viewed Jeff Probst as something like a parental figure when she was growing up and watching Survivor. "I didn’t really have a lot of parenting voices in my life," she said. "Jeff Probst kind of became that parenting voice. When he encouraged the players to dig deep, those were the messages I carried with me. That eventually put myself through high school, college, grad school and doctoral work. So the show has really had a big impact on me, not just surviving, bu winning and thriving in life." We're rooting for her to win in both Survivor and in life!
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