Nineteen.
It’s hard to imagine there have been nineteen winners in the history of Big Brother.
Whether they won competitions, floated along or manipulated their way to the finish line, all of the house guests below have won $500,000 as a result of coming out on top of this show.
But who was the BEST winner and why? Let’s count them down!
Adam Jasinski
Adam was a decent player, but he was part of the Winter edition of the series that was only on the air because of the 2007 Writer’s Strike. With bizarre changes to the format, it was the worst edition of the series. After winning the $500,000, Adam thought it was a good idea to use the money to fund his one drug ring. Yes, he’s the worst.
Lisa Donahue
Lisa Donahue made some bold moves during her time in the house, but there’s no denying that Danielle Reyes played the better game. Danielle never won because the jury was bitter as hell because she got them all out. Lisa’s win paved the way for a rule change that meant the jurors were sequestered.
Steve Moses
Steve was a genuinely nice person in the house, but his strategy did not match up to Vanessa Rousso’s. She had more competition wins, and manipulated everyone in the house. Steve pretty much coasted to the end, but because Vanessa was evicted at the final hurdle, he was in the final two with a less deserving winner.
Jordan Lloyd
Jordan Lloyd only won because she was the nicer of the two at the end. She took Natalie Martinez. Jordan had a higher competition win, but Natalie was a solid strategist who fought for her survival every week. Unfortunately, Jordan didn’t really start playing the game until she returned for Big Brother 13.
Eddie McGee
Eddie won Big Brother when it was a completely different show. He was a deserving winner of the initial iteration of the series. There was no strategy at that point, but he was a likable guy.
Maggie Ausburn
Maggie Ausburn was part of the infamous “The Friendship” alliance. Some argued that she was protected throughout her time in the house. Others would say that she knew when to cause a scene. With just one HOH win, she is one of few winners who managed to float to the end with little wins.
Morgan Willett
Morgan won the first edition of Big Brother: Over the Top. She was sent further into the game by her sister, Alex Willett, and friend, Shelby Stockton. The only reason she won the game was that viewers were voting for the winner. From a strategic standpoint, Jason Roy deserved the win.
Ian terry
Ian Terry was a decent player, but there’s no denying his win was ultimately down to being coached by Dan Gheesling all season long. Yes, Ian managed to maintain relationships in the house, but there were other players who could have swooped in for the win if Dan was not adamant to get Ian to the end.
Mike Boogie
Mike was not one of the best players, but he won when he needed to. Also, he wasn’t one to let people walk past him without learning what they were thinking.
Andy Herren
Fans were outraged with the way Andy flip-flopped between alliances. He successfully managed to play both sides of the house without getting blood on his hands. Even when he was close to being found out, he would be able to make up bizarre excuses and get away with it. He wasn’t a loyal player, that’s for sure.
Hayden Moss
Hayden was smart enough to make an alliance and stuck with it. He did make side deals, but he ultimately remained loyal to his alliance, and that helped win the game. The most savage moment, however, was when he and the alliance evicted Britney. She was blindsided.
Nicole Franzel
Nicole Franzel was a delight on Big Brother 16, but she was not as well liked on Big Brother 18. She received coaching from Derrick Levasseur after the pair played together during Big Brother 16. She leaned more on the strategy as opposed to competition wins during her second stint. She was lucky enough to steer clear of the block for most of the season. Paul was the more deserving winner that season, and he was blindsided when the jurors voted for Nicole.
Rachel Reilly
Rachel was one of the biggest villains of the entire series, but her scheming and competition wins secured her a victory. She was protected early on by a rock-solid alliance, but her willingness to turn on the people she needed to solidified her as the winner. She was an unlikely victor, but she fought hard for it.
Drew Daniel
Daniel went for the competition wins, achieving four wins. His social game was not as solid as some of the others on this list which is probably why the jury vote was 4-3.
Evel Dick
Dick had the rare opportunity to compete with his daughter, and that resulted in both of them winning competitions to save the other as and when required. Despite their strained relationship Dick won the final HOH and took his daughter with him to the final two.
Derrick Levasseur
Derrick was a loyal player and had a legion of fans. Much like Will, Derrick focused on the psychology aspect of the game and stayed loyal to his good friend Cody Calafiore. A defining moment for Derrick was when he thought he was flying under the radar and Nicole Franzel compared him to Dan Gheesling during a friendly chat. This sent alarm bells his way, and he got Nicole evicted within a matter of days. With three competition wins under his belt, a strong alliance protected him when he needed it the most.
Jun Song
Jun Song competed on Big Brother 4 and perfected the “floater” strategy to make her way to the end. She won just two competitions during her time in the house, but her loyalty to fellow houseguest Alison Irwin proved that being loyal actually counts for something in the game. Alison sat with her in the final two, but Jun eked out the win in the end.
Dan Gheesling
Like Will, Dan was a master manipulator. To this day, he is the only winner who to win with a unanimous vote. The good thing about his game was that he had a reason for absolutely everything. Throughout his two seasons on the show, Dan was nominated four times but never had a vote cast against him. Dan even returned for Season 14, and made it all the way to the runner-up position, further confirming his game was not a game of chance. His most outrageous play for power was when he publicly admitted defeat in the last ditch attempt to save himself. He was set to be evicted, but held his own “Big Brother Funeral.” He was a genius.
Will Kirby
Will Kirby is widely recognized as the best player in Big Brother history. The reason? He effortlessly made his way to the end of the game without winning a single competition. That’s unheard of. To survive, you either need to win competitions or strategize like there’s no tomorrow. Will’s strategy going into the game was to focus on the psychological aspect of it. In turn, he got all of the big targets out while making the Head of Households think the decision was their own. In recent years, Will has appeared as the host of the jury roundtable sessions on the series. To this day, he still manages to make the jury members think about the reasons why the contestants make it to the end. Without his input, jurors would likely be voting based on competition wins alone.