Dee Valladares was a competitive force on Survivor season 45 — and she pulled out the win during the December 20 finale! The 27-year-old entrepreneur was apart of the dominant Reba alliance with Austin Li Coon, Drew Basile and Julie Alley that ran the game until the final six, when they finally turned on each other. During the finale episode, Dee won her third immunity challenge of the season and brought Austin with her to the final three. She successfully argued her case to the jury and secured five of the eight votes to win Survivor 45.
Learn more about Dee below!
Dee is an entrepreneur.
Dee started her own backpack company called Wanaroam. She told Parade magazine that her love for travel inspired her to launch the business.
Dee has worked in sales.
Dee worked in sales development at a company called Drata from June 2022 to February 2023, according to her LinkedIn. Before that, she was a sales and marketing specialist for Pure Compounding Pharmacy from June 2018 January 2022.
Dee went to school for psychology.
Dee got her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Florida International University in 2018. She ended up going into a different career path after college — and explained why in her interview with Parade.
“I went to school for psychology. But then I found out they didn’t make much money. So I’m like, ‘I gotta do something else,’ ” she said with a laugh.
Dee lives in Miami.
As a Florida resident, Dee felt prepared for the extreme heat in Fiji on Survivor. “I feel like I’m at home here,” she told Parade before filming the season. “You know, it’s the humidity, the palm trees, the water. I love being next to the ocean. To me, it’s like a meditation. ”
Dee is Cuban.
Dee was born in Cuba and moved to Florida when she was young. She told Parade that her parents “left everything behind in Cuba” to move her and her brother to the U.S. Dee explained that she wants to “give back” to her family by winning the $1 million on Survivor.