Joanna Yates

Joanna Yates is known for competing in Survivor: The Australian Outback.

Joanna is known for turning on her close ally, Izzy Ortega when he humiliated Rita Osborne. Joanna is also known for having a very strong bond with Rita, even swearing to never vote her. Joanna made it to the merge after making an alliance with Rita and Vince Turner. Joanna managed to make it to the final three with them and even managed to last longer than all the Kucha members. After losing the final immunity challenge to him, Vince voted out Joanna over Rita because he had a closer bond with her.

Profile
Joanna was born and raised in Bancroft, Michigan. At a young age, she was a bit of a tomboy and would tend to hang out with guys more than girls. In high school, she realized her inner feelings and liking towards women. When she was 16, she came out to people she knows and said she was a lesbian. Everyone she told was supportive, even her family. She currently lives in Baraga, Michigan with her girlfriend, Francesca.

Survivor
Joanna started the game on the Ogakor tribe. On the walk to camp, Joanna got annoyed at Frank Corbett because of his bossiness. At camp, Joanna quickly got along with Izzy Ortega and Rita Osborne. Overall, Joanna was pretty liked among the tribe, but she got jealous when she saw Stacey Conner get along with Izzy. Ogakor managed to win the first immunity challenge, granting Joanna three more days.

On the morning of Day 4, Rita confessed to Joanna that she had a big crush on fellow tribemate, Vince Turner, which Joanna thought was an adorable crush. There was a fight between Izzy and Frank over who would be a better team leader, but Joanna broke it up by saying there was no need for a team leader.

Ogakor lost the next immunity and Joanna took it hard because she thought it was her fault they lost. A few of her tribemates comforted her and told her that they all lost as a team and she wasn't to blame. At tribal council, Joanna voted for Stacey because they haven't gotten along recently. There was a tie between Stacey and Izzy so it came down to whichever of them had the worst relationship with another tribemate. Stacey ended up having the worst relationship with Vince and was eliminated.

The next morning, Izzy went up to Joanna and asked her to vote out Frank the next time Ogakor lost. She wasn't sure about it because Frank was well liked and respected among the tribe. They ended up losing the next immunity challenge due to Frank struggling a lot, and Joanna voted with Izzy and Vince against Frank, and he was voted out in a 3-2 vote.

After tribal council, Izzy was trying to find who the mystery voter was, and he knew it wasn't Joanna so he instantly went over to Rita and confronted her about it. This ended in Izzy insulting Rita, which left her in tears. Joanna and Vince comforted her afterward and Joanna asked Izzy to apologize, which he declined. There was a conflict in camp that couldn't be resolved, but this didn't stop the tribe from winning the next immunity challenge. Izzy finally decided to apologize and all seemed well at the camp, but Izzy was still a little tense. This is what caused Ogakor to lose the next immunity challenge, and Izzy went around to try and gather votes against Vince to make up for his mistake. Joanna had to make a really tough decision because she was very close to Izzy, but she knew that Rita wouldn't vote Vince, who Izzy also went to. After a tough decision, she decided to go with Rita and Vince and vote out Izzy.

After tribal council, Joanna was feeling a bit upset about voting Izzy out, but she knew that it was probably for the best in case he and Rita were to fight again. Joanna, Rita, and Vince were the last three Ogakor members. The three decided to make an alliance if they made the merge. Luckily, they did win the next immunity challenge and were guaranteed to make the merge.

On Day 19, the three of them merged with three remaining Kucha members into a new tribe called Barramundi. Joanna and Rita got along with the eldest castaway remaining, Trixie Erkel. At the first individual immunity challenge, Kyle Willett won and couldn't be voted off. Afterward, Jessica Ferrer was bragging about how she was safe and wouldn't be getting voted off. This ultimately caused her downfall, and Jessica was unanimously eliminated one day before the jury phase of the game.

The next morning, Kyle and Trixie were the last two Kucha members and they tried to convince Joanna to switch sides and vote with them. She considered it for a moment because of how close Rita and Vince were, but she declined. Vince won the next immunity challenge and Kyle and Trixie tried once again to get Joanna's vote, and this time she said yes. But she was lying. At tribal council, there was a tie between Kyle and Rita because Vince was the only one to not vote either of them. Kyle got the majority votes and was the first jury member. The next night, Trixie, the last Kucha member, was unanimously voted off; making the final three all from the Ogakor tribe.

The final three all looked back in their time during the game, and Joanna mentioned that being in the final three was a dream come true. The then went through their final Rite of Passage and looked back on all the other contestants who played the game, but were ultimately eliminated. They then went through their final immunity challenge where Vince won, and he got to choose who he brought with him to the finale. At tribal council, Vince made the ultimate decision of who to vote out, and he chose Joanna to vote off. Making her the third and last jury member.

At the finale, instead of asking a question to Rita and Vince, she made comments about how they played the game. She said that Vince didn't make enemies which helped him get far in the game, but he was seen arrogant among the Ogakor tribe early in the game. She said that Rita was her closest friend in the whole game and even managed to overcome Izzy's wrath after she voted him. But she played under the radar for some points of the game, which isn't the best way to play the game. In the end, Joanna casted her vote to Rita, where Rita would win against Vince in a 2-1 vote.

Post-Survivor
Joanna became an idol for LGBT teens and adults

Joanna helped fund money to help fellow castaway, Trixie Erkel, overcome breast cancer

Trivia
Joanna is the oldest female contestant on the Ogakor tribe

Joanna is the first LGBT castaway to compete on Survivor

Joanna is the lowest ranking member of the Ogakor Alliance