“Survivor: Africa” contestant Kim Johnson has died at the age of 79, her costar, friend and season winner Ethan Zohn has revealed.
Zohn, 50, announced the news on Instagram on Monday, July 29.
“Rest in peace Kim Johnson. It was a blessing to call you my friend and a privilege to experience the final tribal council with you,” Zohn captioned a reel of clips that highlighted his and Johnson’s relationship during their season of “Survivor.”
“I will forever have that planters punch in your honor! ❤️,” he added, referencing a moment beloved by fans of the reality franchise.
Tributes to Johnson quickly poured in on Zohn’s post.
“Survivor” Season 44 winner Yam Yam Arocho wrote, “Kim J, Rest in Peace 🙏.”
One fan called Johnson “underrated.” Another thanked Zohn for “this amazing tribute.”
Johnson’s cause of death is not yet known.
Johnson was a 56-year-old retired teacher when she began her journey on “Survivor: Africa” in 2001. She was a fan favorite during the season, only the third in the show’s long history, and also the oldest woman to compete in the season.
Johnson was a fierce competitor, winning a total of seven challenges and two immunity necklaces, one of which she snagged in the show’s final immunity challenge.
To earn her seat at that last tribal council, she bested Zohn and fellow contestant Lex Van den Berghe in a competition that required them to balance on a log while keeping one hand on the coveted immunity idol.
As the trio struggled to keep going, Johnson said she was picturing herself holding a planter’s punch cocktail in her hand rather than the immunity idol.
Johnson held on for over three hours, making history as she became the oldest person to win that challenge.
With that win, she clinched another record, becoming the oldest woman to make it to the final tribal council vote, though Zohn was crowned the winner. Johnson went home the runner-up after a 5-2 jury vote against her.
The final vote also earned her a less desirable record, marking her as the first “Survivor” finalist to garner fewer than three votes from the jury.
In her final tribal council speech, Johnson told her fellow contestants, “You all made me feel important without exception.”
She added, “Each one of you has helped me be the best that I can be and so I’m leaving here like a winner big time.”
Johnson did not return on any future seasons of “Survivor,” though many fans wished she had.
To date, she remains the oldest woman to have competed on the competition show.
After her “Survivor” run, the Oyster Bay, New York, native became a coordinator for an indoor tennis club and volunteered for the blind and deaf.
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