Shallow Shocked She Won "Survivor"

Says Conditions In Micronesia Were Awful, But She Was "Out For Blood"

(CBS/AP)  Parvati Shallow was the last woman standing on "Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites."

The 25-year-old boxer and charity organizer from Los Angeles outwitted, outlasted and outplayed her competitors - both "favorite" former castaways and "fan" contestants - to claim the title of "Sole Survivor" and the CBS reality show's $1 million prize during Sunday's live finale. She previously came in sixth on "Survivor: Cook Islands."

Shallow received five votes over three for runner-up Amanda Kimmel, the 23-year-old former beauty queen and aspiring fashion designer. She also bested 37-year-old nurse Cirie Fields and 32-year-old bartender Natalie Bolton. It marked the first time in the reality competition's 16-season history that four female contestants made it to the end of the game.

"I couldn't have done it without the girls that I was with," Shallow said during the finale.

"I was shocked (she won, five-to-three)," she told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen Monday. "I legitimately was shocked. I knew I'd made some enemies on the jury, so I didn't know what my odds were going into that final tribal council."

"Going back a second time was a huge advantage," she observed. "I just learned not to take people at face value. Pretty much always second guess what someone's saying to me, and always think one step ahead, and just make more aggressive moves.

"The first time, I lasted a long time. But I wasn't out for blood the first time. This time, (I was thinking), 'I'm gonna win, and I'm gonna kill everyone to get there.' It was do or die for me. I wasn't going back a second time around to have a great time and enjoy the experience. I was going back to win the game.

Winning this time around may have been the only aspect that was better than last time. Shallow told Chen, "Cook Island was like a honeymoon paradise compared to -- Cook Island was gorgeous. We didn't have any rats or bugs. Micronesia -- people are dying of infections, and rats were crawling on your face, and we're sleeping in a cave, and it's raining every single day and night. You can't start a fire. We had no food. It was misery. It was pure misery. And on top of that, you're thinking in your head, 'I have to strategize. ... Oh, my God. What am I gonna to do?' I mean, it's "the most uncomfortable, horrible experience of your life."

What will she do with her winnings? In large part, Shallow says, she'll use the money to help grow a charity she and some others started, Knockouts for Girls" which provides scholarships and boxing training for underprivileged girls.

At the beginning of the season, a tribe of former contestants competed against a tribe of new players. When the teams merged, Shallow helped form an alliance of female competitors from both sides. The alliance shocked several contestants with their eliminations, including Erik Reichenbach, who gave up immunity he won to Bolton and was subsequently voted out.

During the finale, Kimmel won both immunity challenges, choosing Shallow to accompany her at the final tribal council. That last deliberation featured two players vying for votes from an eight-person jury of cast-off competitors - unlike the three previous "Survivor" seasons, which featured three contestants angling for winning votes.

"The fact that it's a final two and not a final three was almost poetic," Fields said when she learned about the finale's twist. "I mean, we've been blindsiding people left and right, and essentially we got blindsided. We thought we had it made. I guess what goes around, comes around."

At the end of the finale, host Jeff Probst revealed the series will return to Africa for its 17th season and feature 18 contestants living among wildlife. "Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden" will premiere in the fall. The third "Survivor" season was filmed in Kenya.

[usbrit-2009]

How appropriate the winner''s name would be Shallow.

[marylen33]

I''m still thinking about survivor FINALE last night...that flirt won...the juries, address to those ladies are jealous of AMANDA coz she have BEAUTY AND BRAIN!!! I COULDN''T SLEEP AT ALL THINKING OF AMANDA DIDN''T WIN....I''M PROUD OF U AMANDA! GOD BLESS YOU!!!

[ann3332]

the thing about this whole thing survivor to me that is not really survivving. and it s a game. there are so many people out there who survived terrible things in life and they go on. That to me are the survivor and they are the winners.

[taylor2124]

All she needs now is a golf ball and a garden hose, and she will be all set to make her victory tour.

[ob157x]

True, SURVIVOR is a game but it is surviving the competition. I would argue that it is not reality and not even unscripted as Mark Burnett describes it. It''s simply a game show with a twist. It has, however, strayed from what it once was and is pushing the boundaries of family TV. As for the winner, like it or not she did outwit, outplay and outlast all the others just as the SURVIVOR logo promotes.

[element51]

I didn''t know that Parvati was a boxer. I thought she was just another little PT using her skills to play the game. I do have to hand it to the girls though. They proved once again that men are generally stupid creatures who think with the wrong part of their anatomy. I was glad that James won the 100K. He seems like a quality individual and plans to use the money to do a lot of good. Finally, if Parvati is a boxer lets put her in the ring with Lila Ali. I''d pay to see that.

[dragonmouse-2009]

I love Survivor. It''s a game. But there''s a lot more to Survivor than just a game. There''s a lot of very beautiful scenery and that makes it even more enjoyable. They may not actually SURVIVE in the sense but it''s obviously not easy.

Shallow played a good game. I was rather supporting Amanda but she just did not have much self confidence when she was before the jury. I think that''s what really killed her.

[likeitis5050]

Couldn''t have cared less which of the two won...they were both miserable people for the way they played...but the fact that James won the $100,000 made the entire season worth it all. Erik said it best when he admitted it wasn''t in him to be the creep it takes to play that game but being such a fan of the program I would have thought he''d figured that out by the time he was accepted.

Both girls were liars but of the two, the most disgusting was Parv for consistantly using the flirt card to manipulate...but it wouldn''t work if people weren''t so desperate for attention. James NEVER fell for it.

[henhwhatever]

I think the girls did an awesome job with brains over braun. The final four girls all deserved the win. Way to go.

[mike101344]

Individually, the girls could not have touched any of the guys. However, together, the gang of 4 or 5 beat up of the guys pretty bad. It''s not amazing that this happened, it''s only amazing that the girls stuck together! Usually, they start fighting among themselves and the plan blows up.

[usbrit-2009]

I love Survivor. It''''s a game. But there''''s a lot more to Survivor than just a game. There''''s a lot of very beautiful scenery and that makes it even more enjoyable. They may not actually SURVIVE in the sense but it''''s obviously not easy.

Posted by dragonmouse

Hey knock, knock - there''s a whole camera crew/production unit with them in whichever "jungle" they''re in. You don''t think those guys live in tents and eat snakes for a month do you. There''ll be a luxury hotel somewhere near where they all spend their off camera hours. Reality TV is about as real as the World Wrestling Federation. And we wonder why the economy''s slow.....

[bohemianmob]

Never trust 4 beetches, that ice cream scooper guy is a total friggin'' moron.

[dorreb4]

The show is not really a reality show. The show puts in and adds circumstances to induce conflict and backstabbing. If you cannot see that exile island, the picking of someone after winning a competition, and tribal consoul is all a set-up to increase ratings then you do not know what television is all about. The only thing real on the show is surviving on the island. Funny how Americans love to see conflict; however, when these shows air in Europe the concentration is more on surviving then the backstabbing that goes on. Could you imagine trying to prepare breakfast that would take you three hours to do?

[jennmarie620]

Something people fail to realize during their tirades over the stupidity of the American people [for watching reality television], is that this has happened before. The Romans had the Colloseum, and we have Reality TV - there''s no difference between the two, except for maybe the lack of blood and dying on Reality TV (though, they''re pushing the envelope closer and closer to that line with each season of each Reality show out there).

Its appeal is that its completely mindless. You don''t have to sit and figure anything out, or try to get any jokes some witty writer inserted into the dialogue. It''s plain and simple mindless television - which allows an escape from everything life holds each day.

Let people watch what they want to watch. There''s enough touch stuff to deal with during the other 23 hours of the day.