Who Is the “Survivor” Season 49 Winner? All About Former News Anchor Savannah Louie

NEED TO KNOW

• Savannah Louie won Survivor season 49

• The former broadcast journalist defeated her fellow contestants, Sophi Balerdi and Sage Ahrens-Nichols, at the final tribal council

• Louie and her ally, Rizo Velovic, have joined the all-star Survivor season 50 cast

Warning: Survivor season 49 spoilers ahead!

Another Sole Survivor has been crowned!

After 18 castaways touched down in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji during season 49 of Survivor, they were voted off one-by-one until one person took home the $1 million prize. Savannah Louie won and beat out 17 contestants — including the other two final castaways, Sophi Balerdi and Sage Ahrens-Nichols.

The former broadcast journalist defeated her former allies in a 5–2–1 jury vote. The final three contestants marked the first time since 2014 that all of them have been women. Meanwhile, Louie also made history with her challenge skills, as she tied the record for most individual immunity challenges won by a woman in one season.

During her time in the game, Louie was known for her strategic gameplay and challenge dominance. After going into the merge as an underdog alongside Balerdi and Rizo Velovic, Louie and her allies took out the majority alliance.

In addition to recently competing on Survivor season 49, Louie was also selected as one of the two contestants to join the all-star next season, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. Her ally and fan favorite, Velovic, was the second contestant to make the cut.

Here’s everything to know about the Survivor season 49 champion, Savannah Louie.

She’s a former broadcast journalist

Before joining the 49th season of Survivor, Louie worked as a broadcast journalist for nearly a decade. She studied journalism at Southern Methodist University before graduating in 2016. The California native landed her first major news job at the local Fox affiliate in Knoxville, Tenn., per her LinkedIn.

Louie went on to have anchoring positions in San Antonio and Saint Louis. In 2021, she moved to Atlanta and joined the Atlanta News First team as a full-time news anchor, according to her LinkedIn.

However, in September 2024, Louie announced that she was leaving Atlanta News First and saying goodbye to her journalism career. She explained in an Instagram post that she was leaving to pursue a career “with a better work-life balance.”

“My decision to pursue journalism was fueled by an intention to make the world a better place,” she explained. “We can’t foster change in our community without being aware of WHAT is going on in our community.”

She now works as a marketing content specialist at Hyperdrive Leadership, according to her LinkedIn.

Since Survivor season 49 wrapped, Louie has created a strong presence on social media and frequently posts videos about her preparation for the competition, application process and reflections on the experience.

She’s been dating Brandon Stiles since 2024

In her personal life, Louie has been dating software engineer Brandon Stiles since at least August 2024, when he first posted about her on Instagram.

“First trip to San Francisco with @sahhvz was 👌🏼,” he wrote. In the comments section, she replied, “arguably 👍🏼.”

Since then, the couple have gone on trips to Croatia, New York City and Mystic, Conn., per their social media accounts.

She won four individual immunities

Throughout her time on Survivor, Louie was a competitive contestant. She dominated in individual immunity challenges, nabbing the necklace a whopping four times. She tied the record with fellow female Survivor legends like Rachel LaMont, Jenna Morasca, Kelly Wiglesworth, Kim Spradlin and Chrissy Hofbeck.

In addition to her physical strength, Louie also played a strategic game, managing to play a part in taking out six players whom she wasn’t aligned with post-merge. During final tribal council, Louie doubled down on her gameplay when jury member Kristina Mills asked her to name a family member for each of the jury members. Louie admitted that she wouldn’t be able to do so, but was adamant that personal connections weren’t part of her strategy, which many of the jurors respected.

She was a part of the “Tres Leches” alliance

As the game got more serious, Louie found a close partnership in her alliance with Velovic and Balerdi, which they nicknamed the “Tres Leches” alliance. Their alliance became one of the most solid of the group, dominating with physical strength and voting unity.

However, their alliance fractured when Balerdi chose to take Ahrens-Nichols to the final three, forcing Velovic and Louie compete against each other for the final third spot. Louie won the fire-making contest, and Velovic was sent to the jury.

She will compete on Survivor season 50

In addition to winning the $1 million and the title of Sole Survivor on season 49, Louie was also selected to compete on the highly-anticipated Survivor season 50 cast.

Both she and her ally, Velovic, were named as the final two castaways among the returning 24 stars. Louie and Velovic had just 10 days to recover at home before they headed back to Fiji to film Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, per Entertainment Weekly.

Survivor 50 — which will also feature fan favorites like Mike White, Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth — has already filmed and is set to premiere in February 2026. To mark its celebratory season, Survivor let fans vote on several aspects of the game, from the final challenges to hidden immunity idols.

“From the very first season, Survivor has been evolving. Now, for our 50th season, it’s time for the next evolution,” host Jeff Probst said in an April 2025 press release. “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans is unlike anything we’ve done before. I can’t wait to see what the fans choose for our returning players.”

Read the original article on People