Jennifer Lyon

This article is about the Survivor contestant. For the actress, see Jenn Lyon.

Jennifer Lyon
Born	Jennifer Jane Lyon (1972-02-27)February 27, 1972 Boulder City, Nevada, U.S.
Died	Sublimity, Oregon, U.S.
Television	Survivor: Palau

Jennifer "Jenn" Jane Lyon (February 27, 1972 – January 19, 2010) was an American actress and one of the competitors in Survivor: Palau. She finished fourth in the competition.

Early life

Jennifer Lyon was born in Nevada, but grew up in Washington and The Dalles, Oregon. She enjoyed hiking, playing soccer, and photography. At the age of 18, Jennifer learned Spanish when she participated in the foreign exchange program around 1990. After graduating from high school, Jennifer spent a year in Spain and two years in London working as a nanny. When Jennifer returned to the U.S., she attended Portland State University and spent a year there until she later attended Western Oregon State College before she was sent to Oregon State University. She later received a Bachelor of Science Degree in nutrition and food management.

Survivor: Palau

The game started with all twenty players on the same beach. During the tribe division, she was chosen by Gregg to be on the Koror tribe. She in turn picked Coby to join the tribe. Her tribe ended up being the dominant one and won every tribal immunity challenge. During this time she developed a rivalry with Stephenie LaGrossa of the Ulong tribe. Stephenie was constantly beating her in challenges. She also developed a showmance with Gregg Carey. According to the reunion show, the relationship only lasted on the island, although they remained friends afterwards. After Stephenie, the last remaining Ulong, was absorbed to Koror, the tribe entered the individual phase of the game. At the final four, when she wasn't immune, Jenn was expected to be voted out. She convinced Tom to vote for Ian for thinking about betraying their alliance while Ian and Katie, the only other players left, voted for her. A revote was unsuccessful in breaking the tie so she was put in the first ever final four fire making tie-breaker challenge against Ian. She lost the challenge, which put her on the jury. At the final tribal, she gave her vote to Tom Westman to win the game.

Death

In 2005 while living in Encino, California, Lyon was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, and subsequently began blogging about her disease and treatment. Lyon got involved with the Me and My Two Friends Foundation, which focuses on the early detection and prevention of breast cancer through education and awareness. It was founded by Alisa Unger, who designed jewelry and planned to donate a portion of the proceeds to fund breast cancer education projects. In 2006, Lyon was the grand marshal for the 11th annual Walk for the Cause, a breast cancer fundraiser in Albany, New York. In December 2009, Lyon opened a Christmas tree lot with her boyfriend Dion, Mother and father Larry and Jane Lyon and her two nephews Tyler Lyon and Mikel Lyon and donated all the profits to the Susan Love Cancer Research Foundation. In January she moved to a spot on the Hood River in Oregon.

On January 19, 2010, Lyon died from cancer, which had come back from remission and had metastasized to her bones. She was the first cast member of Survivor to die. The special Surviving Survivor, which aired Thursday, February 4, 2010, just over two weeks after her death, was dedicated to her memory. The reunion episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains showed a video montage of moments from Lyons' appearance on Survivor: Palau.

Filmography

• Survivor: Palau (2005) - Herself
• Daddy Day Camp (2007) - Mrs. Simmons
• Long Pig (2008) - Miranda

External links

• Jennifer Lyon at the Internet Movie Database
• Jennifer Lyon biography for Survivor: Palau at CBS.com