Survivor’s Queen Nurse: Cirie Fields, One of the Game’s Greatest
With Survivor Season 49 premiering tonight, it feels like the perfect time to celebrate one of the most amazing players (and nurse!) to ever play the game: Cirie Fields.
With five Survivor appearances (and a record sixth planned), multiple other reality TV roles, and a nursing career, Cirie is a true legend. Known for her strategic brilliance, warm social game, and the unique skills nursing gave her, she remains the undisputed Queen (and Queen Nurse) of Survivor.
Who Is Cirie Fields?
Cirie Tiffany Fields was born in 1970, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She earned her nursing degree from St. Francis Nursing School in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and has worked as a surgical technician and clinical coordinator at Norwalk Hospital Surgical Center as well as a periop systems director for a three-hospital system in New Jersey. Before reality TV fame, Cirie also worked in home care and other roles, embodying resilience and adaptability.
In her bio for her first appearance on Survivor, Fields called becoming a nurse her “proudest accomplishment.”
Image Source: ctpost
Cirie has many affectionate nicknames among fans and commentators including “The Queen,” “The Social Strategist,” and “The Couch Potato”(a self-description from her early Survivor days when she “got up off the couch to live her adventure").
Cirie’s Survivor Results
- Survivor: Panama (2006): Finished 4th; earned fan favorite and won a GMC Yukon for her popularity.
- Survivor: Micronesia (2008): Finished 3rd; masterminded the legendary “Black Widow Brigade” alliance.
- Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (2010): 17th place; targeted by teammates early in the game and was voted out.
- Survivor: Game Changers (2017): 6th place; uniquely eliminated without a vote cast against her.
- Survivor: Australia V The World (2025): 4th place; demonstrated enduring game smarts nearly two decades later.
- Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans (Upcoming 2026): Set to compete for a record-breaking sixth time, a Survivor first.
Beyond Survivor: Cirie on Other Reality Shows
Cirie has shown her versatility beyond Survivor:
- She won the first season of The Traitors on Peacock in 2023, playing a traitor with stealth and grace.
- She competed on Big Brother 25 alongside her son Jared, making history as the first Survivor alum to play Big Brother, finishing 5th.
- She also played the role of Dr. Martin in a guest appearance on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful which aired in December 2023 alongside fellow Big Brother 25 alum Matt Klotz.
- In 2022, she brought her trademark social savvy to the reality competition Snake in the Grass, where players raced to expose a hidden saboteur.
Other Nurses Who Have Played Survivor
While Cirie is the unequivocal “queen nurse,” other nurses have played Survivor:
- John Carroll (Survivor: Marquesas), an alliance leader and early nurse competitor.
- Kellie Nalbandian (Survivor 45), an ICU nurse with grit and grace.
- Sierra Wright (Survivor 47), a nurse whose steady clinical skills aided social gameplay.
None have matched Cirie’s record or legend status, but their performances reinforce how nursing skills translate to success on the island.
Why Cirie Inspires Nurses Everywhere
Cirie Fields isn’t just a Survivor legend — she’s living proof of how the skills nurses use every day translate far beyond the hospital floor. Empathy, resilience, adaptability, and the ability to read people under pressure are what make her both a standout nurse and one of the greatest to ever play the game.
With Survivor 49 premiering tonight, Cirie reminds us that nurses aren’t only caretakers — they’re strategists, leaders, and changemakers. Whether in an operating room or on a deserted beach with a million dollars at stake, the same strengths that define nursing can shape legendary outcomes. She represents the power of nurses to rise to any challenge, inspire others, and thrive in the toughest conditions imaginable. We can’t wait to cheer her on next year in Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans!
🤔 Have you watched Cirie on Survivor? What did you think of her gameplay? Let us know in the discussion forum below.
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