Bio
Jeff Varner is a news anchor best known as a contestant on the second season of television reality series Survivor, entitled Survivor: The Australian Outback.
He was a member of the Kucha tribe, and made it to the merged Barramundi tribe. Once the merge arrived, the five Ogakor members and the five Kuchas found themselves deadlocked in the vote.
Ogakor correctly voted for Jeff, who had been revealed earlier in the game by Kimmi to have had previous votes cast against him. Kucha mistakenly voted for Colby, who had no previous votes to his name.
With the tie decided by previous votes, it was Jeff who became the seventh person voted out of the game (5-5).
Prior to appearing on Survivor in 2001, Varner was an internet project manager, having worked as Director of People and Process for a Manhattan start-up company.
There he developed and managed the technical and interpersonal aspects of a Human Resources/Operations hybrid system for a staff of 30.
Prior employment included work as a website producer, graphic designer and marketing manager for various companies.
Varner obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Earlier employment included stints as a waiter, bartender and traveling salesperson.
Additionally, he studied martial arts, receiving a black belt in Tae Kwon Do when he was 15 years old. While pursuing his degree with UNC, he was Captain of the National Champion Tar Heel Cheer Team (1989-90). He is an avid rollerblader, spending many afternoons skating through Manhattan's busy streets.
After appearing on Survivor, Varner used his Survivor exposure to turn his web and PR career into a a full-blown on-camera reporter, anchor and host.
He worked as an entertainment reporter for KCBS in Los Angeles, CA then E! News Live, and then as a field correspondent and host for the TV Guide Channel.
He is now a weekend news anchor and field reporter at FOX 8 WGHP in High Point, North Carolina. In his first year in broadcast news, he won an Associated Press Broadcast News Award: "Rookie of the Year," in 2005.