‘Alone: Frozen’ Finale Makes Franchise History By Crowning First Female Winner

Alone: Frozen contestant Woniya Thibeault has just made history.

No woman in the history of the competitive reality adventure series Alone has ever won before — until the latest season finale on Thursday, September 22.

Alone: Frozen, the spinoff of the original HISTORY Channel series, saw some fan favorites from past seasons of the show coming back for another round of wilderness survival, this time on frozen Canadian soil — dropped off on the North Atlantic Coast of Labrador, Canada just as winter arrived.

In Thursday’s final episode, “The Bitter End,” just two remained — Michelle Finn from Season 8 and Thibeault from Season 7. When Finn dropped out after 38 days, Thibeault officially made reality TV history, leaving her as the last contestant standing. So long as she survived the full 50 days, she would receive the entire $500,000 cash prize.

Brendan George Ko and The HISTORY Channel

Other returning contestants this season included Greg Ovens (Season 3), Callie Russell (Season 7), Mark D’Ambrosio (Season 7), and Amós Rodriguez (Season 7).

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The popular franchise asks survivalists to put their money where their mouth is and compete to survive for 50 days, alone, in a remote location. This is the first time the series has left the contestants in frozen conditions among a dense population of Polar Bears, creating an additional stressor that saw the men dropping like flies.

As an ancestral skill teacher in California, Thibeault is no stranger to survivalism. Her official bio notes she set off this season with intentions “to explore how much connection, comfort and sustainability she can achieve in a wild landscape, even as she pushes her edges in the experience.”

After being the first woman to earn the title, we think she easily surpassed this goal. Congrats, Woniya!