Janu Tornell

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Janu Tornell
Beauty pageant titleholder
Birth name: Janu Tornell
Birth location: Las Vegas, Nevada,
United States
Eye color: Brown
Hair color: Brown
Title(s): Miss Nevada USA 1989
Major Competition(s): Miss USA 1989

Janu Tornell (May 9, 1965 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is an American reality show contestant and former Las Vegas showgirl and beauty pageant contestant of Cuban descent.

Janu was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, the daughter of Juan and Maria Tornell. She attended Valley High School. She then went to Spain, later moving to Los Angeles. She then studied at Los Angeles Valley Community College, before moving back to Las Vegas and pursuing a career as a showgirl.[1]

After twenty years, she finally received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Pageants

In 1989, Tornell won the Miss Nevada USA title and went on to represent Nevada at the Miss USA pageant broadcast live from Mobile, Alabama. She failed to place at the pageant, which was won by Gretchen Polhemus of Texas.

The following year she competed in Miami's Nuestra Belleza Internacional pageant, and was 1st runner-up.[2]

[edit] Survivor

Tornell was one of twenty contestants who competed on Survivor: Palau.[3] She became the thirteenth person eliminated when she voluntarily laid down her torch in a shocking twist, partially to save Stephenie LaGrossa, who was destined for elimination by her tribemates.[4]

Tornell created new Survivor records, by becoming:

  • The 2nd player to quit at Tribal Council since Survivor's start in 2000
  • The 4th person to quit the game since Survivor's start in 2000[5]
  • The 9th person in Survivor history to be eliminated without being voted off
  • The 3rd female player to quit
  • The first contestant to quit the game and still be allowed a goodbye speech during the closing credits.
  • The first player to quit the game and still be allowed to participate in the jury.[6]
  • The first player to quit the game and have her torch sunken along with the other eliminated torches.
  • Janu became the first player alone to be "exiled" from their tribe, and to be left on a separate island for a night. She intentionally dropped out of the previous challenge because she wanted to be on Exile Island. Before, in Survivor: Pearl Islands, when Jon won a reward challenge (by lying to the others about his grandmother's death), the rest of the members were exiled to another island. This became the theme of the show two seasons later, Survivor: Panama - Exile Island.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Curtain slowly closing on Las Vegas showgirls Long a staple of gambling capital, they're losing to times, bunions", Winnipeg Free Press, 2001-03-25. 
  2. ^ "Michelle Policastro of Orlando Named 1990 Miss 'Nuestra Belleza' in Live Nationwide Broadcast", PR Newswire, 1990-10-26. 
  3. ^ Lang, Derrik. "CBS Reveals Identities of 'Survivor'", Associated Press, 2005-01-13. 
  4. ^ "'Survivor' quitter Janu deserves slack, not flak", The State Journal-Register, p. 2005-04-28. 
  5. ^ Strachan, Alex. "Survivor at boiling point: Probst under fire. And Apprentice doodad big seller", Montreal Gazette, 2005-04-28, p. D8. 
  6. ^ Lang, Derrik. "Janu Tornell Quits 'Survivor: Palau' but still gets to stay on Jury", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2005-04-23, p. C8. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by:
Coby Archa		 Castaway of Survivor: Palau
13th		 Succeeded by:
Stephenie LaGrossa