Amber Joy Brkich Mariano (born August 11, 1978 in Beaver, Pennsylvania) is an American reality TV contestant who was the winner of Survivor: All-Stars, and previously was a contestant on Survivor: The Australian Outback. On May 9, 2004, she accepted fellow All-Stars competitor Rob Mariano's proposal of marriage on live television.

Biography

Early life

Born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Beaver, Pennsylvania to Croatian parents, Brkich went to Beaver Area High School. She is a graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations, with a minor in speech communications, in 2000. She is a member of Alpha Gamma Delta Alumni having served as vice president and new member coordinator while still in school.

Career

Immediately following her appearance on Survivor: The Australian Outback, Amber appeared on the cover of Stuff magazine. Maxim ranked Brkich as the 50th most beautiful woman in the world in 2004 and 73rd in 2005. For a short time, she also worked as the host of an adventure travel game on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Amber has also appeared in various commercials for Adelphia Cable, Rite Aid drugstores, and Mountaineer Racetrack in West Virginia.

On April 16, 2005, Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich were married in a private ceremony at Atlantis Paradise Island, in the Bahamas. CBS aired a two-hour special about the wedding on May 24, 2005.

According to a post-race interview conducted by TV Guide, Rob and Amber are in the process of planning a secret, new project.{{cite web | title =The Amazing "Romber" Q&A You Just Have to Read! | work =TVGuide.com | publisher =TV Guide| url =www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={1B0CD440-BC65-484D-91B3-915D997A4ECC} | accessdate =2007-04-30 }} Rob revealed in a June 19, 2007 press release that the project is a new reality show, Tontine, that will follow 15 contestants competing for keys on all seven continents over 100 days. The winner will receive a $10 million prize.

Personal life

Amber lived in her hometown, Beaver, Pennsylvania (a suburb 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh), until her marriage to Rob Mariano. Afterwards, the couple moved to Pensacola, Florida. In 2006, they also took up residence in Las Vegas, Nevada to support Rob's poker career.

Survivor

The Australian Outback

Amber was a participant in the second season of Survivor, having auditioned for the season on a whim. She was a member of the green Ogakor tribe, and she was quick to fortify a strong friendship with fellow contestant Jerri Manthey, who helped construct an alliance with Colby Donaldson, Tina Wesson, and Mitchell Olson.

Upon the merge, Ogakor managed to use the knowledge that one of Kucha's members, Jeff Varner, had received votes beforehand, and eliminated him, thus gaining a numeric advantage over the other group. Later in the game however, it was decided by a majority of the remaining players that Amber had played "under-the-radar", and she was sent home, ultimately landing in sixth place.

A member of the jury, Amber cast her vote for Colby, who did not go on to win the million dollars.

All-Stars

As one of the quieter personalities of Survivor: The Australian Outback, Amber's inclusion in the All Stars installment of Survivor proved somewhat of a surprise to the general public. She was a member of the red Chapera tribe, a boisterous group including Rob Mariano, Sue Hawk, and fellow Survivor: The Australian Outback alumna Alicia Calaway.

In the season's premiere episode, Rob and Amber agreed to form an alliance, with Rob citing his reasoning as: "She's beautiful; any idiot can see that." The group faced its first Tribal Council in the fourth episode. Rob and Amber's relationship was a matter of discussion at the Tribal Council, but Amber claimed to have come to play Survivor, not "The Dating Game."

In the next episode, due to a twist that "dissolved" one of the three tribes, Jenna Lewis and Rupert Boneham joined the Chapera tribe. Rob and Amber quickly fortified a long-term alliance with the tribe's two new members, one of many of the pair's "agreements." The Chapera tribe then enjoyed a lengthy winning streak, winning immunity the next three times. The group did lose one member, however, when Sue Hawk opted to leave the game due to an encounter with Richard Hatch.

In the season's ninth episode, a tribal shuffle managed to merely make each contestant switch buffs, with the exception of Amber, who remained on the Chapera tribe with Lex van den Berghe, Shii Ann Huang, Jerri Manthey, and Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien. The tribe went on to lose the next challenge and, in one of the season's more famous moments, Rob said to Lex, "If you take care of her, I'll take care of you." In perhaps an ironic twist of fate, it came down to Amber and her former Outback ally Jerri at that night's Tribal Council. Jerri was eliminated, but Lex stayed true to his deal with Rob, and Amber was spared.

In the following episode, the merge occurred, and Lex was chosen to be eliminated, despite Rob's promise to "take care of him." In the episodes following, Rob and Amber managed to maintain several "alliances," including their agreement with Rupert and Jenna, an agreement with Tom Buchanan, and an agreement with Alicia Calaway. With all these castaways believing themselves to be safe, Rob and Amber proceeded through the game, eventually finding themselves in the final four with Jenna and Rupert.

In the final four, Amber won her first individual Immunity challenge, and she and Rob convinced Jenna to vote out her ally Rupert instead of forcing a tie. In the final three, Amber won immunity and chose Rob to continue with her to the final two. Facing the jury, Rob and Amber met much criticism for their aggressive and underhanded gameplay.

In the season finale several months later, Rob and Amber revealed they were still dating, Amber even wearing a yellow "I Love Rob" shirt. Just before the votes were read, Rob proposed to Amber and she said "yes." Moments later, it was revealed that, in a 4-3 decision, Amber was the Sole Survivor.