Heidi Strobel: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American charity organizer and reality television star}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Heidi Strobel

| pronunciation =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|10|29}}<!--Per her CBS biography linked below-->

| birth_place = [[Buffalo, Missouri]], [[United States|U.S.]]

| monuments =

| nationality = [[United States|American]]

| other_names = Heidi Hamels

| citizenship =

| education = [[Drury University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]])<br>[[West Chester University]] ([[Master’s degree|Master’s]])

| occupation = [[Physical education]] teacher, [[reality television]] star, [[Charitable organization|charity organizer]]

| years_active =

| employer =

| organization = Hamels Foundation<br>[[National Athletic Trainers' Association]]

| television = ''[[Survivor: The Amazon]]''

| spouse = [[Cole Hamels]]

| children = 4

''' Heidi Strobel Hamels''' (born October 29, 1978) is an American [[Charitable organization|charity organizer]] and [[reality television]] star, known for ''[[Survivor: The Amazon]]''. She is married to [[Major League Baseball|MLB]] pitcher [[Cole Hamels]].

==Early life==

Strobel was born in [[Buffalo, Missouri]],<ref name=heavy>{{cite web|url=https://heavy.com/sports/2017/12/cole-heidi-hamels-strobel-wife-house-donation/|title=Heidi Strobel Hamels: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|website=Heavy.com|date=December 19, 2017|publisher=Heavy, Inc.|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref> and grew up there with her parents and her two younger sisters. As a child, she used to sell chicken eggs and publish her own neighborhood [[newspaper]].<ref name=philly /> After high school, she attended [[Drury University]] in [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], where she earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[exercise physiology]], [[secondary education]], and [[physical education]].

==Career==

Strobel, a member of the [[National Athletic Trainers' Association]], went on to become a physical education teacher in [[Jefferson City, Missouri|Jefferson City]]. While living in Missouri, she was also a member of the [[Missouri State Teachers Association]]. In addition to teaching, she has also worked as a lingerie salesperson, a medical secretary, and a fireworks company manager. She later earned her [[Master’s degree]] in secondary education at [[West Chester University]] in [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name=inquirer>{{cite news|last=Kadaba|first=Lini S.|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/homepage/20090728_Philanthropist__businesswoman__soon-to-be_mom_.html|title=Heidi Hamels: Changeup on the player's-wife image|work=[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]|publisher=Philadelphia Newspapers LLC|date=July 28, 2009|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref> Since 2020, she has also been working with ''Survivor'' alum [[Stephenie LaGrossa]] for various projects.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/survivor-what-happened-stephenie-lagrossa-after-season-20/|title=Survivor: What Happened to Stephenie LaGrossa After Season 20|last=Long|first=Mackenzie|date=December 29, 2020|website=Screen Rant|access-date=July 28, 2022}}</ref>

==''Survivor''==

While Strobel was still at Drury, she and her grandfather auditioned for a new television show called ''[[The Amazing Race (American TV series)|The Amazing Race]]'', which debuted in 2001. One year later, Strobel received a call from TV producer [[Mark Burnett]], asking her to join the cast of another reality series, ''[[Survivor (American TV series)|Survivor]]''. Ultimately, she accepted a spot on ''[[Survivor: The Amazon]]'', the sixth season of ''Survivor''.<ref name=philly>{{cite magazine |last=Rys |first=Richard |title=Heidi Hamels Is More Than Just Mrs. Cole Hamels|url=https://www.phillymag.com/news/2013/11/22/heidi-hamels-just-mrs-cole-hamels/|magazine=[[Philadelphia (magazine)|Philadelphia]]|publisher=[[Metrocorp|Metro Corp.]] |access-date=May 21, 2020|date= December 2013}}</ref>

At the start of ''Survivor: The Amazon'', Strobel was placed on Jaburu, an all-female tribe (the other tribe, Tambaqui, was all-male). Early on, she formed an alliance with tribemates [[Jenna Morasca]] and Shawna Mitchell. On Day 21, during an immunity challenge that tested the castaways' endurance, she and Morasca offered to [[nudity|strip]] if host [[Jeff Probst]] would offer them peanut butter and chocolate. Moments later, Probst offered everyone still in the challenge [[Oreo cookies]] and peanut butter as an incentive to drop out of the challenge; Strobel and Morasca immediately dropped out, took off their clothes, and accepted the food offering. On Day 33, Strobel was on the chopping block, but Morasca, who had immunity, gave the immunity necklace to Strobel, keeping her safe from the vote; [[Christy Smith (Survivor contestant)|Christy Smith]] was voted out instead. On Day 36, when Matthew von Ertfelda won immunity, Morasca was on the verge of quitting, after a fire burned down the entire camp a few days earlier. As a result, Strobel was willing to let her ally Morasca get voted out, as it would help Strobel's own chances of winning, but the men chose to eliminate Strobel instead, making her the fifth member of the jury. Strobel finished the game in fifth place and, at Final Tribal Council, voted for Morasca to win, which she did by a 6–1 vote.

After the season wrapped, Strobel was temporarily paralyzed due to a spider bite she had gotten during her time on ''Survivor'',<ref name=inquirer /> and she suffered from kidney failure due to parasites contracted during the series' [[Television show#Production|production]].<ref name=philly /> To help pay off the medical bills, she accepted an invitation to pose for ''[[Playboy]]'', alongside Morasca.<ref name=inquirer /> The two of them appeared in the August 2003 issue.<ref>{{cite news|last=Susman|first=Gary|url=https://ew.com/article/2003/06/10/survivors-jenna-and-heidi-pose-playboy/|title="Survivor"'s Jenna and Heidi pose for Playboy|work=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|publisher=[[Time Warner]]|date=June 10, 2003|access-date=May 22, 2020}}</ref> Strobel declined an invitation to return as contestant for ''[[Survivor: All-Stars]]''.<ref name=philly />

==Personal life==

In 2004, Strobel was invited to throw out the [[ceremonial first pitch]] at a home baseball game for the [[Clearwater Threshers]], the [[Philadelphia Phillies]]' [[Class A-Advanced]] affiliate in [[Clearwater, Florida]].<ref name=wrigley /> There, she met one of the Threshers' pitchers, a young prospect named [[Cole Hamels]]. When he asked her out on a date, she said yes, on the condition that she meet him in her hometown of [[Springfield, Missouri]]. He eventually traveled to Springfield to meet up with her, and the two began dating.<ref>[[Vin Scully|Scully, Vin]] (April 23, 2014). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afmSyWBeMHk "Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers"]. [[SportsNet LA]]. Retrieved May 21, 2020.</ref>

Strobel and Hamels married on December 31, 2006, in Springfield. They went on to have four children: son Caleb (b. 2009), son Braxton (b. 2011), daughter Reeve (adopted in 2012), and daughter Mackenzie (b. 2016).<ref name=wrigley>{{cite web|last=Black|first=Donna|url=https://medium.com/the-wrigley-rapport/cole-hamels-a-career-that-almost-wasnt-ab7d31395f9a|title=Cole Hamels: A Career That Almost Wasn't.|website=Wrigley Rapport|publisher=[[Medium (website)|Medium]]|date=July 30, 2018|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

In 2009, Cole and Heidi Hamels started the Hamels Foundation, a charity dedicated to improving education in the [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] area as well as the nations of [[Malawi]], [[Thailand]], and [[Turkmenistan]]. During one of their visits to [[Africa]], they met young Reeve, then an orphan living in [[Ethiopia]], and decided to adopt her.<ref>{{cite news|last=Burke|first=Monte|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2013/09/05/cole-hamels-runs-an-athlete-charity-that-actually-works/#361b6bff6502|title=Cole Hamels Runs An Athlete Charity That Actually Works|work=[[Forbes]]|edition=September 23, 2013|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

In 2012, the couple built a {{convert|104|acre|sqm|adj=on}} home on the shore of [[Table Rock Lake]] in [[Branson, Missouri]]. They lived there until 2017, when they decided to donate the property to Camp Barnabas, a non-profit camp for people with special needs and chronic illnesses.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stump|first=Scott|url=https://www.today.com/news/cole-hamels-wife-heidi-donate-9-4-million-mansion-charity-t120262|title=Texas Rangers star Cole Hamels and wife Heidi donate $9.4 million mansion to charity|website=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]|publisher=[[NBCUniversal]]|date=December 19, 2017|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* [https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/20565/ Official CBS ''Survivor'' biography]

{{Survivor contestants}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strobel, Heidi}}

[[Category:1978 births]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Drury University alumni]]

[[Category:People from Buffalo, Missouri]]

[[Category:Survivor (American TV series) contestants]]

[[Category:West Chester University alumni]]