Musician, and the most generous Survivor fan alive
Sia and Survivor
Sia has given more than $1.1 million of her own money to 20 Survivor players. She started in 2016 by walking on stage at the Kaoh Rong finale and handing Tai Trang $50,000 for protecting a chicken, kept it up for eight years, retired the prize after Survivor 45, then brought it back for Survivor 50.
- 20
- players paid across 10 seasons
- $1.13M
- given away her own money, not CBS prize money
- $100,000
- top single award paid nine separate times
- 2016
- first Sia Prize Kaoh Rong, to Tai Trang
How the Sia Prize started
At the live finale of Survivor: Kaoh Rong in May 2016, Jeff Probst brought out an unannounced guest. Sia, a lifelong fan of the show, had watched Tai Trang spend the season protecting a chicken he named Mark and refusing to let his tribe eat it. She gave him $50,000 of her own money on the spot, plus another $50,000 to the charity of his choice.
It was not a producer stunt and it was not sponsored. Every dollar came out of her pocket, awarded on her own criteria, to players who mostly had not won anything. Over the next eight years it became the only recurring prize on Survivor that the show itself does not control.
What she actually rewards
The Sia Prize is not a fan-favorite vote and it is not about gameplay. Her stated reasons track a consistent set of values: kindness to animals, players who came from nothing, people who told the truth about race or abuse on national television, and competitors who were willing to lose the game rather than betray a principle.
That is why the amounts vary so widely. A $15,000 award is a thank-you. The $100,000 awards, of which there have been nine, go to the player who moved her most that season, and several of them went home with more of Sia's money than the show's own runner-up earned.
The end, and the return
In May 2024, Jeff Probst confirmed on Instagram that Sia had decided to stop. There would be no prize at the end of Survivor 46. After eight years, 19 players and more than a million dollars, Probst called it a triumphant end rather than a quiet one, and Survivors 46 through 49 passed without an award.
Then it came back. For Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, the season built around fan voting, the prize returned as a $100,000 Sia Fan Favorite award decided by the audience. Cirie Fields won it at the May 2026 finale, becoming the twentieth player to be paid by Sia and the first chosen by public vote rather than by Sia herself.
Every Sia Prize, season by season
Twenty players across ten seasons. Amounts are as reported at each finale; Tai Trang's award was $50,000 to him and a further $50,000 to charity.
-
Tai Trang
For refusing to let his tribe eat Mark the chicken. The award that started the tradition.
$50,000 plus $50,000 to charity
-
Donathan Hurley
An openly gay caretaker from rural Kentucky. Sia cited his underdog spirit and open-heartedness.
$14,000
-
Davie Rickenbacker
Rewarded simply for being one of the most positive and enjoyable players of his season.
$14,000
-
Rick Devens
A charismatic underdog who came back from the Edge and got within touching distance of the win.
$100,000
-
Aurora McCreary
For growing up in foster care and becoming an attorney.
$15,000
-
Joe Anglim
Paid to a charity after Joe agreed to cut his famous long hair for children's cancer wigs.
$15,000 to charity
-
Elaine Stott
Voted out as a threat purely because everyone liked her. Sia called her charisma unparalleled.
$100,000
-
Janet Carbin
Stood up for the women of her season during the Dan Spilo misconduct story and was ostracized for it.
$100,000
-
Jamal Shipman
For how he spoke about race and about misconduct on camera, in real time, with the game still running.
$15,000
-
Drea Wheeler
Refused to target Maryanne Oketch to avoid multiple Black players going out back to back.
$100,000
-
Jesse Lopez
Fourth place after losing fire-making, in a season most viewers thought he had won.
$100,000
-
Owen Knight
The season's most openly emotional superfan, who made the final three.
$50,000
-
Ryan Medrano
Played with cerebral palsy and never once used it as an excuse.
$50,000
-
Carolyn Wiger
Third place, zero jury votes, and the most beloved player of the modern era.
$100,000
-
Lauren Harpe
A Marine Corps veteran and teacher who played a quietly excellent social game.
$15,000
-
Carson Garrett
The NASA intern who 3D-printed the puzzles at home before he flew to Fiji.
$15,000
-
Katurah Topps
The last player Sia personally chose before retiring the prize.
$100,000
-
Jake O'Kane
A quietly likeable presence in the season that closed out the original run of the award.
$15,000
-
Kaleb Gebrewold
Charming, unbothered, and voted out with an idol in his pocket.
$15,000
-
Cirie Fields
The comeback award, and the only one decided by a public vote rather than by Sia.
$100,000
Questions people ask
- How much money has Sia given Survivor players?
- More than $1.1 million of her own money, spread across 20 players and 10 seasons between 2016 and 2026. Nine of those awards were $100,000 each.
- Who was the first player to win the Sia Prize?
- Tai Trang, at the Survivor: Kaoh Rong finale in 2016. Sia gave him $50,000 and donated another $50,000 to his chosen charity because he protected a chicken his tribe wanted to eat.
- Why did the Sia Prize stop?
- Sia decided to end it after Survivor 45. Jeff Probst confirmed in May 2024 that no award would be given at the Survivor 46 finale. It stayed retired for Survivors 46 through 49.
- Did the Sia Prize come back?
- Yes. It returned for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans as a $100,000 fan-voted award. Cirie Fields won it at the finale in May 2026.
- Is the Sia Prize part of the Survivor prize money?
- No. It is Sia's personal money, awarded on her own terms, and it is separate from the $1 million the show pays its winner. Several players have left with more of Sia's money than the show's runner-up earned.
Sources
- Sia surprises Survivor finalist with $100,000 prize CBS News
- Survivor announces the end of the Sia Prize Deadline
- Sia ends near-decade tradition of Survivor cash bonuses TheWrap
- 16 Survivor contestants who have received the Sia Award ScreenRant
- Survivor 50 Sia Prize and $100,000 award goes to Cirie Fields Rolling Stone
- Sia crowns Katurah Topps as her favorite Survivor Entertainment Weekly via AOL
Checked against these sources on 2026-07-26.