Wendell Holland

Put the mic down, bro. Put the pen down, bro. Use an eraser. Survivor 36, E7

Winner

Played on

60 days played

Game record

Vote alignment81%of 16 ballots

77th percentile of 423 castaways

Immunity record2career immunity wins

88th percentile of 751 castaways

Jury vote share55%of 11 jury votes

64th percentile of 125 finalists

Occupation at casting Furniture Company Owner, Furniture Designer Hometown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Played with 38 castaways across 2 seasons See every connection ↓

Holland has shared a beach with thirty-eight castaways, inside the most-connected tenth of everyone who has played.

Biography

Wendell Holland won Survivor: Ghost Island (Season 36) with a smooth, confident social-strategic game, then survived the first tied Final Tribal Council in show history. Wendell and Domenick Abbate each received five of the original jurors' votes; zero-vote finalist Laurel Johnson then joined the jury and cast the deciding vote for Wendell.

A furniture-company owner from Philadelphia, Wendell blended charm, business savvy and strategic control throughout the season, and he later returned for the all-winners Survivor: Winners at War (Season 40).

Wendell Holland is remembered as a cool, composed champion whose Ghost Island title required the first finalist-cast tiebreaking vote in Survivor history.

Get to know Wendell Holland

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

Claim to fame: I left a comfortable job in the legal field to pursue my dreams.
Hobbies: Playing basketball, traveling, creating something from nothing.
Pet peeves: People who aren't open-minded despite facts/logic/new information, people that overuse the word "honestly," and not being in control of my destiny.
Inspiration: My family. I'd do anything for them or to make their lives better.
Castaway they say they are most like: I think I'd play the game like Jeremy Collins because I'll always keep my heart in the right place, but I'll still be a serious competitor and threat.
Why they wanted to play: I've been a big fan for a while, and I've always wanted to push myself to the limits and see if I can really survive. Oh yeah, I'm playing for the million bucks, too. That would really help things.
Luxury item: First, my brush to take care of my beautiful beard and fro. Second, a chainsaw so I can make building things a lot easier, and finally, a sketchbook so I can doodle, draw, and write.

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.