Amber Mariano

Amber Mariano (née Brkich; born August 11, 1978) is an American television personality and winner of Survivor: All-Stars with its $1,000,000 prize, after appearing as a contestant on one of its predecessors, Survivor: The Australian Outback, where she placed 6th. Later, she was a participant in the 40th season, Survivor: Winners at War, where she placed 20th, being the second voted out and the first member of the jury. She is married to fellow Survivor contestant of Survivor: Marquesas, Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Survivor: Winners at War and winner of Survivor: Redemption Island, Rob Mariano, with whom she appeared on The Amazing Race twice, where they placed 2nd and 8th. The two have four daughters together.

Amber Brkich went to Beaver Area High School. She is a graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations, with a minor in speech communications, in 2000. She is an alumna of Alpha Gamma Delta, having served as vice president and new member coordinator while still in school. She is of Croatian and Albanian descent on her paternal side.

She began a relationship with fellow reality star Rob Mariano in 2003, when they formed an alliance as castmates on Survivor: All-Stars. They became engaged on May 9, 2004, during the show's live finale at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and married on April 16, 2005, at Atlantis Paradise Island in The Bahamas. CBS aired a two-hour special about the wedding, entitled Rob and Amber Get Married, on May 24, 2005. After their marriage, the couple moved to Pensacola, Florida. They have four daughters: Lucia Rose (born July 4, 2009), Carina Rose (born December 10, 2010), Isabetta Rose (born May 5, 2012), and Adelina Rose (born June 20, 2014). Their family are members of the Catholic Church.

Brkich was a participant in the second season of Survivor, having auditioned for the season on a whim. She was a member of the green Ogakor tribe, and she was quick to fortify a strong friendship with fellow contestant Jerri Manthey, who helped construct an alliance with Colby Donaldson and Mitchell Olson. Upon the merge, Ogakor managed to use the knowledge that one of Kucha's members, Jeff Varner, had received votes beforehand, and eliminated him, thus gaining a numeric advantage over the other group. Later in the game however, it was decided by a majority of the remaining players that Brkich had played "under-the-radar", and she was sent home, ultimately landing in sixth place. As a member of the jury, she cast her vote for Donaldson, who lost to Tina Wesson in a 4–3 vote.

Immediately following her appearance on Survivor: The Australian Outback, Brkich appeared on the cover of Stuff magazine. Maxim ranked her as the 50th most beautiful woman in the world in 2004 and 73rd in 2005. She also appeared in various commercials for Adelphia Cable, Rite Aid drugstores, and Mountaineer Racetrack in West Virginia.

Brkich was a member of the Chapera tribe, a group including Rob Mariano, Sue Hawk, and fellow The Australian Outback player Alicia Calaway. In the season's premiere episode, Mariano and Brkich agreed to form an alliance. They faced their first Tribal Council in the fourth episode, and their relationship was a matter of discussion; but ultimately, it was Rob Cesternino who was sent home. Due to a twist that dissolved one of the three tribes, Jenna Lewis and Rupert Boneham joined the Chapera tribe leading to Mariano and Brkich quickly fortifying a long-term alliance with the duo.

Mid-game, a tribal shuffle managed to swap every contestant to the opposite tribe with the exception of Brkich, who remained on the Chapera tribe with Lex van den Berghe, Shii Ann Huang, Jerri Manthey, and Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien. The tribe went on to lose the next challenge and upon leaving, Mariano informed van den Berghe that he would take care of him if he took care of Brkich. Van den Berghe, Huang, and Vavrick-O'Brien voted out Manthey in hopes that Mariano would keep his word.

After the merge, van den Berghe was voted out despite Mariano promising to take care of him. Mariano and Brkich also managed to maintain several "alliances," including their agreement with Boneham and Lewis, one with "Big Tom" Buchanan, and one with Calaway. Eventually, the pair ended up in the Final Four with Lewis and Boneham. Once there, Brkich won her first individual Immunity challenge, and she and Mariano convinced Lewis to vote out Boneham instead of forcing a tie. In the final three, Mariano won immunity and chose Brkich to continue with him to the Final Two. Facing the jury, they both met criticism for their gameplay. Ultimately, Brkich was victorious by becoming the Sole Survivor in a 4–3 vote, securing her the winner by receiving votes from van den Berghe, Calaway, Huang, and Buchanan while Mariano received votes from Vavrick-O'Brien, Boneham and Lewis. Before the vote was read, Mariano proposed to Brkich, which she accepted without hesitation.