• CBS pre-game "Meet Denise" video (YouTube)
• CBS pre-S25 "Meet the Cast" video (YouTube)

• Official CBS Survivor: Philippines bio page
• Follow Denise Stapley on: facebook; twitter.
• Visit the web site for Denise's counseling practice: DeniseStapleyTherapy.com

Images from the preview, pre-game interviews, and other circa-Ep1 Philippines footage:

Vidcap gallery: Click on thumbnails to expand; use arrow keys to navigate between enlarged pics.

From MSN.com's Meet the Cast gallery (by Minh Nguyen):

"Denise says: 'At work, my whole goal is create this atmosphere of safety and security so they'll share. I'll do that with them here, but with a select few, if at all.'

Jeff Probst says: 'She is in the category of older woman which could be deadly in this game. But she's very fit, great in the water, and she has a really good read of people. I think she's going to do well listening and adapting as she goes.'"

Excerpts from her CBS.com Survivor: Philippines bio page:

"Personal Claim to Fame: The decision to leave the safety and stability of my previous job to open my own business is without a doubt my proudest accomplishment. It took planning and preparation to make that transition smooth and successful. It also took some serious courage to risk the financial security I had.
Inspiration in Life: At this point in my life, I struggle to identify any one hero, but a hero in my eyes is someone who follows their passion.
Hobbies: Sprint triathlons, reading and playing dress up/goofing off with my kiddo. 
Pet Peeves: My number one pet peeve is laziness and people who expect that change will happen without them having to put in any real level of effort. Life is what you make it folks... dig deep! 
3 Words to Describe You: Determined, energetic and goofy.
If You Could Have 3 Things on The Island What Would They Be and Why?
1) A seriously sturdy jogging bra – no one needs to see my 40 year-old ta-ta’s dangling out. This is for function, not fashion.  
2) My baseball cap or pink dew rag – sheer comfort and a reflection of who I really am. 
3) My favorite picture of my husband and daughter for motivation and connection with them. 
Survivor Contestant You Are Most Like: I really like Stephenie from Survivor: Palau. If that wasn’t 'digging deep' I don’t know what is. She has sheer will power and determination. That is what drives me. 
Reason for Being on Survivor: Believe it or not, for the experience!
Why You Think You’ll 'Survive' Survivor: At work, I have to be able to engage and connect on some level with every person who walks through my door. I’m also a worker bee who will seek out ways to help camp life run smoothly. 
Why You Think You Will Be the Sole Survivor: I have a job that requires the ability to engage people to share very personal information and gain their trust to know it will remain confidential. Survivor will require that same skill set and honestly, I’m good at it. My motto in business, life and now Survivor is 'keep it simple, keep it smart.'"

From her EW.com interview, by Dalton Ross:

"Please welcome Iowa's only certified sex therapist! Could Denise's training help her out on the island? 'I have a way of disarming people and getting them to tell me things that are really uncomfortable,' she says. However she's already a bit concerned about some of the other female contestants. 'Some of the women, I don't know how the hell they're going to last out here. They're doing the cuticles and they're painting their nails, and I'm like, Seriously? What the hell are you doing here?!?'"

Summary of evidence for Denise Stapley being on Survivor: Philippines.

- (5/4/12) First mention of Denise appears to have been by general Survivor: Philippines spoiler beatlebum79 at Sucks, in a post concerning game placement spoilers. (Warning: potential spoilers.)

- (8/1/12) Again citing solely the input of longtime spoiling pariah Jim Early/missyae, SurvivorFever.net adds Denise to their contestant roster. Discussion at Sucks here.

Who is Denise Stapley?

- Not much can be gleaned from her facebook or twitter pages (except that her twitter handle suggests she was born in November, 1971), which are mostly private. She gives her professional background on her counseling practice's web site, however: She received a B.S. in Psychology from Iowa State in 1993, and a Master's in Counseling from the University of Northern Iowa in 1996.

- She has a number of results online for 5k, 8k, half-marathon and triathlon results, as is standard for all Survivor contestants over the age of 40.

- Also, Denise is already a winner! (Of $200, in 2011, from her local credit union, for a story about her first car, a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle.) Denise's winning entry is here (yes, that's a vintage photo of her with her car). From the story, she says she stands a full 5' tall.