List of Big Brother 17 houseguests (U.S.)

On June 16, 2015, CBS revealed the names of fourteen houseguests who would compete on the seventeenth season of the American reality television series Big Brother.^[1] On the second night of the season premiere, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan appeared on the show as the first BB Takeover guest, introducing Amazing Race season 26 contestants, Jackie Ibarra and Jeff Weldon, as the 15th and 16th Houseguests, respectively.^[2] Additionally, host Julie Chen announced during the premiere that season 17 would feature a Twin Twist, where one of the contestants would compete as one houseguest with their identical twin, switching places every couple of days, unbeknownst to the other contestants. If the twins could survive the first five evictions, they would both be allowed to compete individually in the game,^[3] which would bring the total number of contestants to 17. During the first live eviction episode, Chen revealed that the houseguest with a twin was Liz, who had been switching places with her twin sister, Julia, since the beginning of the game.^[4] As in previous seasons, one or more of the houseguests will be evicted each week by the votes of the remaining houseguests, until the winner is left.

Audrey

Audrey Cara Middleton (born February 8, 1990), 26, is from Villa Rica, Georgia, where she works as a digital media consultant. She is interested in astrology and philosophy and enjoys outdoor activities, live music, and putting effort into her appearance as a form of self-expression.^[5] She is a self-proclaimed "super-fan" of the show and applied this year for the first time. Audrey is the first transgender HouseGuest to appear on the U.S. version of the Big Brother series.^[6]

Audrey was one of the first eight houseguests to enter the house. On the first night, she revealed to the other seven houseguests that she is transgender. The houseguests reacted positively, and listened to her story respectfully. Audrey quickly formed a bond and alliance with Da'Vonne and Shelli, in the hopes that a woman would win this season. Audrey competed in the first Head of Household challenge and came close to winning when she fell off her board during the same round as the other three houseguests who were left in the competition at the time.^[7]

Audrey quickly began making deals and spreading lies, but the other houseguests caught on to her intense gameplay and called her out, coming to a consensus that she should be the next player voted out. Week two HoH winners Shelli and Becky discussed a plan to backdoor Audrey, and did not nominate her for eviction during the initial nominations. However, after Becky was dethroned as HoH during the BoB competition, Shelli revealed that her real target was Da'Vonne, not Audrey.^[8] Audrey was not chosen to compete for PoV, but she managed to avoid nomination even after John won the power and removed himself from the block.^[9] Audrey remained a house target in week three, but managed to avoid nomination again, as HoH Vanessa chose to target James and Jeff instead.^[10]

During week four, Audrey approached co-HoH Shelli and told her that Jason was targeting her. Audrey convinced Shelli that it would be in Shelli's best interest to nominate Jason and campaign to have him evicted. However, after the nomination ceremony, Jason spoke with Shelli and told her that he had not planned to target her. When Shelli asked Audrey about Jason's claims, Audrey backtracked, admitting that Jason had never told her anything about Shelli directly. Shelli was upset and regretted nominating Jason.^[11] After countless attempts to play the game hard, Audrey was caught red-handed by the entire house. Vanessa used the power of Veto to remove Jason from the block, and though Audrey chose not to participate in the veto ceremony, Shelli nominated her anyway.^[12] She was evicted in a 10-1 vote, with nine houseguests and a penalty vote against her, and only Austin voting to keep her. Audrey placed fourteenth.^[13]

Austin

Austin Peter Matelson (born March 10, 1985), 31, is a professional wrestler from Woodland Hills, California formerly of WWE NXT. He is also a post-rehab fitness specialist and holds a master's degree in medieval literature. In his free time, he enjoys fitness activities such as gymnastics, yoga, Pilates, and cheerleading, as well as reading, writing, and people-watching.^[14]

Austin entered the house on the first episode, alongside seven other contestants. He competed in the first Head of Household challenge, but lost to James.^[7] As part of the BB Takeover twist for week one, Austin was granted immunity by Vanessa.^[15] Austin quickly formed a bond with Jace, but when the house turned on Jace to backdoor him during week one, Austin was forced to reconsider his gameplay. He voted to keep Jackie rather than Jace, in an effort to blend in with the rest of the house.^[4]

After the HouseGuests discovered the Twin Twist, Austin entered into an alliance with Vanessa, Clay, Shelli, and Liz/Julia. The self-proclaimed "Sixth Sense" alliance shared the common goal of protecting the twins until week five, when they would both be allowed to enter the house. Along with Vanessa, Austin won the week three HoH competition "Gronk Pong." Working closely with co-HoH Vanessa, he nominated Jason and Meg for eviction, hoping that they would win the Battle of the Block competition and dethrone him. When they removed themselves from the block, Austin lost his title of HoH has he had planned.^[16] Though Vanessa wanted to keep her nominations the same, Austin purposely lost the veto competition to Johnny Mac, guaranteeing that Johnny Mac would play the veto to remove himself from danger. Austin then convinced Vanessa to nominate and target Jeff.^[10] Vanessa was frustrated that Austin had forced her to get more blood on her hands, but she ultimately carried out his plan, and Jeff was evicted from the house.^[17]

Austin became a house target in week five, after he confided in Jason that he would not mind sacrificing Julia in the upcoming weeks as long as he could make it to the jury house with Liz. The co-HOHs, Vanessa and Jackie, conspired to backdoor Austin. They nominated Clay and Becky, James and Liz, respectively, with the plan that Clay and Becky would win the competition so Jackie could remain in power. However, this plan went south when James was unable to throw the competition and Jackie was dethroned.^[18] Vanessa began to backtrack on the original plan, and she confronted Austin about his statements to Jason regarding Julia. He apologized profusely and begged her to keep him in the game. Vanessa ultimately forgave him and decided it would be in her best interest to keep Austin in the game. When Clay won the PoV and removed himself from the block, Vanessa nominated Jason to take his place, and Austin remained safe.

In Week 9, even though he considered throwing it, Austin beat James in the final round to become the new Head of Household. Austin was furious to be the new Head of Household due to having multiple deals with everyone in the game. At the nomination ceremony, he gave a confusing speech and nominated John and Steve, with Vanessa again as a backdoor option. After talking with John and finding out about more of Vanessa's lies, Austin agreed to backdoor Vanessa. However, his plans were at risk after Meg, Liz and Vanessa were chosen to compete. Zingbot arrived to heckle the HouseGuests and host the upcoming Veto competition. Vanessa finished in the fastest time and won the Power of Veto, foiling Austin's plan of backdooring her.

In Week 11, Austin was nominated for the time by Steve against his showmance partner Liz. However, he won the Power Of Veto and proceeded to remove himself, though Julia was nominated in his place, breaking up the Austwins. Austin would be nominated for the second time by Vanessa when John removed himself from the block. On Day 88, Austin was blindsided evicted by Vanessa when the vote came down to a tie, causing him to become the seventh member of the jury and placing fifth.^[19] Austin voted for Liz to win Big Brother.

Becky

Rebecca Marie "Becky" Burgess (born May 6, 1989), 27, works as a retail manager in Denver, Colorado. Her hobbies include sports such as weight-lifting, soccer, hiking, and running. She also enjoys crafts such as painting, sewing, and scrapbooking.^[20] She applied by going to an open casting call in Denver, but admitted on the live feeds that she was recruited to apply for the show via Tinder.

Becky entered the house on the second episode, alongside five other contestants. Though she competed in the Head of Household competition on the second episode, she lost to Jason.^[2] During week one, Jason convinced her to go up on the block as part of a plan to backdoor Jace. Jason nominated her and John. Afterwards, Becky felt unsure about her status as a nominee, but she was able to win the Battle of the Block with John, her fellow nominee.^[15]

Along with Shelli, Becky won the week two HoH competition "Ginger Fever."^[4] She nominated Jason and Steve for eviction, with the hopes of backdooring Audrey, but she was dethroned when Jason and Steve won the BoB competition.^[8] After her stint as co-HoH, Becky stayed under the radar until week five, when she and Clay agreed to go up on the block as pawns in the greater plan to backdoor Austin. Becky and Clay were supposed to win the competition, but were unsuccessful, so remained on the block, keeping Vanessa in power as the sole HoH for the week.^[18] Clay went on to win and use the PoV on himself. Vanessa nominated Jason to take his place, and Becky remained on the block.^[19] The house ultimately voted to keep Becky in a 7-2 vote.^[21]

During week seven, Becky won the HoH competition and developed a plan to target Vanessa for eviction. She nominated Shelli and Steve as pawns.^[22] When Steve won the Power of Veto and removed himself from the block, Becky's plan seemed to be on track, and she nominated Vanessa to take his spot.^[23] However, after Vanessa convinced Meg, James and Jackie to vote to keep her instead of Shelli, Becky's plan was de-railed, and Shelli was sent home. Immediately after Shelli's eviction, Steve won the next head of household competition. He nominated Jackie and Meg in hopes of backdooring Becky. John won the veto and kept the nominations the same. Jackie was evicted by a 6-1 vote with only Becky voting to keep her. In week 8, Liz became the next Head of Household. She nominated Becky and John with Becky as her target. Liz also won the Power Of Veto that week. She chose to keep the nominations the same. Becky was evicted by a unanimous 6-0 vote. Becky voted for Steve to win Big Brother.

Clay

Clayton Deats "Clay" Honeycutt (born March 12, 1992), 24, is a graduate student originally from Dickinson, Texas and currently residing in College Station, Texas. He played football for Texas A&M University, where he graduated in three and a half years. He is currently pursuing his master's degree in sports management. In his free time, he enjoys sports and outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing.^[24] Clay was recruited for the show while interning in California.

Clay was one of the eight houseguests to enter the house on the first episode. He was immediately attracted to Shelli, who also seemed interested in a potential showmance. Clay competed in the first Head of Household competition, and though he was confident in his athletic abilities, he was the first to fall off his perch and lose the competition.^[7] During week two, Clay worked together with HoH Shelli to target Da'Vonne.^[8] When the houseguests discovered the Twin Twist, Clay entered into an alliance called "The Sixth Sense" with Shelli, Austin, Vanessa and the twins. The alliance made it their goal to protect Liz and Julia until they were able to enter the house as individuals after the fifth eviction.^[16]

During week five, Clay agreed to be nominated alongside Becky as pawns by co-HoH Vanessa, with the intention that they would win the BoB competition and dethrone her, allowing Jackie to remain in power. However, Clay and Becky were unsuccessful in this plan, losing to Jackie's nominees, James and Liz.^[18] Clay won the PoV competition and removed himself from the block.^[19]

During week six, Clay and Shelli were nominated for eviction by James, who backtracked on the deal he made with Shelli during the HoH competition.^[25] When James went on to win the Power of Veto that week, he declined to use it.^[26] Clay sealed his fate by openly and aggressively antagonizing James. On Eviction Night, Clay was sent home in the first unanimous vote of the season. He was the sixth houseguest evicted.^[27]

Da'Vonne

Da'Vonne Dianne Rogers (born May 10, 1988), 28, is originally from Inglewood, California, but now lives and works as a poker dealer in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in a religious household, but didn't always conform herself. She is now a single mother to a daughter and enjoys shopping, reading, people-watching, and beach walks in her free time.^[28] As one of the first eight contestants to enter the house, Da'Vonne quickly formed a girls' alliance with Audrey and Shelli. When host Julie Chen informed the houseguests that one of the eight contestants would need to sit out of the first HoH competition, Da'Vonne volunteered, with the caveat that she would only sit out if her fellow houseguests agreed to keep her off the nomination block for the first week.^[7] As part of the week one BB Takeover twist, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan informed Da'Vonne that she and Vanessa would be rewarded for sitting out by being immune from the block for the week. Each of them was also allowed to pick one other person to grant week one immunity to. In an attempt to keep her alliance with Audrey and Shelli a secret, Da'Vonne chose to keep Liz safe, which irritated Audrey and Shelli.^[15] When Shelli won HoH during week two, she nominated Da'Vonne for eviction alongside John, initially pretending that both nominees were pawns in a greater plan to backdoor Audrey. However, Shelli revealed in confessionals that her true plan was to target Da'Vonne for eviction, as she felt she could no longer trust her. Shelli convinced John to throw the BoB competition, which secured Da'Vonne's place on the nomination block and kept Shelli in power as the HoH.^[8] When John won the Power of Veto, he removed himself from the block. Shelli nominated Meg to take his place, because she felt that Meg would be the safest pawn to ensure Da'Vonne's exit.^[9] Though she won the "Last Laugh" twist advantage and was able to cancel the votes of Jeff, Jackie, and Becky, Da'Vonne became the second houseguest to leave the show when she was evicted on Day 22 in a 7–2 vote, with only Audrey and Jason voting to keep her. Da'Vonne placed sixteenth.^[29] Notably, Da'Vonne was the first houseguest to figure out the Twin Twist when she began noticing differences in the way Liz looked and acted around the house. She confided her suspicions in Jason and then both told the other houseguests about the idea.^[29]

Jace

Jace Branden Agolli (born December 8, 1991), 24, is personal trainer originally from Dunwoody, Georgia. He currently resides in Venice Beach, California. He is an adrenaline junkie who loves to skateboard, surf, and snowboard.^[30] He was recruited for the show by casting.

Jace entered the house on the first episode, alongside seven other houseguests. He competed in the first Head of Household competition, and his skateboarding skills helped him last until the final round, when he fell off his board at the same time as the other three competitors left standing. Upon closer review of the footage, Big Brother determined that James had been the final HouseGuest standing, so Jace was not crowned Head of Household.^[7] He entered into an alliance with Austin, but his antics irritated the majority of the houseguests. Though Jace was not originally nominated for eviction in week one, after Steve won the Power of Veto and removed himself from the block, James made Jace the replacement nominee as part of the house's plan to backdoor him.^[31] Jace was the first houseguest evicted, receiving only Audrey's vote in favor of keeping him.^[4] When Julia (Liz's twin sister) was brought in as an individual player, Jace's picture on the memory wall was removed and was replaced with her picture.

Jackie

Jacklyn Isabel "Jackie" Ibarra (born October 24, 1987), 28, is from Las Vegas, Nevada, where she works as a professional dancer. She was partnered with Jeff Weldon as a "blind date" team on the 26th season of The Amazing Race. Known as "Team JJ," the pair placed seventh in the race.

Jackie and Jeff were the final two houseguests to enter the Big Brother house. Introduced by Phil Keoghan as part of the BB Takeover Twist on the second night, Jackie competed in the second episode Head of Household challenge. She came in second in the competition, losing to Jason.^[2] Jackie and Steve were nominated for eviction by James. Because she and Steve lost the Battle of the Block competition, James remained in power and became the sole HoH, dethroning Jason.^[15] She lost the PoV competition, and remained on the nomination block when Steve used the veto to remove himself.^[31] After James chose Jace as the replacement nominee, twelve of the thirteen voting houseguests voted to keep Jackie in the house.^[4]

Jackie was nominated for the second time during week four. Co-HoH Liz placed her on the block alongside James. Jackie and James won the BoB competition and removed themselves from danger.^[11]

Jackie won the week five HOH competition alongside Vanessa.^[13] Though she had not previously been working with Vanessa in the game, the two agreed on a plan to backdoor Austin. Jackie nominated James and Liz, publicly stating that she was nominating them because they had each nominated her in the past. However, privately, she conspired with James, encouraging him to throw the Battle of the Block to allow her to remain in power. Though James tried to throw the competition, he was unsuccessful, and Jackie was dethroned as HoH.^[18]

During the first double eviction episode of the season, HoH Steve nominated Jackie and Meg for eviction. Johnny Mac then won the PoV and decided not to use it. The house evicted Jackie in a vote of 6-1. She placed tenth overall and became the second member of the jury.^[32] Though Jackie had an opportunity to re-enter the game, she lost the competition to Johnny Mac and remained on the jury.^[33] Jackie voted for Steve to win Big Brother.

James

James Joseph Huling (born May 22, 1984), 32, works as a retail associate in Wichita Falls, Texas. Originally from Sumter, South Carolina, he enjoys outdoor activities. He was adopted as a teen, after his biological mother died. James is the only Asian-American contestant competing on the season.^[34] He has one biological daughter and one adopted son. He had applied for the show and it was revealed he had uploaded his audition tape on YouTube.

James was one of the first eight houseguests to enter the house. He competed in and ultimately won the first Head of Household competition.^[7] He nominated Jackie and Steve for eviction, and because they lost the Battle of the Block competition, he remained in power as the sole HoH for the week.^[15] When Steve, one of his original nominees, won the Power of Veto competition, James chose to nominate Jace, hoping to backdoor him.^[31] This plan was successful, as Jace was voted out of the house by a vote of 12-1.^[4]

In week three, co-HoH Vanessa nominated James and John for eviction. James and John remained on the block after losing the BoB competition to Austin's nominees, Jason and Meg.^[16] James was not worried, as he believed that the true plan was to backdoor Audrey. However, after John won the PoV and removed himself from the block, Vanessa surprised him by nominating Jeff instead.^[10] James remained in the house after earning seven votes to keep him out of the eleven total votes.^[17]

James was nominated for the second time during week four, when co-HoH Liz placed him on the block alongside Jackie. Jackie and James narrowly won the BoB competition, earning themselves safety for the week and dethroning Liz.^[11] James went up on the block again in week five, this time as part of a plan to backdoor Austin. James planned to throw the BoB competition to ensure that Jackie could remain in power as the sole HoH for the week. However, he was unsuccessful in throwing the competition, and he and co-nominee Liz were removed from the block.^[18] The plan to evict Austin failed as Vanessa went back on her word and James' ally, Jason, was ultimately the victim of week five.^[21]

During the week six HoH competition, in which the houseguests hung onto an inclined wall, James and Shelli were the final two players remaining. Because Battle of the Block was no longer in play, James knew he would need to outlast Shelli to ensure his safety. Before falling, Shelli made a deal with James, and he promised to keep her and Clay safe for the week. However, after James won the competition, he admitted that he had no intention to keeping this promise, and he decided to nominate Shelli and Clay for eviction.^[25] James also won the Power Of Veto that week, making him the first person this season to win HoH and PoV within the same week. Shelli attempted to get James to use the Power of Veto on her and to nominate Austin for being deceptive, but James chose not to use it, ensuring that Clay and Shelli would be separated. In addition to voting for Steve to win Big Brother, James won the $25,000 prize for America's Favorite Houseguest.

Jason

Jason Tyler Roy (born August 13, 1989), 26, is a supermarket cashier from Fall River, Massachusetts and currently residing in Swansea, Massachusetts. He enjoys arts and crafts, hanging out with his girlfriends, and watching Big Brother.^[35]

Jason entered the house on the second episode. He competed in and won the second night Head of Household competition, joining James as co-HoH for week one.^[2] Jason teamed up with James, Audrey, and Da'Vonne, and plotted to backdoor Jace. He convinced Becky and John to let him nominate them for eviction as pawns. When Becky and John won the Battle of the Block competition, Jason was dethroned, leaving James as the reigning Head of Household.^[15]

During week two, co-HoH Becky nominated Jason and Steve as pawns in a greater plan to backdoor Audrey. However, Jason and Steve won the BoB competition, dethroning Becky and securing their own safety for the week.^[8] Jason was nominated as a pawn for a second time during week three, when Austin put him on the block next to Meg as a greater plan to backdoor Jeff. Jason and Meg won the BoB competition as planned, and removed themselves from the block.^[16]

After Shelli and Liz won the week four HoH competition, Shelli began targeting Jason. She nominated him for eviction alongside Johnny Mac, whom she asked to throw the BoB competition. Though Johnny Mac did not try to throw the competition, he and Jason still lost the Battle of the Block to Liz's nominees, James and Jackie.^[11]

During week five, Jason initially seemed to be safe, as the house planned to backdoor Austin. He entered into a final-eight alliance called "Dark Moon" with Jackie, James, Meg, Vanessa, Shelli, Clay, and Becky. Together, Dark Moon plotted to rig the BoB competition so that Jackie could remain in power to target Austin for eviction. The plan began to go south when the BoB plan failed, and Vanessa's nominees remained on the block, dethroning Jackie. Vanessa began to question the plan to get rid of Austin, and after speaking with him, she decided she would backdoor a bigger target. She, Shelli, and Clay considered evicting Becky, Jackie, or Jason, but after Clay won the PoV and removed himself from the block, Vanessa settled on Jason. Jason was blindsided when she nominated him to sit on the block next to Becky.^[19] Jason became the fifth evictee of the season in a 7-2 vote, getting the votes of Meg and James to stay.^[21] He was in the top three for America's Favourite Houseguest.

Jeff

Jeffrey David "Jeff" Weldon, (born June 21, 1988), 28, works as an account executive in Tampa, Florida. Jeff competed on season 26 of The Amazing Race, where he was partnered as a "blind date" competitor with Jackie Ibarra. The pair placed seventh on the season.

Jeff entered the house with Jackie on the second episode. The pair were introduced into the game by Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan as part of the first BB Takeover twist. Jeff competed in the second night Head of Household competition, but did not win.^[2]

By week three, Jeff's off-color jokes and tendency to spread gossip had begun to annoy some of the other HouseGuests, including co-HoHs Austin and Vanessa. Neither Austin nor Vanessa nominated Jeff originally, but they discussed a plan to nominate him in the case that the original nominations should change.^[16] After Vanessa's nominations, James and John, lost the BoB and kept her in power as the HoH, Vanessa backtracked and decided that she would rather keep the original nominations intact. However, Austin was still set on backdooring Jeff, so he purposely threw the PoV competition to John, ensuring that John would remove himself from the block and Vanessa would be forced to make a new nomination. Though Vanessa was irritated by Austin's manipulation of her HoH week, she encouraged Austin to pick a fight with Jeff, in order for her to have a good reason to nominate him. Austin confronted Jeff about rumors he had been spreading, which backed Jeff into a corner. Jeff became defensive and lied to the group, accusing Vanessa of approaching him to be in an alliance with him, when he had actually approached her. Vanessa became enraged, and used the situation as grounds to nominate and target Jeff for eviction.^[10] Despite gaining the support of Liz, John, Steve and Jackie, Jeff was evicted on Day 29 in a 7-4 vote over James, who gained the support of the other seven. He placed fifteenth.^[17]

John

John Robert "Johnny Mac" McGuire (born June 28, 1987), 29, originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, now lives and works as a dentist in Jefferson Township, Pennsylvania. His hobbies include playing guitar, lifting, and running mud races.^[36] He is a super-fan of the show.

Johnny Mac entered the house on the second episode. When he told the house about his career as a dentist, Da'Vonne was suspicious, and did not believe him. He competed in the Head of Household competition with the other contestants who entered the house on the second night, but did not win.^[2] Johnny Mac was nominated for eviction by Jason, but when he and Becky won the Battle of Block competition, they were removed from the block and safe for the week.^[15]

During week two, HoH Shelli approached Johnny Mac and asked for his assistance in her plan to evict Da'Vonne. She asked him to allow her to nominate him so that he could throw the BoB competition and ensure that she would remain in power and Da'Vonne would remain on the block. Though hesitant to agree to this risky plan, Johnny Mac ultimately complied and threw the challenge.^[8] He won the Power of Veto, and though Shelli and Clay urged him to remain on the block to ensure Da'Vonne's eviction, he used the power on himself to guarantee his own safety.^[9]

Johnny Mac was nominated for the third time during week three. Co-HoH Vanessa asked John if she could use him as a pawn so that she could backdoor Jeff. Again, Johnny Mac reluctantly agreed and threw the BoB competition, ensuring that he and James would remain on the block, and Vanessa would remain in power as HoH.^[16] Though Vanessa backtracked on her initial plan to backdoor Jeff, wanting to keep the nominations the same and have the house evict James instead, Austin remained set on targeting Jeff. Austin purposefully threw the PoV competition to Johnny Mac, who used the PoV to remove himself from danger. Vanessa then replaced him with Jeff, as originally planned.^[10]

During week four, co-HoH Shelli nominated Johnny Mac for the fourth time. Again, she asked him to throw the BoB competition to ensure that his co-nominee Jason would remain on the block. Though Johnny Mac allowed Shelli to nominate him, he decided he would not throw the competition after all. He tried his best to win the competition, but he and Jason were ultimately unsuccessful, as they lost to Liz's nominees, Jackie and James. Shelli remained in power as the sole HoH, and Johnny Mac remained on the block alongside Jason.^[11] John voted for Steve to win Big Brother. He was in the top three for America's Favourite Houseguest.

Julia

Julia Anne Nolan (born December 23, 1991), 24, is Liz's identical twin sister. Her hobbies include surfing, rock climbing, soccer and crossfit.^[37] During the first eviction episode, Julie Chen revealed Liz and Julia as the season's Twin Twist Houseguests. Liz and Julia had been playing the game as one HouseGuest, switching places in the Diary Room every few days, with only fifteen minutes to change outfits and brief each other on what was going on in the house. If able to survive the first five evictions, both twins would be allowed to enter the house and play the game as individuals.^[4] Julia and Liz were discovered on Instagram by casting.

During week two, Da'Vonne began noticing small differences in the way Liz looked and acted around the house and became suspicious that Liz might be playing the game with a twin. Da'Vonne confided in Jason, who agreed with her suspicions. Together, Da'Vonne and Jason began telling other HouseGuests about the possibility that Liz was a twin.^[29] When Vanessa approached Julia with the rumor, she admitted that the rumors were true. Vanessa then approached Austin, Shelli and Clay, who agreed to form an alliance with the twins, with the ultimate goal of keeping them safe until week five, when they would be allowed to enter the house as individuals. They titled this alliance "The Sixth Sense."^[16] On Day 43, after surviving the first five evictions, Julia earned the right to enter the house as a houseguest. When Julia came in as a houseguest, her picture was placed on the memory wall, replacing Jace's photo.^[21] Julia voted for Liz to win Big Brother.

Liz

Elizabeth Clayton "Liz" Nolan (born December 23, 1991), 24, is a marketing coordinator from Miami, Florida. In her free time, she enjoys eating, exercising, and exploring Miami by boating and paddle boarding.^[38] She and Julia were discovered by casting on Instagram.

The contestant known as Liz entered the house on the second episode. She was one of seven HouseGuests to compete in the second episode Head of Household competition, losing to Jason.^[2] As part of the BB Takeover twist of week one, Liz was granted immunity from nomination by Da'Vonne.^[15] During week two, HoH Shelli considered nominating Liz to replace Johnny Mac on the block, but Liz's ally, Austin, convinced Shelli to nominate Meg instead.^[9]

Liz won the week four HoH competition alongside her ally, Shelli.^[17] Liz nominated Jackie and James for eviction, while Shelli targeted Jason and Johnny Mac. Liz's nominees won the BoB competition, dethroning her and removing themselves from danger.^[11] Liz was nominated by Jackie in week five. Unaware that she was part of a greater plan to backdoor Austin, Liz worked her hardest during the BoB competition and beat Clay and Becky, despite her partner James's attempts to throw the competition.^[18] Since Liz won the BoB competition, both she and Julia reached their goal of surviving five evictions and Julia entered the house.^[21]

During week 8, Liz won her second HOH, and nominated Becky and John. Liz also won the Power Of Veto that week, making her the second houseguest to accomplish the feat this season, following James. Both Becky and John campaigned hard to Liz to use the Power of Veto and backdoor Vanessa. Even though Liz deeply considered putting Vanessa up, at the Veto Meeting, she decided not to use it, keeping her nominations intact.

During the second Double Eviction, the final round came down to the twins, with Liz outlasting Julia and becoming a three-time HoH. Immediately after, Liz nominated James and John for eviction, citing that she had previous loyalties in the house to others. In the random draw for veto players, all of the HouseGuests competed except Vanessa were chosen to compete. Julia won the Power of Veto and chose not to use it, keeping her sister's nominations intact. At the live second eviction ceremony, James was evicted by a unanimous 3-0 vote, becoming the 5th member of the Jury. In Week 11, Liz was nominated by Steve against her showmance partner Austin. When Austin won the Power Of Veto, he proceeded to take himself off the block and Julia was put in his place, breaking up the Austwins. Knowing that they would be split up, just like Clay and Shelli in Week 6, Liz and Julia spent their final moments together. The twins asked for Julia to be evicted, knowing that Liz would fare better in future competitions. However, John and Vanessa considered evicting Liz due to her being the tie between Austin and Julia, and due to the fact that she is better in competitions. However, at the live eviction, John and Vanessa honored the twins' wishes and Julia was evicted from the house by a 3-0 vote. Liz was the replacement nominee in the final four when Vanessa used the Power Of Veto to take herself off the block. However, she was spared when Vanessa cast her vote to evict John. Liz ended up being the runner-up in a 6-3 vote against Steve Moses, only receiving votes from Julia, Austin and Vanessa.

Meg

Meaghan Kathleen "Meg" Maley (born January 17, 1990), 26, is originally from Collingswood, New Jersey, but now lives and works as a server in New York City. She loves music, the beach, spin class, and brunch.^[39] Meg is close friends with former Survivor contestant Andrea Boehlke^[40] and Legends of Tomorrow actress Ciara Renée.^[41] Meg was recruited for the show at work.

Though she was one of the first eight HouseGuests to enter the house, Meg was not included in the initial girls' alliance between Audrey, Da'Vonne and Shelli. Meg was optimistic about a potential friendship with Jace, as she observed that their personalities were similarly excitable and bubbly. She competed in the first Head of Household competition, but did not win.^[7] Meg quickly endeared herself to everyone in the house, which ultimately led to her nomination during the week two Power of Veto ceremony. During the ceremony, John removed himself from the block, and Shelli replaced him with Meg, because she felt that Meg would be the most secure pawn against Da'Vonne. Meg did not feel like she was in danger, but felt bad that Da'Vonne would not have a chance against her.^[9]

During week 3, co-HoH Austin nominated Meg as a pawn, alongside her ally Jason. Meg and Jason won the BoB competition, removing themselves from danger for the week.^[16] As one of the winners of the BoB, Meg competed in and won the reward challenge of the week, winning the chance to take a trip on BB Takeover host-of-the-week, Rob Gronkowski's party boat.^[10] Meg voted for Steve to win Big Brother.

Shelli

Melissa Michelle "Shelli" Poole (born January 12, 1982), 34, is an interior designer from Marietta, Georgia. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. She enjoys shopping and decorating, and sells her homemade jewelry on Etsy. She was married at age 28, but divorced after one year.^[42] Shelli has two brothers and two sisters. She is the oldest HouseGuest of the season.

Shelli entered the house on the first episode, alongside seven fellow houseguests. She formed an all-girls' alliance with Audrey and Da'Vonne. Shelli was immediately attracted to Clay, despite their age difference. She competed in the first Head of Household competition, and lasted until the final round, when she fell off at the same time as three other houseguests. However, upon review of the tapes, Shelli was not declared the winner.^[7] When Da'Vonne won the power to keep a fellow houseguest safe for the first week, Shelli was offended that Da'Vonne did not choose her and began to mistrust her.^[15]

Along with Becky, Shelli won the week two HoH competition "Ginger Fever."^[4] Though she pretended to agree with Becky's plan to backdoor Audrey, Shelli's true plan was to target Da'Vonne, as she no longer felt she could trust her. She spoke with John and convinced him to go up on the block as a pawn, and to throw the BoB competition so that she could remain in power as HoH and ensure that Da'Vonne would stay on the block. John completed this mission, and Shelli remained in power as the reigning HoH for week two.^[8] After John won the PoV, Shelli and Clay tried to convince him to stay on the block as a pawn, but John ultimately saved himself, forcing Shelli to pick a new nominee. She originally considered nominating Liz, but Austin convinced her that Meg would be a better, more secure nomination who would force the house to vote out Da'Vonne.^[9]

After the HouseGuests discovered the Twin Twist, Shelli entered into an alliance called "The Sixth Sense" with Clay, Austin, Vanessa, Liz, and Julia. The alliance made it their goal to protect the twins until week five, when they would be allowed to enter the game as individual players.^[16] When Shelli won the week four HoH competition, she began targeting Jason for eviction, because Audrey had told her that he was planning to nominate her if he became HoH. After Shelli nominated Jason and Johnny Mac, she learned that Audrey had at least exaggerated, if not completely fabricated, these claims. Shelli began to regret targeting Jason. He and Johnny Mac were unable to win the BoB, so Shelli remained in power as the sole HoH.^[11] When the entire house began discovering Audrey's lies and manipulative schemes, Shelli realized she would need to target Audrey for eviction. Vanessa won the PoV and removed Jason from the block in accordance with Shelli's wishes.^[12] Shelli then nominated Audrey, who went on to be evicted in a 10-1 vote.^[13]

In week six, Shelli came close to winning the endurance HoH competition, but jumped off after making a deal with James that he would not nominate her or Clay. However, as revenge for being a part of Jason's eviction, HoH James nominated her and Clay for eviction.^[25] James went on to win the PoV as well,^[26] and though Shelli was the main target, Vanessa gathered their alliance to vote to keep her and convinced everyone to evict Clay in a unanimous vote of 9-0.^[27]

In week seven, Shelli came close to winning the slip-and-slide HoH competition, but Becky ultimately beat her. Becky approached her with the plan of nominating her alongside Steve in order to backdoor Vanessa.^[22] After Steve won the veto and removed himself from the block, Becky continued with her plan, nominating Vanessa to take his spot.^[23] Initially, Vanessa was the target; however, the Goblins (James, Jackie and Meg) decided to vote against Shelli, forcing the rest of the house to follow suit. In spite of her campaigning, Shelli was evicted on a unanimous vote of 8-0 and became the first jury member. She placed eleventh.^[32]

Though Shelli competed alongside the next three evicted houseguests for a chance to re-enter the game, she lost to Johnny Mac and remained on the jury.^[33] Shelli voted for Steve to win Big Brother.

Steve

Steven Russell "Steve" Moses (born December 10, 1992), 23, is a college student from Gouverneur, New York. He studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University for two years, before transferring to Fredonia State University to pursue a degree in audio engineering and music. He has a passion for music, which he listens to, plays, mixes, and records for fun.^[43] He is the youngest HouseGuest of the season.

Steve entered the house on the second episode. Clay was immediately wary of Steve's resemblance to former houseguest and season 14 winner Ian Terry, while other houseguests noted that he seemed socially awkward. Steve competed in and lost the second episode Head of Household competition.^[2] Though hesitant to be nominated for eviction as a pawn, Steve allowed co-HoH James to put him up on the block, as part of a larger plan to backdoor Jace. Steve and fellow nominee Jackie lost the Battle of the Block challenge, remaining in danger of eviction.^[15] However, Steve was able to win the Power of Veto competition, spelling the word with the highest point value, "trombonists." He removed himself from the block, and James replaced him with Jace, as planned.^[31]

During week two, co-HoH Becky nominated Steve as a pawn, alongside Jason. However, Steve and Jason were able to win the BoB competition, removing themselves from the block and guaranteeing their safety for the remainder of the week.^[8] Steve remained under the radar until week 7, when HoH Becky nominated him as a pawn once again.^[22] He won the PoV competition and removed himself from the block.^[23]

Steve unintentionally became HoH for the first time during the season's first double eviction episode. He nominated Meg and Jackie for eviction, and when his ally Johnny Mac won the PoV, he kept the nominations the same. Jackie was ultimately evicted under Steve's first HoH reign.^[32] Steve won HoH again in Week 11, choosing to target Liz Nolan and Austin Matelson. Austin would win the Power of Veto (and subsequently removing himself from the block), leaving Steve to place Julia on the block. Julia was evicted by a 3-0 vote, concluding Steve's second reign as HoH. Steve was nominated the following week, however he ultimately survived in a 2-1 vote, after Vanessa (the HoH for that week) broke the tie by evicting Austin.

Steve again became HoH for the third time on Day 89, nominating John McGuire and Vanessa Rousso. Although Steve's real target was Vanessa, Vanessa won the final Power of Veto, and removed herself from the block, and evicted John as the sole vote to evict on Day 91. He won the final HoH competition (against Vanessa Rousso) and he was the winner of Big Brother 17 with a vote of 6–3 against Liz Nolan, receiving votes from jury members Shelli, Jackie, Becky, Meg, James, and John.

Vanessa

Vanessa Rousso

Vanessa Ashley Rousso (born February 5, 1983), 33, is a professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. Her hobbies include music and strategy games, among others. She is ranked as the No. 2 female poker player in the world and has won a total of 3.5 million dollars since she became a professional ten years ago.^[44]

Vanessa entered the house on the second episode. She did not disclose her status as a professional poker player, instead choosing to tell the houseguests that she works as a DJ. When the houseguests were told that only seven of the eight new contestants would be allowed to compete in the second episode Head of Household competition, Vanessa reluctantly agreed to sit out, hoping that she could potentially earn some sort of reward.^[2] As part of the BB Takeover twist for week one, she and Da'Vonne were indeed rewarded with immunity from the block for the week and could each choose one person to share it with. After speaking with each houseguest individually, Vanessa chose to save Austin.^[15]

After hearing the rumors that Liz was playing the game with a twin, Vanessa approached Julia to find out the truth. Julia confessed that the rumors were true, and Vanessa agreed to keep her secret safe. Vanessa then approached Austin, Shelli, and Clay, with the news of the confirmed Twin Twist. The four of them entered into an alliance with the twins, with the ultimate goal of keeping them safe until week five. Vanessa won the week three HoH competition "Gronk Pong" alongside co-HoH and alliance member Austin. Austin and Vanessa worked together, planning to backdoor Jeff. Vanessa nominated James and John for eviction, asking John to throw the BoB competition to ensure that she would remain in power. John implemented this plan, and Vanessa became the sole HoH for week three.^[16]

After becoming the sole HoH for the remainder of week three, Vanessa began questioning the decision to backdoor Jeff. She did not feel she had a good reason to target him for eviction, and decided instead that her goal would be to evict one of her original nominees, James. However, Austin disagreed with this plan and purposely allowed John to win the PoV, ensuring that he would remove himself from the block. Vanessa felt betrayed by Austin's manipulation of the game, but agreed to nominate Jeff if they could find a good reason. She encouraged Austin to provoke Jeff into a confrontation. When Austin heard that Jeff had been spreading rumors throughout the house, he used that as a starting point. He confronted Jeff, who responded by lying and spreading more rumors. Vanessa got involved, and when Jeff accused her of wanting to start an alliance with him, when it was actually the other way around, Vanessa became infuriated. She told the rest of the house of Jeff's wrongdoings and used the situation as grounds to nominate Jeff for eviction.^[10] Her HoH week ended when Jeff was evicted by a vote of 7-4.^[17]

During week four, Vanessa won the PoV, and carried out the rest of the house's wishes, removing Jason from the block so that Audrey could be nominated.^[12] After Audrey's eviction, Vanessa intended to throw the HoH competition, but after seeing that Jackie had won the first HoH slot, she realized that she might be in danger if she threw it. Vanessa beat Jason in the final round of the competition and became the second HoH of the week.^[13] She and Jackie had not worked together in the game previously, but they agreed on a plan to backdoor Austin. Vanessa nominated Clay and Becky with the intention that they would win the BoB competition and dethrone her, as she did not want to be directly responsible for Austin's eviction. However, Clay and Becky lost the competition, so Vanessa was crowned the sole HoH for the remainder of the week.^[18] She began waffling on the decision to backdoor Austin, so she approached him and confronted him about transgressions against her and the "Sixth Sense" alliance. He panicked and begged her to keep him in the game. Ultimately, she relented, deciding that keeping Austin in the game would be better for her personal game. Searching for a new target, she, Shelli, and Clay considered evicting Becky, Jackie, or Jason. They ultimately settled on Jason, and Vanessa nominated him after Clay used the PoV on himself.^[19] Her plan was successful, and Jason became the fifth HouseGuest to be evicted.^[21]

After losing alliance member Clay during week six,^[27] Vanessa knew she was in danger during Becky's week seven HoH reign. Though she was not initially nominated, she was Becky's primary target,^[22] and after nominee Steve won the PoV and removed himself from the block,^[23] Becky replaced him with Vanessa.^[23] Vanessa was able to talk Meg, James, and Jackie into turning on Shelli, who then became the first member of the jury.^[32]

In Week 9, she once again became a backdoor target. However , Vanessa won her second veto of the season, foiling Austin's plan to backdoor her.Steve told Vanessa he was very excited about her Veto win. However, Vanessa knew he was fine with Austin's plan to backdoor her, so at the Veto meeting, Vanessa called Steve out on his bluff and decided to not use the Power of Veto, keeping Austin's nominations intact. In Week 10, John, Shelli and Vanessa were the last competitors remaining. After Shelli fell off, John became a HouseGuest again; Vanessa attempted to make a deal with him, but he declined. Moments later, he fell, making the Vanessa HoH for a third time. Vanessa, with conflicting deals with everyone, knew she had to break a promise at the upcoming nomination ceremony. Hoping to gain information from Meg and James to give her reason to nominate Austin and the twins and not them, she asked them why she should keep them safe and got no information, so at the nomination ceremony, Vanessa nominated Meg and James, with James as the target. However, James won the Power Of Veto that week. Now desperately needing a replacement nominee and not wanting to break her secret alliance with John and Steve, Vanessa asked Julia if she would be fine with going up in James' place as a pawn to ensure Meg's eviction and weaken James. Austin and the twins urged Vanessa to nominate and evict John, unaware of her secret alliance with him. At the Veto Meeting, James used the Veto on himself and Vanessa nominated Julia in his place.

Vanessa narrowly defeated John, and became HoH for the fourth time this season. Liz won the trip outside the house and was able to take another houseguest with her; she chose Vanessa and the two went to an Ariana Grande concert with her brother, season 16 alumni Frankie Grande. Again, with conflicting deals with everyone, Vanessa knew she had to break a promise at the upcoming nomination ceremony. Hoping to gain information from Steve to give her reason to put Austin and Liz back on the block, Vanessa asked him why she should keep him and got no information, so at the nomination ceremony, she nominated John and Steve, with John as the target. Unfortunately for her, John won his fourth PoV, which ruined Vanessa's plan to evict him. At the Veto Meeting, John used the Veto on himself and Vanessa nominated Austin in his place. At the live eviction ceremony, after John cast his vote to evict Austin and Liz cast hers to evict Steve, Vanessa cast the tie-breaking vote to send Austin to the jury and he became the fourteenth HouseGuest evicted from the house, becoming the seventh jury member. Vanessa was nominated for the second time against John by Steve, though she won the Power Of Veto. Liz campaigned to Vanessa, stating if she kept her, she would take her to the final two. At the Veto Meeting, Vanessa used the Power of Veto to save herself, with Liz going up in her stead. Vanessa then cast her vote to evict John, and he became the eighth member of the Jury. In the first part of the final HoH, Liz dropped after Vanessa convinced her that she'd be more likely to beat Steve in Part 2, and Vanessa won Part 1 of the Final Head of Household competition. In the penultimate round, Steve defeated Vanessa and became the final Head of Household, guaranteeing himself a spot in the final two. He then immediately cast the sole vote to evict Vanessa after praising her strategic game. Vanessa voted for Liz to win Big Brother.

Vanessa is heavily regarded as one of the greatest players to never win Big Brother.

References

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