List of Big Brother 8 houseguests (U.S.)

In total, 14 houseguest entered the house on the eight edition of the American reality television series Big Brother, where they are monitored with microphones and cameras 24 hours a day. Each week, one or more of the house guests was evicted by votes from the remaining house guests until only one remained and was crowned the winner.

Amber

The first 11 HouseGuests introduced on the show: Joe, Jen, Amber, Zach, Mike, Daniele, Nick, Jameka, Carol, Eric and Kail.

Amber Siyavus (born 1980), 35, (formerly Tomcavage before her divorce) is a cocktail waitress at Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a single mother, and often talks of her faith and daughter in the House. During her stay in the House, Amber had a close friendship with fellow HouseGuest Dustin. On Day 5, Amber was nominated for eviction by Head of Household Kail. However, on Day 13, she survived the eviction, only receiving the vote of Jen. On Day 48, her good friend Dustin was evicted from the House. After his departure, Amber became close with Jameka. On Day 49, only a day after Dustin's departure, Amber and Jameka were nominated for eviction by Head of Household Daniele. On Day 50, Amber and Daniele won a trip out of the House during the Veto competition. Despite coming close, Amber lost the Veto Competition to Daniele. Amber and Daniele later learned that they would be competing on the new CBS game show, Power of 10. On Day 52, Amber and Daniele went head to head on the show, in which Amber beat Daniele in the opening round by a score of three to zero. The win earned her a $1,000 prize. She went on to play for $100,000 but missed the question. Upon returning to the House later that day, Daniele chose to change her own nominations by removing Amber from the block, and successfully backdooring Jen. On Day 56, Amber was put up for a third time by Head of Household Jessica. On Day 62, Amber was evicted from the Big Brother house with a vote of 3 to 1. It was also revealed on her eviction night that 78% of America's Player eviction votes were cast against her. On Day 81, Amber cast her Jury vote for Dick to win the grand prize.

While in the House, Amber caused controversy after making anti-Semitic statements. Hollywood news conglomeration Defamer criticized Amber's sentiments.^[1] Notably, aggregate TMZ reported about Amber's remarks, especially those about being able to recognize a Jew by the size of their nose or their last name.^[2] She was also criticized for often swearing on her daughters life often in the game. Amber has admitted to having a drug problem before entering the House.^[3] She was often known for crying often in the game, and has earned the nickname "Whamber" by most fans of the show.

Carol

Carol Journey (born 1986), 29, is a student from Lawrence, Kansas, born and raised in Haysville, Kansas. Carol attends the University of Kansas and is part of their dance team.^[4] She is the daughter of Kansas State Senator Phil Journey.^[5] She was shocked to learn that her former best friend Jessica would be playing the game as well. On Day 1, the two enemies quickly made a deal with each other to keep one another safe, but both expressed their doubts about the other in the Diary Room. On Day 5, Carol was nominated for eviction by Head of Household Kail. After Daniele won the Veto and chose to leave the nominations the same, Carol and Amber were left on the block. It appeared that Carol could have the votes to stay, but on Day 13, Carol became the first person evicted from the House by a ten to one vote, only receiving the vote of Jen.

Daniele

Daniele Donato (born August 20, 1986), 30, is a waitress from Los Angeles, California. Upon entering the House, Daniele was shocked to find she would be playing the game with her estranged father, Dick Donato. Daniele lied by telling the HouseGuests she was 21 years old on Day 1, while she did not turn 21 until August 20. The eligibility requirements for Big Brother state that contestants must be 21 years of age at time of application.^[6] While in the House, Daniele had a strong friendship and romantic relationship with fellow HouseGuest Nick.^[7] Both Daniele and her father were members of the "Late Night Crew", consisting of themselves, Eric, Jessica, Amber, Jameka and Dustin. She went on to form an alliance with Dick, Eric and Jessica during the sixth week. She often argued with HouseGuest Jen in the house, as did numerous other HouseGuests. Daniele won the first Power of Veto competition of the Summer on Day 7. On Day 14, Daniele was nominated by Head of Household Jen, along with her father. However, on Day 15, she won her second consecutive PoV, and on Day 17, chose to remove herself from the block. On Day 34, Daniele became the fifth Head of Household of the season, following the eviction of her good friend Nick. On Day 42, Daniele was nominated by Jessica for the second time. On Day 43, Dick won the Power of Veto and used it to save Daniele, leaving himself on the block. He did, however, survive the eviction. Immediately following the news that her father had survived the eviction, Daniele won her second consecutive HoH. On Day 50, Daniele won her third Power of Veto, making her the first person this season to hold both the HoH Title and Power of Veto in the same week. On Day 64, Daniele won her fourth Power of Veto of the season. On Day 70, Daniele was nominated for the third time, yet again beside her father. However, on Day 71 she won the final Power of Veto, giving her fifth Veto win. On Day 74, she removed her father from the block, leaving herself nominated. Dick, however, cast the sole vote to evict that week, and chose to keep his daughter in the game. On Day 81, Daniele became the runner-up of Big Brother 8, receiving the Jury votes of Jen and Jameka. Daniele is the first person in Big Brother history to win the Power of Veto in all three situations (as HoH,as a nominee, and as a person picked to play.) This was later matched by Big Brother 14's Shane, as well as Big Brother 18's Paulie and Corey.

Since her appearance on the series, Daniele has been referred to as one of the best players to ever play the game by fans of the series.^[8] She has been praised for both her ability to win competitions as well as her strategic moves throughout the game.^[9][10] Daniele won five Power of Veto competitions during the season, tying her with Janelle Pierzina from Big Brother 6 and Big Brother 7 for the most Veto competitions won in a single season. Since her appearance on Big Brother 8, Daniele has co-hosted Housecalls, the Big Brother Talk Show, on Mondays with Gretchen Massey throughout seasons 9 and 10. She was scheduled to do Housecalls for Season 11, but due to no sponsorship, the online show was cancelled. In 2011, both Daniele and Dick returned to the Big Brother House for its thirteenth season, as part of the Dynamic Duo twist, in which six former houseguests entered the game to play against eight new HouseGuest. It was revealed on the premiere episode that Dick and Daniele stopped talking again nearly a year after Big Brother 8. During the first week, Dick left the House do to an urgent personal matter, leaving Daniele alone in the game. She was ultimately evicted on Day 55, earning eighth place. Daniele married fellow Big Brother 13 houseguest, Dominic Briones.

Dick

The three nemeses: Dick, Jessica and Dustin.

Richard Louis "Evel Dick" Donato (born June 24, 1963), 52, is a bar owner from Los Angeles, California. While in the House, Dick became known for his antics towards his fellow HouseGuest, mainly Jen Johnson. During the sixth week, when Dick and Daniele were nominated together, he viciously attacked his fellow Houseguest, ridiculing their sexualities, their religious beliefs, and their ethnicity. Many found his behavior to be inappropriate, and many demanded that he be expelled from the game, however, this never occurred. Although Dick has been admonished as crass, he was nonetheless relatively popular with the public. Dick was one of the first three HouseGuest to enter the House and hide in the HoH bedroom. He was soon shocked to find that his estranged daughter would be playing the game as well. On Day 14, Dick was nominated for eviction, alongside Daniele. When Daniele won the Veto, her replacement nominee, Joe, was evicted. Dick became the third HoH of the Summer, winning the competition on Day 20. On Day 42, Dick was nominated for a second time, this time Daniele was sitting with him yet again. On Day 43, Dick won his first Power of Veto competition, however, chose to save his daughter from the block instead of himself. On Day 48, Dick survived his second eviction of the season over Dustin. On Day 69, during the live Double Eviction, Dick won his second Head of Household competition, and became the tenth HoH of the season. On Day 70, Dick was nominated for a third time along with Daniele. On Day 71, however, Daniele won her fifth Power of Veto, and in a surprise move, used the Veto on her dad, as he had previously saved her. Dick then cast the sole vote to save his daughter and evict Jameka. On Day 75, Dick beat Daniele in the second part of the Final HoH competition. On Day 76, Dick became the final Head of Household of the Summer, and evicted Zach, making Dick and Daniele the Final Two. On Day 81, Dick became the winner of Big Brother 8, receiving the votes of Dustin, Amber, Jessica, Eric, and Zach.

Following his win, Dick appeared on Housecalls, the Big Brother talk show, to host the online show for seasons 9 and 10. He was set to return to host the show for season 11, but the show was cancelled due to lack of sponsorship. In February 2008, only months after his season ended, Dick entered the Big Brother 9 House to host a Veto Competition. In 2011, both Daniele and Dick returned to the Big Brother House for its thirteenth season, as part of the Dynamic Duo twist, in which six former HouseGuest entered the game to play against eight new HouseGuest. It was revealed on the premiere episode that Dick and Daniele stopped talking again nearly a year after Big Brother 8. During the first week, Dick left the House do to an urgent personal matter. He then made his own online webshow, titled 'Dick at Nite', where he and other Big Brother alumni discuss Big Brother 13.

Dustin

Dustin Simon Erikstrup (born 1985), 30, is a shoe salesman from Chicago, Illinois, and is of Danish descent. Dustin was a part of the enemies twist, and was shocked to learn he would be playing the game with his ex-boyfriend, Joe. On Day 20, however, Joe was evicted from the House by a nine to one vote. On Day 34, Dustin became the fourth Head of Household of the season, making it his first win. Dustin was met with much criticism inside the house due to his actions during that week's Power of Veto competition, in which he accepted a $5,000 prize, as well as a vacation to Barbados.^[11] On Day 45, Dustin was named the replacement nominee for Daniele, after her father used the Power of Veto to save her. Despite the original plan being to keep Dustin over Dick, America's Player was given the task to convince the others to keep Dick. On Day 48, Dustin was evicted by a vote of four to two. Ironically, Eric said privately he was glad to eliminate Dustin, whose vote had saved Eric from eviction the prior week. Even Dick was stunned at the twist of events, since he had purposely, viciously insulted the others to draw certain eviction, when he and his daughter were both in danger as nominees. Dustin became the first member of the Jury, and on Day 81 cast his vote for Dick to win the grand prize.

Eric

Eric Scott Stein (born 1980), 35, is a talent management assistant from New York, New York. He grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York and attended Boston University. Eric was part of one of this season's main twist, in which he was "America's Player". While in the Diary Room, he would secretly be given task in which America would vote on, and must fulfill the tasks for a cash prize at the end of the season. Eric is of Jewish descent, and celebrated the major Jewish holidays in the House. During his stay in the game, Eric and Jessica had a romantic relationship, and shared their first kiss on Day 58. Eric's task as America's Player did cause a stir in the House. During the third eviction, Eric was ordered to evict Kail, which went against the majority of the House. Panic went throughout the House as everyone tried to figure out who had tried to evict Kail. After Nick was framed for the votes, he was nominated and subsequently evicted on Day 34. The night of Nick's eviction, Eric was ordered yet again to evict Kail, confusing those who had thought Nick was the person casting the votes. Following Nick's eviction, his good friend Daniele won the HoH. Despite Eric and Daniele being part of the same alliance, she began to question his loyalties, and figured out he had cast the votes against Kail. On Day 38, Daniele chose Eric to replace Jen on the block, after Jen won the Veto and saved herself. Despite Daniele's attempts to backdoor Eric, he managed to get the votes to survive the eviction. On Day 57, Eric competed for his first Power of Veto, after not being chosen to compete in the first seven of the season. He then won the competition, earning him his first win of the Summer. On Day 69, during the live Double Eviction, Eric's romantic partner Jessica was evicted. During his goodbye message to her, he told her that he loved her. Ironically enough, during the second eviction of the night, Eric was evicted by a vote of two to zero, making him the fifth member of the Jury. On Day 81, he voted for Dick to win the grand prize. By completing 20 out of 28 tasks as "America's Player", Eric earned $40,000. After his appearance on Big Brother 8, Eric went on to appear on the following season. He and Jessica, who were still together, returned to the House on Day 3 to host the love-themed HoH Competition. Although he and Jessica continued their romantic relationship outside of the House, in 2010 it was revealed that the couple had split after nearly three years of dating.

Jameka

Jameka Linette Cameron (born 1978), 37, is a school counselor from Waldorf, Maryland and attended Elizabeth City State University. Jameka has consistently been seen as deeply religious, believing that God wanted her to play for the person who drew her name for the Veto competition, regardless of who it was.^[12] On Day 29, Jameka won the fourth Power of Veto of the Summer. Despite her strong disliking towards HouseGuest Jen, she chose to use the Power of Veto on her, as she had drawn her name while picking players for the competition. On Day 36, Jameka made what many consider a foolish move, when she chose to give up a $10,000 offer, as well as forfeit the right to play in the next five HoH competitions. Despite the things she gave up, she still didn't even win the Veto. On Day 49, Jameka was nominated by Head of Household Daniele, along with her good friend Amber. On Day 55, however, Jameka survived the eviction without a single vote being cast against her. On Day 63, Jameka was nominated for the second time this season by Zach. On Day 62, however, she survived yet another eviction, only receiving one vote against her. As part of the live Double Eviction that night, Jameka was nominated yet again by Head of Household Dick. For the second time that night, Jameka survived a third eviction, receiving no votes against her. On Day 74, after Daniele won the Power of Veto and used it to save her father, Dick, Jameka became his replacement nominee. As Jameka was nominated alongside Dick's daughter Daniele, he cast the sole vote to evict her. She came in fourth place, and became the sixth member of the Jury, voting for Daniele to win the grand prize.

Jen

Jennifer "Jen" Marie Johnson (born 1984), 31, is a nanny, estate manager, and bikini model of English descent. Jen is from Beverly Hills, California. During her stay in the House, Jen's fellow HouseGuest felt that she was "self-centered" and "rude". She was seen as the victim of multiple attacks from eventual winner Dick Donato, which caused controversy outside of the House, with many demanding he be removed from the game. In the first week of the game, Jen was nearly backdoored due to annoying her fellow HouseGuest and starting lies about some of them. Despite this, however, Daniele chose not to use the Power of Veto that week, leaving the original nominees Amber and Carol on the block. On Day 13, after the first live eviction, Jen became the second Head of Household of the season.^[13][14] She later nominated Dick and Daniele due to their "negative energy", and placed the keys in the nomination box based on how positive people were. Ultimately, Daniele won the Veto and was replaced with Joe, who was subsequently evicted. On Day 21, Jen, alongside Kail, was nominated for eviction by Head of Household Dick, whom she had put up the week before. The following day, however, Jen won her first Power of Veto of the season, and removed herself from the block. On Day 28, Jen and Kail were nominated together for the second week in a row, this time by Dustin. The following day, Jameka won the Power of Veto. Due to Jameka's religious beliefs, she promised Jen she would remove her from the block. On Day 31, Jameka stuck to her word and saved Jen with the Veto. On Day 35, Jen and Kail were nominated for the third week in a row, by Head of Household Daniele, whom Jen had put up during her HoH reign. On this day, the House set a record for having the same two initial nominees for three weeks in a row. On Day 36, however, Jen won her second Power of Veto competition, and third overall competition. Jen made a shocking move during the competition when she offered to give away half of the total grand prize, should she win the game. She also agreed to eat slop for the next thirty days. On Day 38, she removed herself from the block and was replaced by Eric. On Day 52, Head of Household Daniele chose to change her own nominations when she won the Power of Veto. She removed Amber from the block, and named Jen the replacement nominee. On Day 52, Jen was penalized for going against the slop restriction and was given a penalty eviction vote against her. Later that day, she also engaged in a controversial fight with houseguest Dick, in which she was burned by one of his cigarettes. She was evicted by a unanimous five to zero vote (six votes total, due to her penalty vote), and became the second member of the Jury. Despite statements made during the game that she may not go to sequester, she was shown entering the sequester house a few weeks later. She voted for Daniele to win the grand prize. Although Jen and Daniele were enemies on Big Brother 8, they became close friends after the show.

Jen revealed to fellow HouseGuest Kail that she had worked for Vanna White.^[15] Mike "Boogie" from Chilltown has reported that he helped train her.^[16] Her previous television appearances include playing for the New York Euphoria in the 2006 Lingerie Bowl, and has said she appeared on an episode of Wheel of Fortune before being employed by Vanna White. Jen was also an extra on the show Las Vegas. She was a girl sitting poolside in a red bikini in the episode, "Wagers of Sin". Jen briefly returned to the Big Brother house in 2008, where she participated in a food competition with the Big Brother 10 houseguests. The competition was designed to celebrate 10 seasons of Big Brother, with one representative from each season.

Jessica

Jessica Lynn Hughbanks (born 1985), 29, is a Wichita State University student, Wichita Wild Indoor Football and Wichita Thunder dance team member from Haysville, Kansas. Jessica is also a Maxim Hometown Hottie and appeared on Maxim's website. While in the House, Jessica had a romantic relationship with fellow HouseGuest Eric. The couple shared their first kiss on Day 58. She was shocked to learn that she would be playing the game with her former best friend Carol. The girls made a deal to protect one another, however, both expressed their doubts about the other in the Diary Room. Jessica's suspicions were short lasting, however, as Carol was the first person evicted on Day 13. During the second week, America voted for Eric, America's Player, to try to get Jessica nominated for eviction. Despite his attempts, Jessica was not nominated that week. On Day 41, Jessica won her first competition of the season, becoming the sixth Head of Household. On Day 55, Jessica won her second Head of Household in a row. On Day 63, Jessica was nominated for the first time by Head of Household Zach. Despite her alliance of Eric, Dick, and Daniele all promising to keep her, Dick and Daniele turned on their former teammate and voted to evict Jessica, making her the ninth person evicted from this season, earning sixth place. She was the fourth member of the Jury, and voted for Dick to win the grand prize. In her exit interview, Jessica stated that she could not "trust the Donatos" in the end-game. In her goodbye message from Eric, Eric had told her that he loved her minutes after Jessica had told Julie Chen that she loved him.

Following her appearance on Big Brother 8, Jessica went on to appear on the following season. She and Eric, who were still together, returned to the House on Day 3 to host the love-themed HoH Competition. Although Jessica and Eric continued their romantic relationship outside of the House, in 2010 it was revealed that the couple had split after nearly three years of dating. Jessica appeared on the first episode of Big Brother 11 and was allowed a shot to come back into the house. If her "clique" won the HOH, she would enter the house as the 13th, and final HouseGuest, and she would be crowned the first HOH of the season. However, the popular crowd came second, meaning Jessica was eliminated, and would not re-enter the Big Brother House.

Joe

Joseph Barber II (born 1983), 31, is a receptionist from Chicago, Illinois. He was shocked to learn that he would be playing the game with his ex-boyfriend, Dustin. He revealed on the first night that he had gonorrhea, and believed he had contracted it from Dustin. On Day 17, after Daniele won the Power of Veto and saved herself from the block, Head of Household Jen named Joe as the replacement nominee. On Day 20, Joe was evicted by a nine to one vote, only receiving the vote of Kail.

Kail

Kail Lucille Harbick (born 1969), 45, is a business owner from McKenzie Bridge, Oregon who works as a real estate agent for Prudential Financial.^[17] In addition to her estate business, she and her husband own several businesses in Blue River, Oregon, including a grocery store, a motel, a restaurant, and a resort.^[18][19] Kail had previously applied for Big Brother 5 and Big Brother 6. On Day 1, Kail was crowned the first Head of Household of Big Brother 8. During the second week, Kail tried to rally up the votes to evict fellow HouseGuest Dick Donato. When he found out, the plan failed and Dick not only stayed in the game, but became the new Head of Household. On Day 21, he nominated his two biggest enemies Jen and Kail for eviction. On Day 27, Kail survived the eviction against her alliance member Mike. On Day 28, Kail and Jen were nominated for the second consecutive week in a row by Head of Household Dustin. On Day 34, she stated in the Diary Room that she wanted to leave the House and walk; however, she was talked out of it by the show's producers. Later that day, Kail survived her second eviction in a row against former ally Nick. On Day 35, Jen and Kail were nominated for the third time in a row by Head of Household Daniele. On this day, the House set a record for having the same two initial nominees for three weeks in a row. Despite Daniele promising Kail safety, Daniele's plan of backdooring Eric backfired, and on Day 41 Kail was evicted from the House by a four to three vote.

Mike

Michael Dutz (born 1980), 34, is a painting contractor from Three Lakes, Wisconsin, and is a model with BMG Model & Talent Agency. He has appeared on the Lifetime show Gay, Straight or Taken?. He was the straight and available one. During the first week, Mike had an alliance with Kail, Nick and Zach. However, the alliance quickly fell apart, and Mike and Kail found themselves with Jen. On Day 24, Mike was nominated by Head of Household Dick as a replacement nominee for Jen, who saved herself with the Veto. He was evicted by a vote of seven to two on Day 27, while his former ally Kail survived the eviction next to him.

Nick

Nicholas Anton Starcevic (born 1982), 33, is a former college American football player from Kimball, Minnesota and was once crowned MTV's "Spring Break King" while on vacation in Cancún. Nick has worn t-shirts of his former teammate and Eastern Washington University Eagle Jake Young, having last played for EWU's Big Sky Conference championship teams in 2004 and 2005. He played American football for the University of Minnesota Crookston for 4 years and then played professional football in the European Football League (EFL). While in the House, Nick had a close friendship and romantic relationship with HouseGuest Daniele. On Day 31, Nick was nominated by Head of Household Dustin, as the replacement nominee for Jen, who had been removed from the block by Jameka. On Day 34, Nick was evicted in a six to two vote, with his former ally Kail surviving the eviction.

Zach

Zachary Joseph Swerdzewski (born 1977), 38, is a graphic designer from Tallahassee, Florida. Zach graduated from Florida State University, where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He owns a company called Dolphin Crash. On the show, he has been seen wearing shirts with the company's name and logo, and sports the logo as a tattoo on his upper-left shoulder on his back. Zach once made an appearance on an episode of E!'s Style Court. Zach mentioned that he and his friends had a robot finish in 2nd place on Comedy Central's BattleBots.^[20] On Day 56, Zach was nominated by Head of Household Jessica, alongside Amber. On Day 62, however, he survived the eviction. Following the eviction, he won his first Head of Household competition, his first win of the season. On Day 69, during the live Double Eviction, Zach won the Power of Veto, and chose to leave Dick's nominations the same. Later that night, Zach won his second Head of Household competition, only hours after previously losing the title. Despite targeting the Donatos for eviction, Daniele won the Power of Veto, and both of the duo made it to the Final Three with Zach. On Day 74, Zach won the first round of the Final HoH competition. On Day 78, he competed with Dick in the Final Round, but ultimately lost and was evicted. He came in third place, and became the final member of the Jury, voting for Dick to win the grand prize.

References