Everything we know about the fisherwoman turned aesthetician Leiya Pillitteri on Outlast: The Jungle
She catches fish with her bare hands
Leiya Pillitteri is a 26 year old permanent makeup artist and fisherwoman from Ooltewah, Tennessee competing on this season of Outlast: The Jungle.
She’s a fisherwoman and expert shelter builder
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Based in Tennessee, she’s a licensed tattoo artist and aesthetician with over four years of experience. She specialises in brows, liner, lips, henna, and lash lifts and laminations. On top of permanent makeup, Leiya also does flash tattoo pieces. What can’t she do?
On the physical side of things, Leiya’s an advanced swimmer and hand fisher. Thanks to her Taiwanese roots and island culture, she excels in building shelters and tools out of bamboo. We’re sure her crafty skills will be useful in the Central American jungle.
Making shelters isn’t her only survival skill. As a hand fisher, also known as noodling, she catches large catfish using only her bare hands. Think Jeremy Wade from River Monsters but with flawless makeup and a full set of lashes. How does she manage to look this good while her hand is inside a fish’s mouth? We have no clue.
She’s always exploring
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She’s also an avid traveller and adventurer, sharing travel pics to her Instagram. A true fisherwoman at heart, she even fishes on her vacations, posting an Instagram picture of her holding a Mahi Mahi she caught in Greece. “Fisher of men and big fish,” her Instagram bio reads.
She has no shortage of hobbies either. In September 2025 she brought a violin back from southern Spain with one goal in mind: learn how to play it in 2026. Six months later she had her first recital. Talk about dedication. Leiya also plays the piano, and she’s shared her violin and piano pieces on a separate Instagram page @leiya_piano.
Leiya’s strategy for making it to the end
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When it comes to how she’ll make it to the very end in Outlast: The Jungle, she plans to “play the long game by letting others underestimate her impressive skills,” she told Netflix. Hopefully the other competitors don’t misjudge her, because she’s more than just a pretty face.
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