Shealyn Scott is a Senior Writer at Screen Rant. She has been writing for the site since 2024, focused on network, reality, streaming, and classic television.
A creative writer, journalist, and lover of the written word in all its forms, Shealyn enjoys deconstructing scenes from her favorite shows, using context clues and historical precedent to predict major plot points (which, due to her successful track record, has sparked rumors of clairvoyance).
As an award-winning student journalist, Shealyn spent her college years advocating for the humanities while studying English Literature. Her love of storytelling propelled her to expand her degree with minors in Writing and History, believing life to be a mere collection of stories that can be framed in as many ways as a movie scene.
As a Senior member of the TV Team, Shealyn treats the series she covers like books, analyzing every line, camera angle, and lighting choice. Thankfully, her personal mission statement lines up perfectly with Screen Rant: every creative work deserves just as much thought from the viewer as it received from its creator.

The real show of the summer is finally returning, but Big Brother's next winner will join a highly divisive hall of fame. Since it premiered all the way back in July 2000, Big Brother has been one of the best reality TV shows on air. For months, a diverse group of strangers live together in one house, competing for power and evicting houseguests each week until one contestant remains. The winner takes home a hefty grand prize, but the true reward is cementing their spot in Big Brother history.

Whether viewers love or hate a player, it's an irrefutable truth that every winner has earned their victory. From master strategists to physical competition beasts, manipulators to floaters, unanimous jury votes to narrowly escaping the block, each Big Brother winner has their own valid play style. Similarly, there are countless metrics to measure winners against, ranging from if their winning game can be replicated, how much they relied on twists, who their alliance members were, etc., but the uncontested best of the best changed Big Brother for good with their game-changing wins.

Where the Big Brother season 28 winner will rank in the grand scheme of things remains to be seen, but each houseguest will surely have their personal heroes and influences from the show's past. Consequently, there's something to be gleaned from every winning game, regardless of where it stands.

27 Eddie McGee

Big Brother Season 1

The CBS original may be a summer staple now, but Big Brother season 1 is unrecognizable from the modern format. There was no Head of Household, no Power of Veto, and no eviction. Rather, the audience held all the power, voting out contestants one by one.

Eddie McGee seemed like a great person, but he frankly had no gameplay. America voted for him to win after a summer of Truman Show-style footage, and that was the full extent of Big Brother 1's competition.

26 Adam Jasinski

Big Brother Season 9

There's a reason new fans often skip Big Brother season 9 on their binge-watches. The entire season was filled to the brim with drama, petty fights, and seemingly arbitrary decisions that dictated the course of the game.

To give credit where credit is due, Adam Jasinski was one of the best players in the house. Comparing his game to any other season, however, highlights the fever dream-esque quality of Big Brother 9 as a whole.

25 Dick Donato

Big Brother Season 8

Similar to the first season, Big Brother season 8 employed the America's Player twist that completely changed the game. Dick Donato was an incredibly aggressive contestant who often clashed with his fellow houseguests, but he was saved by the viewers on more than one occasion.

There were merits to Dick's game, and he certainly earned the win over daughter Danielle, but the interference from America's Player adds too many variables to suggest he would have made it to the end on his own.

24 Jag Bains

Big Brother Season 25

​​​​​Jag Bains was a historic Big Brother winner, but his game was totally eclipsed by the fact that he was voted out. In the early days, Jag failed to insulate himself in any powerful alliances, and he was evicted in week 4 by a unanimous vote.

Even after a twist brought him back into the Big Brother house, it took Jag far too long to find his footing. Though his finale night speech was undoubtedly one to remember, his game could never be successfully replicated.

23 Jackson Michie

Big Brother Season 21

Big Brother season 21 had one of the most unforgettable finales in the show's modern era, but Jackson Michie's win wasn't even in the top five most interesting moments. Jackson's social game was wildly controversial, as his protection came at the ostracization of others, but there's no denying he was a major physical threat.

Still, his strategic moves were questionable at best, and if the season had a different cast, Jackson doesn't even make it to the jury phase.​​​​​

22 Jordan Lloyd

Big Brother Season 11

Jordan Lloyd is a difficult player to rank, considering her win also feels largely reliant on game-changing twists (like Big Brother season 11's Coup d'État). Beyond some luck-of-the-draw moments, Jordan did navigate the social element of the game fairly well.

Nevertheless, it's impossible to ignore that she was often the most passive player in the house, and there's an argument to be made that she won despite her game, not necessarily because of it. Plus, her failed return in Big Brother season 13 affirms that social capital can only take a player so far.​​​​​​

21 Josh Martinez

Big Brother Season 19

The vast majority of Big Brother fans view season 19 as the game that Paul Abrahamian lost, not the game that Josh Martinez won. Nevertheless, every player who won inherently deserves the victory, regardless of how they got there.

It's true that Paul dominated the season, but Josh's jury management tipped the scales in his favor ever so slightly. Whether Josh could play and win again is another question, and one that has no clear answer.​​​​​​

20 Mike “Boogie” Malin

Big Brother Season 7

Big Brother season 7 was the first all-returnee season, but not every player was a fan-favorite. Mike “Boogie” Malin attached himself to Will Kirby to form the infamous Chill Town duo, but make no mistake: Will was the mastermind.

Unfortunately, Janelle evicted Will too late to shake the game up, leaving the door open for Boogie to take the All-Star win. Nonetheless, most Big Brother watchers agree that Boogie simply rode Will's coattails without making enough power plays by himself. ​​​​​​

19 Drew Daniel

Big Brother Season 5

Drew Daniel's entire game could have blown up early in Big Brother season 5, but he adapted like a pro. After his first alliance went off the rails, Drew aligned himself with all the right people— including his showmance Diane— to make it to the end.

For most of the season, Drew played like a snake in the grass, making everyone believe he was on their side. He didn't reveal his true colors until he betrayed Diane at the finale three, cementing his win with ruthless certainty.​​​​​​

18 Kaycee Clark

Big Brother Season 20

Kaycee Clark is arguably the most forgettable Big Brother winner of the last decade. While her physical prowess is undeniable, she was far less active than her closest ally, Tyler.

Coupled with the fact that the show's edit barely showed her, Kaycee's win boils down to circumstance in most viewers' eyes. Eight summers later, Big Brother superfans still mourn Tyler's loss, but Kaycee proved a well-timed competition win can change everything.