‘Deadliest Catch’ Star Sophia ‘Bob’ Nielsen: Everything We Know About Her Parents

Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch Season 19 Episode 12 features cast member Sophia “Bob” Nielsen overcoming personal tragedy to captain her parents’ 74-foot wooden hull vessel, the F/V Victory. Bob’s past remains somewhat of a mystery in the series despite her presence, and fans want to know more about her. Here’s everything to know about Bob’s parents and family.

What happened to Sophia ‘Bob’ Nielsen’s parents? Here’s what we know about the ‘Deadliest Catch’ star

At just 23 years old, Sophia “Bob” Nielsen is one of the youngest stars in Deadliest Catch Season 19. She joined the series as a crew member for the F/V Saga led by Captain Jake Anderson, and she continued to learn a lot from him while aboard his crabbing vessel.

While Bob is a third-generation fisherman, she never got the chance to fish alongside her father. “Unfortunately, I never worked with my father on the boats when he was alive,” she said during an interview with Vegas Film Critic. “It took for him to pass away for me to finally jump on the boats.” With that said, she couldn’t wait to captain the F/V Victory on her own. This is the boat she inherited after her father died.

“My father was a fisherman — that’s all I could remember,” Bob shared with Fox News Digital. “And from a very early age, I knew that I was going to be inheriting this business and this boat. When I was a kid, I didn’t realize how hard my family worked to keep the boats going …. But shortly after I became 18 and the businesses were mine, I started working really hard and putting my sweat and tears into the business.”

As for what happened to Bob’s parents, Bob’s father, Gary Nielsen, reportedly died in 2013 due to heart issues. Her father left her and her brother two fishing vessels.

“Right off the bat, I knew I was gonna inherit it,” Bob told Vegas Film Critic. “My mom was doing everything she could, my brother did everything he could to keep it until I became of age to decide what I wanted to do with it.”

A few years after her father died, her mother, Annette Donvito, also died, though it’s unclear what happened.

Jake Anderson has advice for Sophia ‘Bob’ Nielsen

Jake Anderson works closely with Sophia “Bob” Nielsen on the F/V Saga in Deadliest Catch Season 19. The fishing duo understands each other, as Jake also lost a parent at a young age. “I always felt connected to that and understood how hard it was …,” he shared with Morning Blend St. Louis.

As for advice, he told the young fisherman to “never quit.”

“It just keeps one foot in front of the other, you know?” Jake told Fox News Digital. “That’s the biggest piece of advice, I’ve given her — never quit, no matter how tough it seems.”

Bob hopes to carry the fishing legacy in the wake of her parents’ deaths. And Jake noted that Bob’s brother helped her immensely when it came to her jumping aboard his crabbing vessel.

“She has had a lot of teaching from her brother,” Jake shared with Vegas Film Critic. “So, I already knew that when I brought her there. So, I knew that running her through the deck operations, she already understood engineering, she already understood the paperwork and how to steer and how to land the boat. … She did the work already. I just informed her on how our fishing goes with pots with fishing out West in the Bering Sea.”

Deadliest Catch Season 19 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel.

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