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Dee Valladares was crowned the winner of Survivor 45 in the finale episode. She was a formidable competitor on board the CBS show and formed an integral part of the Reba alliance, along with Drew Basile, Julie Alley, and Austin Lee Coon. Valladares is a Florida resident and is an entrepreneur.
She was born in Havana, Cuba, and relocated to Florida in her childhood. According to Hollywood Life, she has stated that her parents had to take considerable pains for the relocation and had to "leave everything behind" in Cuba to sponsor her and her brother's trip. She said she wishes to return the gratitude to her parents with the $1 million cash prize that she won on Survivor 45.
She attended Florida International University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2018. However, she shifted her career gears and eventually decided to work in sales.
According to her LinkedIn, she worked as a sales development executive at a company called Drata (June 2022 - February 2023). Before this, she was working at Pure Compounding Pharmacy as a sales and marketing specialist.
A quick look at Dee Valladares' journey on Survivor 45
Valladares credited her phenomenal victory on Survivor 45 to a handful of fortunes that eventually turned in her favor. During the finale Tribal Council, she admitted that without these unexpected turns of fate, she wouldn't have made it to the winner's seat. The fact that she insulated herself within the Reba alliance allowed her to count herself among a staunch majority that had the reins to the games post-merges.
As the show came towards an end, Dee found herself in a superior position as compared to Austin or Basile. She got there by protecting her number one allies as she envisioned a dual use for them - they would serve both as her shields as well as numbers speaking in her favor. She also has the distinction of winning the majority of the Immunity Challenges on the show.
Due to her strategic brilliance and penchant for survival in the face of overwhelming odds, Dee cemented her position on Survivor 45 in such a way that whenever she wished someone to go, they would do. Thus, her unique sense of balance served her a long way towards winning the show.
Who were the finalists on Survivor 45?
Although Dee emerged as the winner of Survivor 45, she had to put up with strong opposition from the other finalists such as Austin, Julie, Drew and Katurah.
Julie was the oldest contestant on the show and tried her best to hide her lawyer image and instead played her mother card to the best of her ability. Initially, she and Dee were friends when she played her idol on Emily and sent her home acting on the advice of Dee.
Katurah played a strategic game and emerged on the better side of every vote. But when pitched against Dee after the latter won the next immunity, she had no chance. Similarly, Jake tried his best to move through the challenges in good humor, and yet the jury wasn't impressed with him by the end of the firemaking challenge.
Austin had an impressive start to the season but eventually floundered on his way. His fledgling romance with Dee didn't help and he lost track of who his frenemies were.
All of these factors came together to cement Dee Valladares' position as the winner of Survivor 45.
