Since Big Brother premiered in July 2000, viewers have been introduced to hundreds of houseguests, many of whom have become fan favorites and competed on the show multiple times.
It all started with Eddie McGee, who became the first player to walk away with the $500,000 grand prize. Since then, the Julie Chen-hosted CBS reality competition has taken over televisions across the U.S. every summer — plus bonus seasons in 2008 and 2016 — and it has only become more popular as the years have gone by.
To date, 22 everyday people have won Big Brother (not including celebrity winners Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tamar Braxton) and become household names in their own right. Many of them, like Jordan Lloyd and Rachel Reilly, have continued to work with CBS through the years, making guest appearances at the Big Brother house as well as competing on the network’s other reality shows such as The Amazing Race.
Other winners have found success on competitor channels, most notably MTV, which started incorporating Big Brother houseguests on programs including Ex on the Beach and The Challenge in recent years.
Some Big Brother champs, on the other hand, have completely shied away from the spotlight. Season 4 winner Jun Song moved to Belgium after her reality TV stint, while season 5’s Drew Daniel and season 6’s Maggie Ausburn do not even have social media accounts.
With that said, there are plenty of winners who continue to keep fans up-to-date on their personal lives. Lloyd and Reilly, for example, both found love during their time in the game, marrying and starting families with Jeff Schroeder and Brendon Villegas, respectively. Season 8’s Dick “Evel Dick” Donato and season 10’s Dan Gheesling, for their part, have developed fan bases thanks to their online presences.
In honor of Big Brother’s 20th anniversary, Us Weekly tracked down every winner since McGee to see what they are up to now. Scroll down to get an update on your favorites!
