Yahoo Lifestyle Meet the 'Survivor 48' Cast! Star Toomey Says Her Newborn Baby Brought Her to the Island (Exclusive)
Like the vampires she adores watching, Star Toomey absolutely sparkles as she talks to me. The 28-year-old is bouncing in her seat, brimming with excitement as she talks about playing a game she fell in love with over a recent marathon binge. A self-proclaimed "sales expert," she feels her charm, goofiness, and athleticism will have her standing (sometimes quite literally) head and shoulders above the rest. As she awaits the game, her mind is in many places, trying to digest advice from previous players, rules from her family, and even her competition in, according to her, the "finest-looking Survivor cast ever." But, if she sticks with her instincts, Star believes her game will go far from supernova.
Read on for my interview with Star, and check in with Parade.com daily for interviews with this season's contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 48 premieres on Feb. 26 with a two-hour premiere on CBS.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 48
Interview with Star from Survivor 48
To start, give me your name, age, and occupation.
So my name is Star. I am 28, and I do sales. I'm a sales expert. So I sell you your internet. I sell you your cell phones and apparels. Like phone cases maybe, if you're feeling phone casey. A headphone maybe. Whatever I can get out of you, I'm definitely gonna try to sell it.
[Laughs.] How long have you been doing sales for?
I've been doing sales for three years now. September will make it four. But it's something that just kind of fell into my lap. I was stuck between, "What do I really want to do?" And then I went to school for communication. So I'm like, "Talking, sales. It goes hand in hand." So I jumped into it, and so far so good. I haven't left yet.
What did you tell your work about going off for a month to play?
From jump, I already was like, "Hey, boss, I just want to know. I got a kid. I'm gonna be leaving someone just to take some time off, just to get really get into him and get to know him a little bit more." And she was like, "Yeah, take all the time you need. You have to get that bonding." And I'm like, "Perfect." Newborn act, that's what I use, and I love it. Because that's the whole point of corporate, right? You have to know how to really work the system. I mean, I'm proud of it. I put my time in. I'm using all my PTO and all my FMLA. I'm here to have a good time.
So you're a new mother? Congratulations!
Yes, I am. So, my wife actually did the pushing. Thank God for her. But I am a new mother. My son will be actually one in two weeks, July 8. So we'll see. Hopefull,y I'm still here! But, yeah, thank you so much. He's really good. His name is Silver-Mars. He's top-notch, no stop. He's the best baby I've ever met. And I've met some pretty good babies. But so far, he's actually topped all the other babies I've met.
There we go, number one baby! As a parent myself, I know that becoming one not only changes you, but changes the way that you see the world.
When I became a parent, I decided I want to go and become a millionaire right behind it. So he's actually a blessing. I would not be here if it wasn't for him, for real. It was the middle of the night. My wife was so tired after all the breastfeeding and all the late nights, and so she was asleep. I said I would stay up with him and put on Survivor. We were gonna binge Survivor for the first weeks that she was on maternity leave. So I'm watching Survivor, 12:00 a.m. at night. Silver's in my arms, I'm rocking him to sleep. Next thing I know, Jeff says, "Do you think you have what it takes to be on Survivor?" I looked around, I looked up, I looked down. I said, "Yes, I do!" By 3:00 a.m. I put my recording in, and I did what needed to be done. And here I am talking to you, so I must have did something right! [Laughs.]
Absolutely! So what's your history with watching the show?
So that's the funny thing. I honestly did not start binge-watching it until Silver-Mars. I've always known about the show, but I never really put much attention to it. It was probably playing in the background when I was a kid, maybe at somebody's house, maybe. But never on my own. But I'm a movie person. I love TV shows. I love movies. I love binge-watching. If you want to see what I'm doing, I'm watching TV. 99, 100% of the time, I'm watching TV. I'm not outside. If I'm outside, I have my iPad, my tablet, I have something where I'm watching TV. So I told my wife, "We're gonna watch Survivor." Because they were playing non-stop commercials, like, "Watch Survivor right now on Paramount+." And I'm like, "You know what? I'll watch Survivor. "And that's what…[Laughs.] It's literally like it was written for me to be on here. Like I said, he was talking to me. Jeff was talking to me.
So then, once you got into Survivor, was it just an immediate deep dive into all the seasons?
I watched all the seasons. Like I said, I was all in. I would say by Season 12, I had already applied. And after applying, my wife–she will bet a million dollars on this–we watched that morning up, morning down. Wake up, Survivor's on. If I fell asleep, she's telling me what I missed, and we're running it right back. It's feedings, and it's Survivor. And it was non-stop playing. And I'm like, "Babe, we're watching Survivor until I get the call." And even when I get the call, now we're studying Survivor. So, sure enough, Survivor has not shut off the TV yet. I promise you, they're probably still watching, and now they're waiting for me so we can watch us too. So yeah, we're watching.
So looking back on all these marathon viewing sessions, give me one winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most.
Oh, see, why [did] you hit me with those questions? Because I'll tell you, from before I watched Season 42, Sandra Diaz-Twine. After watching Season 42, Sandra Diaz-Twine and Maryanne; that's my girl right there. And I feel like it's a good balance, because I'm a Libra. I always say all the times–I hate this. The Libras always say, "I'm a Libra." But anyway, I'm a Libra. I'm all about the balance, scales.
I'm serious. I can be serious when I'm trying to get that money. I'm trying to finesse somebody into buying this phone. Or maybe I might be running late to work, and I gotta figure out what I'm gonna tell my boss. I'm serious. But I also know how to have a good time like Maryanne. She was goofy, she was funny. But at the same time, they always underestimated her. Because they thought that she wasn't playing the game, but the whole time, she was, and that's what I'm about. Most times, people don't think I'm paying attention. Other times they think I'm just goofy. But no, I know what's going on. I'm just making you think I don't know what's going on.
What's your favorite moment in Survivor history?
My favorite moment in Survivor history would be whenever Chris won the fire after coming off of Edge of Extinction. That was crazy. He won; he made the fire! And also Season 46, when Kenzie was going up against Liz, and she made that fire. That was actually pretty dope as well. And then the ending for Maryanne, when she won, and she was like, telling everybody at the Tribal Council why she should [win]. I felt that energy. I felt her because she's like, "Y'all don't know. I've been playing this game since day one." So it's just like moments like that, not even just from the new era. All of Survivor has changed. You don't get the same season, you don't get the same show, you don't get the same Jeff. Jeff pulled out a pillow and got comfortable in Season 46. Since when has he done that before? He gave out snacks! You don't even know what to expect. Survivor is always something new and fresh, and that's why I love the show. And I think it is honestly the best show. And I'm not just saying that because I'm on it now! I told you. I'm a movie and TV connoisseur. I know what I'm talking about. [Laughs.]
What are some of your favorite shows?
I love Charmed, the original. The reboot's cute. I mean, I watched it because I'm a loyal Charmer, but I love my Piper. I've probably binge-watched Charmed a billion times. That's how deep I love it. I've been watching Charmed since I was a kid. I know pretty much all the episodes. I could watch and be like, "Oh, Pru's is about to jump off. Yeah, Phoebe, she's about to have a premonition right now."
Talk to me about your prep for this experience. How tough was that to do amongst all you have been through over the past year?
Of course, I actually learned how to swim. My brother taught me how to swim. I've always said that I'm a tall person that just stands in the water. I don't go past six feet. Once I get past that and I feel my feet leaving the ground, I go back to where I can stand comfortably, right at that 6-foot area mark; it never failed me before. But once again, Survivor is a competition. It's a challenge; it's a game show, where your water, your land, your air, you really don't even know. He could say, "We're jumping off the airplane today, and we just gotta jump." I don't know.
So with that being said, I just wanted to be prepared. And I felt like the best way for me to be confident in swimming, because I would hate to be the weak link. Most times, you see somebody carrying that extra body in the water, and it just looks so sad. And I don't want to look sad. So I had to learn how to swim. You know the [challenge] where they're doing the maze, and you got to put the ball in the maze? So [my wife] got me a smaller version of that maze. You just got to put the two balls in the middle. So I've been definitely going crazy on that. I didn't make fire. That was my only downfall.
And you love the firemaking challenge!
I didn't make fire because of two reasons. Number one, my wife told me I couldn't make fire in our house. And I feel her. [Laughs.] And then number two, the only other place I could make fire is my mom's house, and that's a far drive. So I just couldn't do it. [Laughs.] But I also said that I'll learn on the island, because I feel it'll make me more intimidating if I never made fire at all. And here I am, and everybody's making fire here and there. And I'll be one of those people that's making fire, so maybe that'll make other people not want to pick me for the fire, because they see me already doing it. I'm like, "You don't want to go up against me! I make fire for fun. What are you talking about?" And on top of that, we got to fight for the flint anyway. So once we win the flint, we can go from here. We don't win the flint, we might be trying to make fire with our bare hands.
What's one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game?
I hate to get so deep. It might sound cliche when I say it because a lot of people have lost people in their lives, important people in their lives. But I really feel like losing my father, the death of my father. I appreciate that the death of my father helped me and prepared me for this moment here. Because you're alone on Survivor, you're by yourself on Survivor. Yeah, these people are nice, but it's up to them to be nice to you. If I'm crying in the corner, nobody has to come and pat me on the shoulder. Nobody has to tell me, "It's okay." That's not their job. This is Survivor. You want them to cry. You want them to want to leave. That's the whole point. And you're just good people. So, of course, "Hey, it's okay." But is it really genuine?
But I feel like I had to heal myself. I had to pick myself up from my coattails and tell myself to get up, tell myself to do what I need to do, not just for me, but for my family, all my family. Not just my wife, my mom, my brother, my sisters. I had to prepare for all of that, because I took on the strong suit when my father died. I feel like I am my father, like a girl version of him. And so I carry everybody under my wing like a mama bear, and I just want to protect all of them. But how can you protect everybody when you're literally falling into pieces? You have to pick yourself up and get it together. If not, you're really f–ked.
And I found myself drowning in everybody else, trying to save everybody else. But when I was literally drowning, looking for somebody to save me, nobody was there, because I put on the face to where you don't even know I'm really struggling. You don't know I'm sad today, because I'm laughing and smiling. Check on your happy friends, too! So, once again, I had to pick myself up because nobody was really checking up on me. And then finally, when I picked myself up and I became a better me, everybody wants to come back and be all cool and friendly. And it's because no one wants to deal with the tears. Everybody wants to deal with the happy Star. And so I had to tell myself, "Hey, do you want to be sad Star for the rest of your life, or do you want to be happy Star?
Give me your biggest superpower and your biggest piece of kryptonite when it comes to this game.
My biggest superpower, I would definitely say…that's a tough one. I got a lot. My charm, I think, works a lot. I got a good way with words. I'm a person that really doesn't have to think before they speak, because the words just come out so naturally. And I think that's a good quality to have. Of course, sometimes I do have to think, because you can't just say everything. But most times, I really don't because everything that comes out of my mouth is genuine. And I feel like that's really a good quality to have. Because in a game where everybody doesn't know if you're telling the truth or not, if I can honestly come to you, and you can come to me, and I look you in your eye and talk to you as if we've been knowing each other forever, that's gonna go a long way. You'll trust me even if I'm lying to you. Once again, I do sales!
And then my kryptonite, swimming. Because I know I'm athletic. And in a game where, once again, you have to run, you have to swim, you have to jump, that's a whole lot of in one. And so my athleticism can only get me so far if I don't have technique, if I don't have strategy, if I don't really know the base of it all, the foundation. So I can run on the ground. But if I can't swim, what good is that gonna make me in a challenge where we were coming from the water, going to the land, and I'm still in the water? [Laughs.]
How forthcoming are you going to be with your sales experience to other people?
So I'm not telling anyone I do sales. I'm a stay-at-home mom. And even then, I don't even know if I want to say that, because we're so stuck on the storyline. Everybody thinks that you need a story to come on Survivor, when that's really not the case at all. You could be the most boring person as long as you have something "je ne sais quoi" about you, a charisma that says why you should be here. You don't need a sad story or a long story or a happy story. So I feel like a lot of times, people put so much energy on the story of where you came from, versus the story of what's happening on the show and what's gonna happen each day you're processing living through Survivor. So, I'm still trying to debate who I really want to present myself as. And that's the tough part for me. Because, once again, my name is Star. I think people are gonna already have something gunning for me, because that's a name you can't forget.
But that's your mom's fault!
And you know what's funny? My grandmother named me Star! Because my grandma didn't like the name my dad gave me. I was a junior to him. All his kids' name starts with an L. From my older sibling all the way down, everybody starts with him, except for the last. My mom said, "I gotta stop you right there." So when he told my grandma my name, my grandma said, "No, that's an ugly name! I'm gonna name her Star." And I appreciate that; I've been Star for all my life, so I know that's a name you really can't forget. I'm a person you can't forget. You cannot forget me. Even if you [don't] know me, you'll be like, "Hey, that girl! There's something about her. You just can't forget it. "So I'm just hoping that, although my name is Star, it doesn't stay in anybody's brain too long, especially on the first week. Not until they get to know me.
Let's talk about your competition. Who are you picking up good vibes from in the preseason?
I will tell you, and I am not ashamed to say. And if I get any backlash, I don't care. This is the finest-looking "face card does not decline" Survivor cast ever, really. And once again, I'm sorry, but we're fine! We baddies, from the men to the women. Everybody looks good! And that's the problem. At least before you had tobe like, "Oh, she has a smile. Oh, she has the looks. Oh, she has the body. Mmm, gotta worry about [that]." No, everybody looks good! Everybody literally has the smile. Everybody has the face. Everybody has probably the charisma and the personality to follow along with it. And I feel like that's what's gonna actually throw everything off. How can you know if this person is telling the truth? Because they smile just like you! And so I will say I did notice about that. Everybody looks good.
Captain America. I don't know his name, but he looks like Captain America. He's built. He's strong. That's somebody that I want as a friend, because I need strength. As you can see, I'm a little skinny. I got muscle, though. Don't let these bones fool you! Don't let it fool you. I'm strong. It don't matter the size. Remember little Charlie from Season 46, that skinny thing, he was strong! But Mr. Captain America, I want him on my team. It's a couple of people I've seen. Somebody she looks like a mom, a little older. I want her on my team as well, because I feel like those are the ones that can go under and and be your silent assassin. They can hear and come back to you with the details. "Hey, they're talking about you. Hey, your name is getting brought up, whether good or bad." I need somebody to tell me, because I might not be the in the popular crew. I might be with the quiet ones. Who knows?
I don't know until we get there, because everybody's personality is hard to tell. Are they like me? Are they not? Who's the loud one? Who are the cool kids, the athletes, the geeks? What's going on here? And I'm everything. I'm a Harry Potter lover. I'm a vampire lover. All the vampire shows, I'm there. Every vampire show, I will watch it. I've literally been watching going crazy. So that's the thing. I'm a good mix of everything. I can hang with the cool kids, but I could also be with the quiet people, because I'm shy as well. If it's a group of cool kids, I'm gonna shut up because now I gotta watch and see what y'all gonna do. Especially because I used to be bullied in elementary school, so that little childhood me still comes in as a shell. Because it's like, "Are they gonna like me? Will they not? Will they think I talk too much? Will I be too much?" But at the end of the day, you just gotta be yourself. And I feel like being myself, whether it gets me past in the game, or gets me out on the first day, I'm here for it. But of course, I'm not trying to go out on the first day. My worst fear is being Francesca. Sorry, Francesca, girl!
Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 48
Is there anyone who you're getting red flags from? Who could be the garlic to your vampire?
It's hard to say who I'm not vibing with. It's more so who I'm looking sideways at. It's a couple of people I'm kind of looking like, "I don't know if I want to talk to you."
Describe them to me.
You're gonna get me in trouble. [Laughs.]
Listen, this could end up being your best friend!
You're right, this could be my best friend. So there's this one girl. She has braids and she just looks like she's just a little high maintenance, a little bit like won't really work on the island. It just looks like she won't have to pull her weight is what she's giving, just from the certain things that I'm seeing her do right now. She's not getting up to throw her stuff away. That's a tell. Why aren't you getting up to throw your stuff away? You're two feet from the trash can. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm 10 feet from the trash can. I'm still getting up. I's just little things like that. I mean, it's a hot day; maybe that's a factor. But also, too, we're all hot. What makes you so special?
But, once again, I could be saying this now and then when we get on the island, and we could be the best of friends. And I'll tell the girl, "I was talking about you like a dog." [Laughs.] But, till then, it's just something about that. And then, I mean, there's a couple of people, I think, are looking at me funny. But also, too, I'm not sure if it's in my head or if they're really looking at me funny. Nobody can be like, "Oh, I'm gonna use my looks." We all got looks! So what you gonna use for real? You can't just use your smile. We all got smiles!
How do you plan on incorporating idols and advantages into the game?
So my thing from Day 1, and the advice, I'll tell you right now. My older sister and her husband love Survivor. Since I told them, dedicated fans, faithfully watching every single time, every single season. And they literally gave me a rule, a list of what to do. "Don't say too much to Jeff. Look for the idols, but don't make it obvious. Don't say a name. Let the name come to you". And I'm like, "Okay, don't say a name. Don't give to Jeff too much information". But that's the hard part. I'm here for the information! I'm here to tell you the tea! So that right there, I feel, will be my downfall because I'm not gonna hold anything back. Whatever happens on that camp. I'm gonna tell it up in Tribal Council. They're gonna have to tell me not to tell, because I will tell. Because that's what we're here for! What's the tea? When the cameras can only be at certain places, I'm gonna be there to tell you what you're missing.
What's your main takeaway from Seasons 45 and 46 that you're bringing into your gameplay?
For 46, I don't know what was going on with them. Nobody played an idol. For the life of me, I was screaming on the TV, "Play your f–king idol, please!" Nobody played it. So that's the thing for me. I feel like, will I be idol-happy? And [be like], "Jeff!" And now it's drawing attention to me, because now they're like, "Nah, we got to get Star out of here. She finds idols out the ass." And I'm like, "Okay, so I gotta do it different." I'm just trying to see time and place. But I know that I told myself before even coming here [to] go with my gut. My gut never failed me before, and anytime I don't listen to my gut, I always end up in a sticky situation. So I'm just gonna go with my gut.
And if I'm sitting in that Tribal and I got that idol in my sock–which is gonna be my hiding place–I will use it, yeah, every time. Or I will use it for somebody. I do want to hit a Parvati and use it for somebody else and sit down looking like, "Yo!" I'm like that. I'm trying to see here. I don't want to put too much emphasis on it, because then I'm gonna get in my head. I saw myself already looking at the merge, and one of the producers was like, "Just take it Day One". And I'm like, "You're right." It's just you watch the show, and the show just plays. And now you're here, and you're like, "What do I do? What am I gonna do?"
Yeah, you have 700 episodes of Survivor that you just binged running through your head!
All I hear is Boston Rob, "You have to make fire in order to win Survivor." And then I remember Charlie, who literally did not make fire, and he could have won just by going up against Kenzie and making fire. It's just timing. Timing, timing, timing. And then also, too, is like, do I want to be annoying? Because it seems like the annoying people don't get kicked off. But this season, they might. You really don't know. You just got to see what everybody is really working with.
What celebrity or fictional character would you bring out for a Loves Ones visit?
Are you familiar with The Originals and Vampire Diaries? Klaus Michaelson or Hope Michaelson. I love Hope. I've always loved Hope. I've always wanted to meet Hope, but now the shows isn't on anymore. So it's like, "I'll never meet Hope!" But Klaus or Hope Michaelson, because they're badass. For real, man, I got them, I'm winning! They're gonna use their vampire muscles, superpowers. And I'm getting on. First of all, they would have glamoured, and I would have already won. They would have went to Jeff, like, "We're already on Day 25, Day 26? Are you ready now? This is the jury, and Star's already won. Now we're going home. It's already time, and that's it." So if I could, I would definitely bring them back.
Or Piper from Charmed, because she can freeze people. So if she freezes people, then I'm really winning. Freeze, everybody! [Laughs.] Let me go find all the idols. That's when you find all the Beware Advantages. Oh man, if people had superpowers, if I had a superpower, dang. I think I'd either read the minds or mind control like a Magneto.
Lastly, how are you going to make your mark on Survivor 48 to make sure you return for Season 50?
I'm gonna make sure I'm the people's choice. The people are gonna love me! People already love me. But once I'm on there, once I'm in there, I'm not wasting time. I already know don't hold nothing back. This is a game. This is a game that a lot of people wish they could be o,n and you're on there. I don't even know how many applications were denied just so I can get on here. Sorry for the denies, but thank God it was me! And I'm ready to come back. I haven't even started and I'm ready to come back. I'm going to come back. Don't worry about it. You'll be talking to me again soon.
Well I'm happy to be talking with you now! I'm sure you hear this all the time, but I get such great energy from you, which makes me very excited to see you play.
I think so. Like I said, that's the thing about the game. People lose, people win. I've played basketball for a majority of my life. I've took a lot of losses, and probably more losses than wins. Not saying I'm a loser, though. I'm taking some wins. But I'm just saying, in general, you have to know how to take the losses, come back, and do better. So once again, of course, everybody wants to make it to the end. Of course I want to make it to the end. But if not, I'll just be happy for the experience and be happy that I did it and gave it my all. I'm hungry to win.
Next, check out our interview with Survivor 48 contestant Shauhin Davari.
