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Putnam County resident Sue Smey of Putnam Valley will be one of the new cast members of "Survivor 47," which premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m.
Originally from the upstate NY Broome County town of Kirkwood, Smey, who is 59 years old, comes from a self-described rough childhood, according to her interviews with Parade and Entertainment Weekly.
During these early years, she would stay on her family's generational island each summer without drinkable water, something she feels has prepared her for staying on the islands of Fiji during the show, she told Parade.
"I know it's going to be tough on the island," Smey said during her interview with the outlet. "But I'm not going to be so shocked as I think a lot of the other people are."
Smey also says she has the grit and determination to make it in the show, something she demonstrated when she walked away from her home at age 21 with only $20 to her name. Since then, she has become the owner of her own flight school after deciding to challenge herself by earning a pilot's license in her 50s.
"I'm someone who is bored easily. I am always looking for adventure and something exciting to do," she told Parade, adding, "Once I became a pilot, I just bought a few airplanes and I just opened my own flight school. All by myself, nothing from anybody else, no handouts."
Now, Smey is looking to rise up to her next challenge by competing for $1 million on "Survivor," which she and her daughter have loved since its first episode. She told Parade she would watch it with her daughter throughout her childhood, including when she became sick with juvenile diabetes.
"Our world was turned upside down. The only thing that really helped us and the good things through that time period was literally Jeff [Probst] freaking coming into our living room and just taking us away from our horrifying reality, just for one hour a week," she said in her interview.
Fast forwarding several years, while the show's 45th season was airing, her daughter, now 30, urged her to mail in a video auditioning for the show knowing that she would likely excel at it, Smey added in the interview.
If you're looking to find out if Smey in fact succeeds on the show, make sure you tune in to the premiere on Wednesday night.
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