'Survivor: Ghost Island' Player Profile: Meet Libby Vincek
The 24-year-old Texan only started watching 'Survivor' once she was in the casting mix, but she swears by her rigorous research process.
Welcome to the Survivor: Ghost Island preseason! THR's Josh Wigler reports from his visit to the show's shooting location in Fiji, where he interviewed host Jeff Probst, as well as the 20 new castaways battling it out for the million dollar prize.
Click here to make sure you're all caught up on our stories from the island, including our weekly podcast series "First One Out: Ghost Zero," an in-depth look at all of the new players, culminating in an interview with the first person voted out of the season, and Wigler's exclusive overnight stay on Ghost Island.
A social media strategist from Houston, Texas, Libby Vincek enters Survivor as a very recently converted fan of the show — as in, she only started her journey through the series once the casting process began. Since then, however, Libby has gone all in on Survivor, studying several seasons and walking away from those sessions with tons of strategic takeaways.
"Libby reminds me a lot of Andrea Boehlke," says executive producer and host Jeff Probst. "When Andrea was first on the show, we liked her, but we weren't sure if she would stand up and be counted or if she would fall over. Libby, I feel the same way. I could see her being a perennial returning player, and I don't know anything about her! And yet, if she got slammed in the second episode, then I would say, 'Well, that's okay. You could always try again.'"
Hear more from Libby and the other players in the fourth episode of our preseason podcast series First One Out: Ghost Zero, and read on for highlights from our interview.
Libby's three favorite Survivor players: "I really like Andrea. I like her daring boldness. She is a beautiful girl who doesn't let her beauty distract anybody, but she uses it to her advantage in some ways. She's someone who is very strategic. You can't really prepare for this game. I don't know the moves I'm going to make, because I don't know the people out here yet. There's only so much a first impression can do for people. I really feel like she illustrated the fact that you can make big moves and think of them right then and there, without being fully prepared. It gives me a sense that I can do this, too. I also really like Kim, who kept it on the DL the whole time that she was this snake who was going to control everybody, but nobody's going to know. It was genius. I really like Chelsea, too. I would totally grab a chicken by the head. Bring it on. I could do it!" How Libby's first day will go, if it goes perfectly: "We made it to the island. We have our tribe. We're all really excited. Ideally, we start building a shelter and everyone really cooperates. It would be nice if someone was against it, because that makes it easy to vote them off. Ideally, there will be somebody who doesn't really participate or complains, because it'll make things easier on our lives. I don't mind doing the work. Ideally, we're going to make a very cool shelter. It's not going to rain. We start collecting firewood and start really make it somewhat of a home and more comfortable for everybody to live, because I think a really comfortable environment will make it a lot easier to think and see who people are. The uncomfortable also brings it out… but ideally, having that teamwork, with somebody off to the side not cooperating. And I find an idol, while collecting all the firewood."
Libby's ethical philosophy on Survivor:
"Anything goes on Survivor. I've seen people say they won't lie, and they get nothing for doing that. There's no prize for having great morals. There's no prize for being honest. I'm here to win. I don't like anything about Survivor except playing the game. I don't need to be out here for the adventure. I don't want to be out here for the camping and the rain. For me, I'm here to do whatever it takes to win, because that's the only reason I'm here — whether that's lying, stealing, deceiving, backstabbing, blindsiding, all the good stuff."
How Libby will react if she gets voted out:
"It's the game. 'Bravo, guys — but man, I hate you so much.' I'm pissed, but I love it, because I got blindsided. You have to appreciate the game and the players. I'm not the worst loser. I have to accept it. I'll lose a little sleep over it, and then, you know what? As long as you played hard and you appreciate the way you played, that's all you can do. You can't really say, 'Jeff, put me back in the game right now so I can beat everybody up!' You have to accept it. It is what it is, right?"
That's Libby in her own words. But what do the other castaways think about her? Over the course of our interviews out in Fiji, the Ghost Island cast members were presented with pictures of their competitors, and asked to establish their preseason thoughts. With that said, here's what they think about Libby.
Chelsea Townsend (Cheerleader and EMT, Naviti Tribe): "She seems like a very sweet, charming type of girl, and someone I might get along with well, from my past with cheerleading. It seems like she has that peppy spirit."
Donathan Hurley (Caretaker, Malolo Tribe): "I love her. She reminds me of my best friend. She looks just like my best friend, actually. I don't know exactly how she is, but I've always had a blonde as a friend, and she looks a whole heck of a lot like her."
Domenick Abbate (Construction Supervisor, Naviti Tribe): "Southern belle. She's cute. She started off cold, and now maybe she's realizing she wants to come off as more approachable, and she's started giving me some more acceptance. Something more to work with."
Laurel Johnson (Financial Consultant, Malolo Tribe): "I think she's a super model type. I don't think she knows how to win this game. I'm not sure she knows what she's doing here. Her priorities seem to be looking good at Ponderosa. Hopefully she's easy to beat."
Brendan Shapiro (Physical Education Teacher, Malolo Tribe): "If I had to guess, she's probably the youngest one out here. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe she and Fozzie Bear are duking it out. She looks very young, so it'll be interesting to see if she plays young — in that naive way in the way some young people do."
Jenna Bowman (Advertising Account Executive, Malolo Tribe): "She wears a lot of makeup. We're on Survivor. I don't know. That feels a little more Bachelor. We'll see. We might get along."
Angela Perkins (Army Veteran, Naviti Tribe): "She's very sweet and cute. She has a soft face and she's very genuine. I think she's going to use her look and age and smile and positive personality to get her far. Whether it's flirting or being the sweet, innocent daughter type. I definitely see her like my daughter."
Stephanie Johnson (Yoga Instructor, Malolo Tribe): "I love her. She's my fake little sister. She's one of the ones who I think woke up one day and said, 'I think I'm going to go out and play Survivor!' And now she's here. She's a beautiful little blonde bombshell, but she's filled with personality and is always bubbly. I feel like she's five years old. But she's adorable!"
Morgan Ricke (Marine Animal Trainer, Naviti Tribe): "Barbie. She seems like the sweetest girl ever. She's always smiling. Nothing wrong with being a Barbie. She came out here with a full face of makeup on. She looks like she's going in for a photo shoot. Hopefully she can live out in the elements."
Stephanie Gonzalez (Graphic Sales, Malolo Tribe): "Beautiful girl! Absolutely gorgeous, Barbie, perfect. She's into herself, definitely. She fixes the hair, puts it in a bun. When she's going out when other people are around, she flings it down. Booty shorts. Swimsuit top. Tanning herself next to the guy. She's one of those people where you're going to have to throw lots of compliments her way and make her feel good in order to sway her in."
Wendell Holland (Furniture Company Owner, Naviti Tribe): "It looks like she's been eyeing the giant dude I don't like. They seem like they could be Barbie and Ken together — in which case, I'll have to get one or both of them out of here."
Chris Noble (Male Model, Naviti Tribe): "She's a flirt. I think she's going to be a lot like Parvati. She's going to flirt to get what she wants. I think she will bring some attributes to the game, other than flirting. Parvati was good at the challenges and she wasn't dumb. She was witty. I think [Libby] will be the same way. I think she'll be witty and will bring some good qualities to the tribe, all of which will keep her around. She's probably a decent athlete. She has a good body. I could easily see her making it to the final five if she plays her cards right."
James Lim (Business Analyst, Malolo Tribe): "She looks like a younger Jennifer Lawrence. She smiles a lot. I think she might be the Parvati of our season, using flirtation as a card. She's attractive and she knows it, probably. I think we'll be friends, but I need to watch out for that side of her game."
Sebastian Noel (Fishing Guide, Naviti Tribe): "She's gorgeous. I can definitely see myself working with her. We've mouthed words. She seems like the Texas sweetheart. I'll work with her — even though she's an attraction!"
Michael Yerger (Real Estate Agent, Malolo Tribe): "Oh my god, she's gorgeous. I've been calling her 'Blondie.' She'll be dangerous. If she's smiling the way she smiles at me to everybody? Then she'll be a pretty compelling player. If she knows the game and manipulate with her beauty, she'll be dangerous."
Kellyn Bechtold (Career Counselor, Naviti Tribe): "I love her. I hope she does well. She seems really young. She's beautiful. Just gorgeous. A model. She was reading Malcolm Gladwell, so I think she has brains and beauty. She seems like a strong female. I would love to work with her."
Jacob Derwin (Music Teacher, Malolo Tribe): "I've been calling her Gladwell, because she's reading David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. It's kind of embarassing, but part of me is like, 'She's not just pretty. She's intelligent! She's a reader! She's looking to really think about people!' While the other half of me is thinking, 'She's not actually reading it. She's trying to fake us all out.' Once again, apologies in the future! I'm sure we'll be great friends. Honestly, she's one of those people who scares me because she's making eyebrows at everybody. Her and some of the other clearly 'beach people' are going to click immediately, and it's going to come down to the rest of us to break that up."
Bradley Kleihege (Law Student, Naviti Tribe): "I get a good read from her. She seems like she's watching what's going on. Some of the books she's reading seem a little more intelligent. It's probably a good tell. Everybody has a bunch of books, because we were all told to bring them, since there's nothing else to do this week. I've been judging based on what people are reading. It doesn't seem like her books are the cheap grocery store novels that some people have. They look slightly more intellectual than that. I think that's probably a good thing. It could go both ways with her. She could end up with the guys who want to lounge around and get a tan, but she'll probably vote them all off, because they won't see it coming. She's potentially someone I could work with."
Desiree Afuye (Student, Naviti Tribe): "She's the devil in the red dress. She has a smile that will lure you in, but she is super sneaky and venomous. I can see it in her eyes. I can see it in people's eyes when they smile, when they look at me, I know what's really going on."
Keep up with all of our preseason interviews:
• Angela Perkins
• Bradley Kleihege
• Brendan Shapiro
• Chelsea Townsend
• Chris Noble
• Desiree Afuye
• Domenick Abbate
• Donathan Hurley
• Jacob Derwin
• James Lim
• Jenna Bowman
• Kellyn Bechtold
• Laurel Johnson
• Libby Vincek
• Coming soon: Michael Yerger
What's your read on Libby? Sound off with your predictions in the comments section below, and keep checking THR.com/Survivor for more interviews with the Survivor: Ghost Island cast.
