History Main / CelebritySurvivor

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In the episode where Dean gets transported three years into the future after the Devil's ZombieApocalypse destroys much of humanity, he arrives in a CrapsackWorld (yes, [[UpToEleven even more crapsack]] than the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' world ''already'' is) where a drunken, depowered Castiel lives in a survivor camp, much of the United States (and the rest of the world) lies in ruins... and UsefulNotes/SarahPalin is President. Also meant as a TakeThat against Palin, as she apparently decided to bomb Houston according to a newspaper Dean looks at in one scene.

* In ''Film/SharknadoThe4thAwakens'', several ChippendalesDancers performing in Vegas fight back and kill sharks. The Mayor of Salt Lake City punches out a shark.

* Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, carrying the Old Christians Club rugby team from Montevideo, crashed in the Andes in 1972 on their way to Chile. The survivors spent 72 days in the Andean wilderness and eventually had to resort to [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty cannibalism to survive]]. Their experience [[BasedOnATrueStory was adapted]] into the film ''Film/{{Alive}}''.

It's a few years AfterTheEnd, and {{Alice|AndBob}} (no, not [[Film/ResidentEvil that Alice]]...or maybe it is) is WalkingTheEarth scraping out a meager existence for herself. One day, she runs into Bob. But wait, this isn't any Bob -- this is Creator/BobHoskins! How the hell did ''he'' make it through this? And Alice is dying to know: What was it like filming ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' and ''Film/{{Hook}}''?

* ''Series/{{Jericho}}'': Referenced in one episode. As Skyler is flipping through some of the old tabloids at Dale's general store, she wonders aloud if Creator/LindsayLohan survived. Her friend chastises her for this, asking why she still cares about celebrities in a time like this.

** ''Survivor: David vs. Goliath'' had two celebrity contestants: Wrestling/JohnMorrison (who appeared on ''Survivor'' under his real name John Hennigan), a wrestler who has been part of several organizations, including the WWE, where he won the Tag Team championship four times. The second was Mike White, a screenwriter who wrote the scripts for ''Film/OrangeCounty'', ''Film/SchoolOfRock'', and ''Film/NachoLibre''.

* Creator/BillMurray in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''. The movie justifies this by establishing that Murray used his acting abilities to blend in with the infected, and the main characters only come across him because they visited his house specifically.

* ''Literature/WorldWarZ'' has lots of fun with this. One of the soldiers that Todd Wainio served with was a former pro wrestler, and another one may or may not have been [[Music/{{REM}} Michael Stipe]]. A pre-war film director (strongly implied to be Creator/MartinScorsese) also finds work shooting propaganda movies for the government. And then, of course, there's [[DeathByMaterialism the celebrity fortress]] [[TooDumbToLive on Long Island...]]

* On ''Series/TheLeftovers'' it's a running gag to name-drop celebrities who vanished in "The Sudden Departure" including the entire cast of ''Series/PerfectStrangers''. In season two [[spoiler: Mark Linn-Baker turns up alive. He's been hiding out because of a combination of shame and survivor's guilt at not being taken with the rest of his cast. He becomes instrumental to the fate of one of the show's central characters]].

--> "I wonder where they are right now, I wonder where all the famous people are now"

* As mentioned in the Comics entry above, ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' has Beta, although his pre-apocalypse career is changed from pro athelete to country music star, who performed under the name "Half Moon" (although, like his comics counterpart, his true name is never revealed).

** The Midnight Riders are a badass Southern rock band who, in the midst of a ZombieApocalypse, refused to cancel their tour until they had to be evacuated from an overrun concert.

* Several characters in the ''VideoGame/BioShock'' series, such as singer Grace Holloway, artist Sander Cohen, stage magician Suresh Sheti, football star Danny Wilkins, and actress Blanche de Glace. Some of them were famous before coming to Rapture, while others became celebrities after moving there. Rapture was set up in part as a place of refuge from censorship of the arts, so it's not surprising why there are a whole bunch of celebrities living down there.

** Robert House himself counts as this. In the old world, he was the founder of [=RobCo=], the company that creates many of the robots in the series, including the Pipboy that the protagonists use. He was legendary for his wealth and genius, in a manner similar to the real world's Howard Hughes. Nowadays, he's known as the self-styled CEO of New Vegas and a prime example of a real mover and shaker who pulled a lucky straw in the apocalypse.

* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' map "[[VideoGame/NaziZombies Call of the Dead]]" has this as its setup. Creator/GeorgeARomero is shooting a zombie movie on location in Siberia starring Creator/RobertEnglund, Creator/DannyTrejo, [[Series/TheWalkingDead Michael Rooker]] and Creator/SarahMichelleGellar ([[AsHimself all played by themselves]]). LifeImitatesArt, a real ZombieApocalypse happens, Romero is zombified (and becomes the "King of the Zombies"), and now the four aforementioned actors must fight off wave after wave of the undead.

* StoryBreadcrumbs in ''VideoGame/TheForest'' reveal that the player character is a famous television survivalist, which comes in handy when his plane crashes in the remote, cannibal-infested wilderness.

* In the second season of the zombie web series ''WebVideo/BiteMe'', [[KentBrockmanNews news reporter Rod Putman]] makes reference to a zombified Kirstie Alley going "off her diet... ''way'' off."

* The VideoGame/ZombiesRun podcast has used this trope multiple times in Season 2:

** Future President of Finland Sauli Niinistö and his son were also caught in the tsunami, they survived by climbing onto a concrete utility pole.
* Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, carrying the Old Christians Club rugby team from Montevideo, crashed in the Andes in 1972 on their way to Chile. The survivors spent 72 days in the Andean wilderness and eventually had to resort to [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty cannibalism to survive]]. Their experience [[BasedOnATrueStory was adapted]] into the film ''Film/{{Alive}}!''.

* Music/EaglesOfDeathMetal were performing at Le Bataclan in Paris on November 13, 2015. The exact same night an ISIS cell launched several attacks on the city, the Bataclan being one of the focal points of their attack. Jesse Hughes and the accompanying musicians managed to make it out of the club safely (Josh Homme rarely tours with the band, and that night was no exception).

** Played with regarding [[spoiler: Beta.]] Apparently he was a famous basketball player turned actor before the apocalypse, but his name is never spoken. The reaction of the characters who recognize him is more along the lines of "Hey, isn't he ''that'' guy?" "Oh yeah! ''That'' guy."

** ''Survivor: Philippines'' featured two such contestants. The first was Jeff Kent, a former MLB baseball player best known for his stint with the San Francisco Giants, during which he won the NL Most Valuable Player award in 2000. The second, and best known, was Lisa Whelchel, an actress best known for playing Blair Warner on the 1980s TV sitcom ''Series/TheFactsOfLife''. Whelchel tried to keep her past a secret from other contestants because she didn't want to be subject to favoritism and also felt that most of the other castaways were too young to remember her, but everyone found out eventually.

** And the current President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, and his son survived by climbing into a concrete electric pole.

** Fish & Bicycle Productions is a troupe of actresses who continue to work after the {{Gendercide}}, traveling from town to town. Some of them feel that the plague was karmic punishment for how older women would often [[HorribleHollywood find themselves pushed out of acting]].

* ''Literature/WorldWarZ'' has lots of fun with this. One of the soldiers that Todd Wainio served with was a former pro wrestler, and another one may or may not have been [[Music/{{REM}} Michael Stipe]]. A pre-war film director also finds work shooting propaganda movies for the government. And then, of course, there's [[DeathByMaterialism the celebrity fortress]] [[TooDumbToLive on Long Island...]]

It's a few years AfterTheEnd, and {{Alice|AndBob}} (no, not [[Film/ResidentEvil that Alice]], or maybe it is) is WalkingTheEarth scraping out a meager existence for herself. One day, she runs into Bob. But wait, this isn't any Bob -- this is Creator/BobHoskins! How the hell did ''he'' make it through this? And Alice is dying to know: What was it like filming ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' and ''Film/{{Hook}}''?

Conversely, it can also be used to show that celebrities are as human as the rest of us. Showing that the apocalypse affects the rich and famous just like it affects the rest of us humanizes them as well as "pulling them down to our level." And the Celebrity Surivor ''is'' a survivor, after all. They prove that having the determination and wherewithall to weather the apocalypse isn't solely the province of blue-collar, salt-of-the-earth types.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] {{celebrity edition}}s of ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', although such a show would presumably play this trope to the hilt (and indeed, there is a show that has just such a premise; see below). ''Survivor'' itself has also occasionally featured celebrity contestants during its regular seasons, and those contestants can be found in the Live Action TV folder.

** Invoked by the characters: when looking to revive people with useful skills the cast naturally gravitate towards people who were famous in universe.

** Tyreese is something of a subversion, as he used to be a pro football player, but he wasn't a particularly great or famous player and retired after just a few years in the league due to a CareerEndingInjury. By the time the ZombieApocalypse started he was pretty much washed up.

** Epiphany is a Canadian IdolSinger who found herself stuck in Japan during the {{Gendercide}}. She uses her wealth, charisma and [[TeenIdol popularity with teenage girls]] to rebuild the {{Yakuza}}.

* In ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureauTheOtherSideOfTheSpectrum'', all of [[EarthIsABattlefield Earth is embroiled in a war for survival]] against the [[TheEmpire Solar Empire]], so every able-bodied man, woman and child is required to do their part in some way no matter which walk of life they've come from. One of the most famous soldiers in the war is a South Korean actor named Yon-Soo Park (who is [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed heavily based on]] Min-Ho Lee), a couple side stories make references to real life celebrities such as side character Viktor Kraber wanting to be played by Sharlto Copeley in a biopic of his life, [=DJs=] Music/MarkusSchulz, Music/ArminVanBuuren, and Music/FerryCorsten appear in person for no other reason besides AuthorAppeal, and UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily appear more than once and [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething contribute to the war effort in their own ways]].

* Two of the survivors at the end of ''Film/MarsAttacks'' are a former World Heavyweight Champion boxer... and Music/TomJones. The latter case is particularly ironic, since up to that point the film had [[KillEmAll gruesomely killed off]] its entire AllStarCast.

* ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'' is about [[Creator/SethRogen a]] [[Creator/JamesFranco bunch]] [[Creator/JayBaruchel of actors]] ([[AllStarCast all of them]] [[AsHimself played by themselves]]) trying to survive [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the apocalypse]] in James Franco's mansion. At one point, Jonah Hill says that help ought to be on their way because they're rich celebrities, and that the authorities would make an effort to save them first rather than the plebs below. Creator/EmmaWatson also breaks in and loots the place.

* In ''Film/UnderSiege'', Playboy Playmate Jordan Tate (who's played by real life Playmate Erika Eleniak) is hired to go JumpingOutOfACake topless for a party on board a battleship. Unfortunately, the ship gets hijacked by terrorists, and she's dragged into the DieHardOnAnX plot. Although she spends most of her screen time terrified, she pulls her weight at times and even saves the hero's life.

* In the beginning of Stephen King's ''Literature/TheStand'', Larry Underwood is a musician who's just had his first big hit with the song "Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?". And then the Superflu hits before he can release his second single. Since he's such a new name, he's easily forgotten about in the ensuing chaos, and by the time he meets other people he doesn't care much about fame anyway and decides to return to obscurity (so much so that when someone starts singing a snatch of his song later in the book and asks him, "....say, wait, who was the guy who wrote this song? I can't remember," he claims he doesn't know).

* On ''Series/TheLeftovers'' it's a running gag to name-drop celebrities who vanished in "The Sudden Departure" including the entire cast of ''Series/PerfectStrangers''. In season two [[spoiler: Mark Linn-Baker turns up alive. He's been hiding out because of a combination of shame and survivor's guilt at not being taken with the rest of his cast. He becomes instrumental to the fate of one of ther show's central characters]].

* In a literal version of this trope, ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', has on occasion featured castaways who were already famous before they participated on the show. None of them were specifically chosen because of their celebrity, and all were cast in the same way as other contestants. Among them:

** Jimmy Gibbs Jr., former stock car champ, writer and hero to the South, particularly Ellis and Coach. He doesn't do much surviving -- you ([[MetalSlime sometimes]]) face his zombified corpse at the end of Dead Center -- but the survivors' reaction to him goes along the lines of this trope.

* Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, carrying the Old Christians Club rugby team from Montevideo, crashed in the Andes in 1972 on their way to Chile. The survivors spent 72 days in the Andean wilderness, and eventually had to resort to [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty cannibalism to survive]]. Their experience [[BasedOnATrueStory was adapted]] into the film ''Film/{{Alive}}!''.

* Music/EaglesOfDeathMetal were performing at Le Bataclan, in Paris, in November 13, 2015. The exact same night an ISIS cell launched several attacks on the city, the Bataclan being one of the focal points of their attack. Jesse Hughes and the accompanying musicians managed to make it out of the club safely (Josh Homme rarely tours with the band, and that night was no exception).

-->-- ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vAvmyTvFJ4 Soup of the Walking Dead]]''

** ''Survivor: Philippines'' featured two such contestants. The first was Jeff Kent, a former MLB baseball player best known for his stint with the San Francisco Giants, during which he won the NL Most Valuable Player award in 2000. The second, and best known, was Lisa Whelchel, an actress best known for playing Blair Warner on the 1980s TV sitcom ''Series/TheFactsOfLife''. Whelchel tried to her past a secret from other contestants because she didn't want to be subject to favoritism and also felt that most of the other castaways were too young to remember her, but everyone found out eventually.

** ''Survivor: Nicaragua'' featured Jimmy Johnson, a legendary football coach best known for leading the Dallas Cowboys to back-to-back UsefulNotes/SuperBowl wins in 1993 and 1994. Johnson noted that he was only on the show for the experience and was disinterested in the prize, stating that if he won he'd donate it to charity. ''Nicaragua'' also featured country singer Chase Rice, who went on to have a string of hit singles a few years ''after'' he appeared on the show, meaning he didn't qualify for this trope at the time.
** ''Survivor: Philippines'' featured two such contestants. The first was Jeff Kent, a former MLB baseball player best known for his stint with the San Francisco Giants, during which he won the NL Most Valuable Player award in 2000. The second, and best known, was Lisa Whelchel, an actress best known for playing Blair on the 1980s TV sitcom ''Series/TheFactsOfLife''. Whelchel tried to hide her past from other contestants because she didn't want to be subject to favoritism, but everyone found out eventually.

** ''Survivor: San Juan del Sur'' featured John Rocker, a former MLB pitcher for the Atlanta Brave who became nationally infamous in 1999 after he made derogatory comments about minorities in a ''Sports Illustrated'' interview, which caused him to be suspended for 14 games and cast a shadow over his career. Notably, everyone in his tribe [[EverybodyKnewAlready already knew who he was]] from the incident, and that interview was regularly brought up by other contestants.

** ''Survivor: China'' featured Wrestling/AshleyMassaro, a professional wrestler who won the 2005 Wrestling/WWEDivaSearch and spent a few years in the Wrestling/WWE after that.

** ''Survivor: Gabon'' featured two such contestants: The first was Crystal Cox, who was part of the American relay team that won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, but she was later stripped of her medal in 2012 after admitting to doping. The second was Ken Hoang, a top ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' player who had the highest major tournament win-to-loss ratio of any player from 2003 to 2007.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] {{celebrity edition}}s of ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', although such a show would presumably play this trope to the hilt (and indeed, there is a show that has just such a premise; see below).

* Invoked in ''Manga/DrStone'', when looking to revive people with useful skills the cast naturally gravitate towards people who were famous in universe.

* In ''VideoGame/Fallout76'', Shannon Rivers was a voice actress known for her work in radio serials, in particular voicing the [[LadyOfAdventure Mistress of Mystery]] on ''The Silver Shroud'' (a parody of ''Radio/TheShadow''), while her husband Frederick Rivers was a renowned architect and inventor. In anticipation of the TV adaptation of ''The Silver Shroud'' (before ExecutiveMeddling screwed Shannon out of [[RoleReprisal reprising her role]]), Shannon and Frederick built a full-scale, fully-functional replica of the Mistress' lair beneath their estate in West Virginia... which came in handy after WorldWarIII, which caused Shannon to don the mantle of the Mistress for real, soon taking in a number of orphaned girls to form the Order of Mysteries.

It's a few years AfterTheEnd, and {{Alice|AndBob}} (no, not [[Film/ResidentEvil that Alice]], or maybe it is) is WalkingTheEarth scraping out a meager existence for herself. One day, she runs into Bob. But wait, this isn't any Bob -- this is Bob Hoskins! How the hell did ''he'' make it through this? And Alice is dying to know: What was it like filming ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' and ''Film/{{Hook}}''?