Wendell Holland

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Wendell Holland
Born
Wendell Foster Holland, Jr.

(1984-03-08) March 8, 1984 (age 37)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • Furniture company owner
  • Television personality
TelevisionSurvivor: Ghost Island (winner)
Survivor: Winners at War

Wendell F. Holland, Jr. (born March 8, 1984) is an American furniture company owner best known for competing on the American reality show Survivor. On May 23, 2018, he was revealed as the winner of the show's 36th season, Survivor: Ghost Island. He returned for the show's 40th season Survivor: Winners at War, where he was eliminated in 13th place. Since 2020, he has been a co-host on HGTV’s Hot Mess House.

Early life[]

Holland grew up in Ardmore, Pennsylvania[1] and graduated from Harriton High School.[2] He attended Morehouse College, where he graduated phi beta kappa, and University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he became a lawyer. After selling several home-made beds on Craigslist, he ultimately left his law practice and founded Beve Unlimited, a furniture company in Philadelphia.

Survivor[]

Ghost Island[]

In 2018, Holland participated in Survivor: Ghost Island, the 36th season of Survivor. He started on the Naviti tribe where he aligned with Domenick Abbate. Following the first tribe switch, he remained on Naviti along with original Naviti's Abbate, Chris Noble, Morgan Ricke and Angela Perkins. Following Naviti's next immunity challenge loss, Holland and Abbate tried to target Perkins after Noble was sent to Ghost Island, but Ricke was blindsided at Tribal Council, shocking Holland and Abbate. Despite appearing to be on the bottom, Holland stayed in the game after Naviti won the next two challenges. Following the second switch, he was sent to Yanuya where he found Erik Reichenbach's immunity necklace from Micronesia, which was now a hidden immunity idol. Yanuya won the remaining challenges, allowing him to make it to the merge.

Shortly after the merge, Holland and Abbate formed a secret Final Four alliance with original Malolo members Donathan Hurley and Laurel Johnson. At the Final Eight, he was targeted by the female members from the original Naviti tribe, but managed to escape elimination. At the Final Five, he used Reichenbach's necklace on Johnson, but it was unneeded as Hurley was unanimously voted out. When Abbate won the final immunity challenge, he saved Johnson which required Holland and Perkins to compete in a fire-making challenge. Holland defeated Perkins which earned him a spot at the Final Tribal Council.

During the Final Tribal Council, he was respected for his more relaxed social game, but jury members wondered what he did throughout the game. Both Holland and Abbate ended up tying with five jury votes each, making it the first time in Survivor history where the jury vote ended in a tie. With Abbate and him tied, Johnson, who finished third, became the last jury member and cast the winning vote which left him and Abbate at the mercy of Johnson. On May 23, 2018, Probst revealed that Johnson voted for Holland, thus making him the Sole Survivor.

Winners at War[]

Holland returned as a contestant on the show's 40th season, Survivor: Winners at War. Starting on the Dakal tribe, Holland faced two Tribal Councils, but received no votes. After being switched to the Sele tribe following the Tribe Swap, he was reunited with his ex-girlfriend Michele Fitzgerald, though they were not on good terms, and Holland acted distant and rude to her. While receiving votes in the next two Tribal Councils, he survived elimination, thanks to his alliance with fellow Dakal Nick Wilson, and ability to settle his differences with Fitzgerald. He reached the merge, but was blindsided at the merged Tribal Council, due to Sophie Clarke feeling like he was too close to Jeremy Collins. He was eliminated in 13th place on Day 35 after losing the second and final Edge of Extinction challenge. As a member of the jury, Holland cast his vote for eventual Sole Survivor Tony Vlachos.

Awards & Nominations[]

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref
2018 People's Choice Awards Competition Contestant of 2018 Winner of Survivor: Ghost Island Nominated [3]

Holland competed in the HGTV reality show Beach Cabana Royale, where he was eliminated in last place.

Personal[]

Holland is the son of Wendell Foster Holland Sr. (born February 10, 1952), an attorney educated at Fordham University and the Rutgers Law School.[2][4][5] He is of Guyanese descent from his maternal grandfather, Darson.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Mondon, Marielle (May 24, 2018). "Philadelphia native Wendell Holland wins 'Survivor'". Philly Voice. WWB Holdings, LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Reiher, Andrea (March 4, 2020). "Wendell Holland: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy, Inc. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "2018 People's Choice Awards: Complete List of Nominations on People's Choice Awards". E! Online. September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  4. ^ "Wendell Holland". The HistoryMakers. May 24, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Wendell Foster Holland". opendatany.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  6. ^ "Login • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)

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External links[]

Preceded by Winner of Survivor
Survivor: Ghost Island 		Succeeded by
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