Survivor Winner Rankings

List of the top contestants who have won a season of the reality TV series "Survivor." This list includes all Survivor winners - the champions who have proven to be the toughest, wiliest and fiercest competitors. The 26th season of "Survivor" - to be called "Survivor: Caramoan — Fans vs. Favorites" - debuted on US television in February 2013. This list contains the 24 "Survivor" winners, including Sandra Diaz-Twine, the only "Survivor" castaway to win two seasons. (Diaz-Twine took the prize in "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" which pit two tribes of returning players against one another.)

The American show "Survivor" - which debuted in the summer of 2000 on CBS - is based on the Swedish TV series "Expedition Robinson" which was originally aired in 1997. The reality competition show begins with a group of strangers placed in an isolated location (often tropical). Often, these contestants are split into teams (called "tribes"). They must then figure out how to survive in the harsh environment - finding food and water, building shelter, and so forth - while competing against the other team in challenges to earn rewards. Competitions also determine which contestants will receive "immunity," meaning they cannot be expelled from the game by their fellow contestants for that week. The season's champion is typically determined by a jury made up of contestants who have been voted off, and receives a $1 million prize.

"Survivor" seasons have been set all around the world, including Africa, Borneo, Thailand, The Amazon, Palau, the Cook Islands and China. The 23rd and 24th seasons were both set in Upolu, Samoa.

Also check out our Ultimate List of the Best Overall Survivor Seasons