Portrait of Colby Donaldson

Colby Donaldson

I may be a lot of things, but I ain't no Hershey bar. Survivor 2, E6
Legend

Played on

111 days played

Game record

Vote alignment68%of 25 ballots

47th percentile of 423 castaways

Immunity record5career immunity wins

99th percentile of 751 castaways

Jury vote share43%of 7 jury votes

59th percentile of 125 finalists

Occupation at casting Auto Customizer Hometown Austin, Texas

Played with 63 castaways across 4 seasons See every connection ↓

Donaldson has shared a beach with sixty-three castaways, more than all but ten players in the show's history.

Biography

Colby Donaldson, the Texas auto customizer with the cowboy hat, became a national heartthrob on Survivor: The Australian Outback (Season 2), where he put together one of the greatest challenge runs in show history. He dominated immunities down the stretch, then made the fateful decision to take Tina Wesson to the final two; she defeated him by a single jury vote.

Colby returned for Survivor: All-Stars (Season 8) and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (Season 20). More than fifteen years later, he made a fourth appearance on Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, placing fifteenth.

Honest, loyal and famously loyal to a fault, Colby Donaldson is remembered as the runner-up who could have been champion, a Survivor icon whose four appearances now span the show's second through fiftieth seasons.

Get to know Colby Donaldson

Colby Donaldson's own answers from the pre-game cast profile CBS published before the season aired.

Claim to fame
"I make a pretty mean potato salad."
Inspiration
"God, family & close friends."
Luxury item
Texas Flag

Alliances fans have named

Survivor never names an alliance on screen. These names, and who counts as a member, are how the fan community records the game rather than an official record of it.

Birthplace, pre-game profile and alliance facts adapted from Survivor Fandom and Wikipedia, retrieved 2026-07-21. Licensed CC BY-SA.

Fan poll Players

Survivor Hall of Fame: is Colby Donaldson in or out?

Tap to vote and see what fans think

Seasons

Season Result Days Tribes Votes against Confessionals
The Australian Outback Season 2, 2001 Ogakor Barramundi 9 98
All-Stars Season 8, 2004 5th voted out Mogo Mogo 4 21
Heroes vs. Villains Season 20, 2010 16th voted out Heroes Yin Yang 7 24
In the Hands of the Fans Season 50, 2026 9th voted out Vatu Kalo Mergatory 4 13

Castaway network

Colby Donaldson’s connections

The strongest overlaps are surfaced first; every castmate is organized by season below.

63
castaway connections
39
tribemates
10
repeat castmates
15
winners

Connections worth exploring

Repeat pairings, other-show overlaps, tribe overlap, winners and Survivor veterans rise to the top.

Survivor 2 & 8 & 20

Jerri Manthey

3 Survivor seasons

3 seasons together Shared a tribe

Survivor 2 & 8

Tina Wesson

3 Survivor seasons

2 seasons together Shared a tribe Winner

Survivor 2 & 8

Amber Mariano

3 Survivor seasons

2 seasons together Shared a tribe Winner

Every castaway, by season

Open a season for the complete cast list and the context behind each connection.

The Australian Outback Season 2, 2001 15 castaways 2 winners 7 returning players View cast

Explore the full The Australian Outback cast →

All-Stars Season 8, 2004 17 castaways 6 winners 17 returning players View cast

Explore the full All-Stars cast →

Heroes vs. Villains Season 20, 2010 19 castaways 6 winners 19 returning players View cast

Explore the full Heroes vs. Villains cast →

In the Hands of the Fans Season 50, 2026 23 castaways 4 winners 23 returning players View cast

Explore the full In the Hands of the Fans cast →

Explore Colby Donaldson in the graph → Find a path from Colby Donaldson Show me another castaway