A returning player in Big Brother is a houseguest who has played before — on an earlier season, or on another reality competition — and moves back in alongside first-time houseguests. The house calls them vets and the first-timers newbies, and the line between the two groups shapes the opening weeks.
- Seasons that mixed returning players with first-timers: eight — Big Brother 11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 25, 27 and 28.
- Returning players across those seasons: 21 appearances by 20 people. Rachel came back twice.
- Won the season: Rachel in Big Brother 13 and Nicole F in Big Brother 18.
- Finished second: Dan in Big Brother 14 and Paul in Big Brother 19.
- First-timers who beat a returning player in the final two: Ian and Josh.
- Survivor players who have played Big Brother: three — Cirie, Devens and Dee.
- Seasons with no first-timers at all: Big Brother 7 and Big Brother 22, the two All-Stars seasons.
The show has never sent a returning player in empty-handed. They have walked in as the first Head of Household, as team captains, as coaches nobody could evict, in ready-made pairs and holding immunity. For all of that, the record is thin: across eight mixed seasons, returning players have reached the final two four times and won twice.
- Every season: who came back, how, and how far each got.
- How they get in: premiere-night surprises, and the head start that comes with them.
- Do they win? Four final twos, two wins, and every finish on record.
- Vets vs newbies: the alliances that crossed the line, and who broke them.
- The words: vets, newbies, Dynamic Duos, coaches, stowaways, Icons.
- Survivor players: the three who crossed over, and the other shows that fed the cast.
- All-Stars: the two seasons with nobody new to play against.
Which Big Brother seasons had returning players?
Eight. Big Brother 11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 25, 27 and 28 each put returning players in the house with first-timers. The two All-Stars seasons had no first-timers at all and are covered further down.
Big Brother 11 · Jessie2009 · one returnee, 12 first-timers
Jessie, from Big Brother 10.
The cast was split into high-school cliques, and each clique had a former houseguest waiting to join it. Only the clique that won the premiere competition got theirs. The Athletes won, and Jessie walked in as the season’s first Head of Household.
He won HOH again in week 3. In week 5 Jeff used the Coup d’État to put him on the block beside Natalie, and he was evicted 3–2 as the first member of the jury.
9th. The whole season: Big Brother 11 season guide.
Big Brother 13 · the Dynamic Duos2011 · six returnees, eight first-timers
Three pairs: Dick and Daniele, the father and daughter who finished first and second in Big Brother 8; Jeff and Jordan from Big Brother 11; Rachel and Brendon from Big Brother 12.
The eight newcomers were told on premiere night to pair up. Then the three veteran pairs walked in. Pairs were nominated and saved together, and anyone who survived the block in the first four weeks earned a Golden Key — safe until ten houseguests remained.
Dick left in the first week for personal reasons, and Daniele got the first key. The vets ran week 1: Rachel was HOH, and newcomers Shelly and Kalia crossed over so Keith went home 6–4 instead of Porsche. The veteran alliance split in week 3, and Daniele’s HOH evicted Brendon the week after. America voted him back in; he went out again in week 6.
Rachel won, 4–3 over Porsche. Jordan 4th, Jeff 7th, Daniele 8th, Brendon 9th, Dick 14th. Jeff won the America’s Favorite vote. Big Brother 13 season guide.
Big Brother 14 · the coaches2012 · four returnees, 12 first-timers
Dan, the Big Brother 10 winner; Janelle, from Big Brother 6 and All-Stars; Boogie, the All-Stars winner; Britney, from Big Brother 12.
They moved in on premiere night as coaches, not players. Each took a team of newcomers and played for a separate $100,000 riding on that team. Nobody could nominate them.
After the second eviction America voted to offer them a way into the game. Three of the four wanted it, one yes was enough, and all four became houseguests on Day 27. That week’s eviction was cancelled. Janelle was first out, 8–1 in week 4. Boogie went in the season’s first double eviction, on a plan his own former player Ian set in motion. Britney followed in week 7.
Dan reached the final two and lost 6–1 to Ian. Britney 8th, Boogie 10th, Janelle 12th. Big Brother 14 season guide.
Big Brother 18 · the stowaways2016 · four returnees, 12 first-timers
Nicole F from Big Brother 16; James and Da’Vonne from Big Brother 17; Frank from Big Brother 14, where he had won America’s Favorite.
The 12 newcomers moved in first. The four vets climbed out of luggage cases on premiere night, and each took first pick of a four-person team.
The vets and four newcomers — Corey, Zakiyah, Michelle and Tiffany — formed the 8 Pack and ran the opening weeks. Jozea, who had set himself up as the newbies’ answer to the vets, was the first houseguest voted out, 7–4. Frank was the first vet to go, 9–0 in week 5, and Da’Vonne followed in week 6.
Nicole F won, 5–4 over Paul. James 3rd, Da’Vonne 11th, Frank 12th. Big Brother 18 season guide.
Big Brother 19 · Paul2017 · one returnee, 16 first-timers
Paul, runner-up the summer before.
On premiere night Kevin secretly took a $25,000 temptation. The price was Paul. He swapped into the game carrying friendship bracelets that decided who was safe that night, and Cameron was evicted before the first week had properly started.
He took the Pendant of Protection in his first week, which kept him safe through three evictions, and he was never evicted all summer.
Runner-up again, 5–4 to Josh, with Cody casting the deciding vote — the first houseguest to finish second two summers running. Big Brother 19 season guide.
Big Brother 25 · Cirie2023 · one Survivor player, 16 first-timers
Cirie, a four-time Survivor player and the winner of The Traitors’ first American season.
She walked in at the end of the premiere as a surprise 17th houseguest. Her son Jared was already inside as a first-timer, and the two played as a secret family.
The first Survivor player ever to play Big Brother lasted until Day 93, when she was evicted 2–0.
Big Brother 27 · Rachel2025 · one returnee, 16 first-timers
Rachel, fourteen years after winning Big Brother 13.
She appeared on premiere night as the season’s mystery houseguest. Her place as the 17th houseguest depended on the Mastermind’s secret accomplice finishing a set of tasks, which Amy did.
She ran much of the house and was never nominated. The week the jury began, the White Locust twist sent the house through a timed maze with less time for each player; she failed it and was eliminated on the spot, with no vote.
9th, and the first juror. She finished in the top three for America’s Favorite, which Keanu won. Big Brother 27 season guide.
Big Brother 28 · the Icons2026 · three returnees, 14 first-timers
Angela from Big Brother 26, and two Survivor players: Devens, from Survivor 38 and 50, and Dee, the Survivor 45 winner, who also played 50.
Twelve of the 14 newcomers played premiere-night competitions for safety, and each winner pulled a reality icon into the house. Rachel appeared to be the third, until a dinosaur threw her into a volcano; Dee was revealed as her replacement the next night. Only the three icons played for the first Head of Household, with newcomers holding the ropes under their puzzle, and Dee won it.
Dee and Devens held the first two HOHs, and with Angela and newcomers Barrett and Drew they formed the Crossovers. No icon was nominated until week 6. In week 9 Barrett nominated all three, and Angela went out 3–2 over Dee.
Angela 8th, Dee 4th. Devens reached the final three.
How do returning players get into the Big Brother house?
Almost always as a surprise on premiere night, after the first-timers have moved in — and almost always holding something the first-timers do not have.
- Instant power: Jessie was made the first HOH the moment he arrived in Big Brother 11. In Big Brother 28, only the three icons could play for the first HOH.
- Protection: Big Brother 14’s coaches could not be evicted until the reset. Big Brother 13’s pairs played for the Golden Key, and Paul took the Pendant of Protection in his first week.
- A head start on alliances: the Big Brother 13 vets arrived in pairs that already trusted each other, and Big Brother 18’s four each picked their own team.
- A price paid by someone else: Paul’s return cost Cameron his game on night one, and Rachel’s place in Big Brother 27 was secured by another houseguest’s secret tasks.
The one-yes reset
Big Brother 14’s coaches were each asked whether they wanted into the game. Boogie said no. It made no difference: a single yes from any coach put all four in.
Do returning players win Big Brother?
Twice. Returning players have reached the final two four times and split those four evenly — and Paul is on both sides of the ledger.
Returning players in the final two
- Big Brother 13: Rachel beat Porsche, 4–3.
- Big Brother 14: Dan lost to Ian, 6–1.
- Big Brother 18: Nicole F beat Paul, 5–4. Paul was a first-timer.
- Big Brother 19: Paul lost to Josh, 5–4. This time Paul was the returning player.
Where every returning player finished
- Big Brother 11: Jessie 9th.
- Big Brother 13: Rachel 1st · Jordan 4th · Jeff 7th · Daniele 8th · Brendon 9th · Dick 14th.
- Big Brother 14: Dan 2nd · Britney 8th · Boogie 10th · Janelle 12th.
- Big Brother 18: Nicole F 1st · James 3rd · Da’Vonne 11th · Frank 12th.
- Big Brother 19: Paul 2nd.
- Big Brother 25: Cirie 5th.
- Big Brother 27: Rachel 9th.
- Big Brother 28: Devens final three · Dee 4th · Angela 8th.
Through Big Brother 27, Jeff is the only returning player to win the America’s Favorite vote in a season with first-timers. Big Brother 13 was his second, after Big Brother 11. Every winner is on the Big Brother past winners page.
Do the newbies gang up on the vets?
They try, but the vets usually recruit first. In three of these seasons the first power bloc in the house was built around the returning players, with newcomers inside it.
- Big Brother 13 · the veteran alliance: all six vets, with newcomers Shelly and Kalia voting alongside them to evict Keith in week 1. The newcomers’ own group, the Regulators, lost that vote.
- Big Brother 14 · the Quack Pack and the Silent Six: coaches Dan and Britney with their former players Danielle and Shane, plus Ian. Boogie and Frank joined to make it six.
- Big Brother 18 · the 8 Pack: the four vets with Corey, Zakiyah, Michelle and Tiffany.
- Big Brother 28 · the Crossovers: Dee, Devens and Angela with Barrett and Drew.
When the vets do fall, the push usually comes from inside. In Big Brother 13 it was Daniele, a vet, whose HOH sent the first vet home. Ian set up the eviction of his own former coach in Big Brother 14. And in Big Brother 28 it was Barrett, a Crossover, who put all three icons on the block.
What do vets, newbies, coaches and Icons mean in Big Brother?
- Vets, or veterans: returning players. In use by Big Brother 13 in 2011, when the returnees’ alliance was known simply as the veterans.
- Newbies: first-time houseguests. The other half of the same split, and in CBS’s own episode descriptions by Big Brother 18.
- Dynamic Duos: production’s name for the three returning pairs in Big Brother 13.
- Coaches: production’s name for Big Brother 14’s four returnees, before the reset made them players.
- Stowaways: Big Brother 18’s four returnees, who arrived hidden in luggage.
- Icons: Big Brother 28’s three. The premiere brought them in as reality icons, and the house called them the Icons from then on.
The rest of the house vocabulary is in the Big Brother glossary of terms.
Which Survivor players have played Big Brother?
Three. Cirie was the first, in Big Brother 25. Devens and Dee followed together in Big Brother 28, and Dee became the first Survivor winner to play the game.
- Cirie: Survivor: Panama, Micronesia, Heroes vs. Villains and Game Changers, and winner of The Traitors. Big Brother 25, 5th.
- Devens: Survivor 38, Edge of Extinction, and Survivor 50. Big Brother 28, final three.
- Dee: winner of Survivor 45, then Survivor 50. Big Brother 28, 4th.
Other shows have fed the cast too. Jackie and Jeff came to Big Brother 17 from The Amazing Race, and Big Brother 28’s first-timers included Jason, from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Lyric, from American Idol. The traffic runs the other way as well: Hayden and Caleb both went from Big Brother to Survivor.
What about Big Brother All-Stars?
Both All-Stars seasons were returning players only, with no first-timers to split against. Big Brother 7, in 2006, went to Boogie, 6–1 over Erika — and six years later he was back as a Big Brother 14 coach. Big Brother 22, in 2020, went to Cody, 9–0 over Enzo.