Have two women ever made it to the Final 2 in Big Brother?
Chelsie Baham has played a wonderful game of Big Brother as we head toward the two-hour Sunday, October 13 finale (CBS, 9 ET/8 CT/9 PT), but the 27-year-old native of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and self-proclaimed Big Brother junkie has repeatedly claimed that there has never been two women in the final two on finale night.
“I do want, and I am comfortable saying this, I do want two women at the end of the show. It’s never happened before. Never.” Chelsie told Rubina on Live Feeds.
While Chelsea has mentioned many times that two women have never made it to the final 2, there have been five times that two women have made it to the Final 2 on the show, and in one season, the final four remaining houseguests were all women.
In Big Brother 6, Maggie Ausburn, Ivette Cordero, Janelle Pierzina, and April Lewis were the last four proud HouseGuests competing for the then $500,000 prize. And in three of the first six Big Brother seasons, there were two women sitting in the final two chairs on finale night.
Chelsie may be in a very good position to become the winner of Big Brother 26 and the $750,000 that comes with it, but she won't be making history as she's tried telling Rubina and Makensy Manbeck by it being an all-female final three or final 2.
While there have been more male winners on the main show -- women have won eight of the 25 regular summer Big Brother seasons with men having 17 winners -- all five special editions of Big Brother have been won by women with Big Brother 18 winner Nicole Franzel also winning Big Brother: Reindeer Games last year, Morgan Willett winning Big Brother: Over The Top, Marissa Winokur winning Celebrity Big Brother 1, Tamar Braxton winning Celebrity Big Brother 2, and Miesha Tate winning Celebrity Big Brother 3.
Here are the five times that women have made it to the Final 2 and finale night on Big Brother during the regular summer seasons of the hit CBS show.
Big Brother 3: Lisa and Daniele
On Big Brother 3 in 2002, it was Lisa Donahue and Danielle Reyes at the end in the first-ever women’s final two after Lisa allied with Danielle and Jason Guy and all made it to the final three. In the final Head of Household competition, Lisa chose to evict Jason and take Danielle to the Final 2.
On finale night the bartender from Los Angeles, who lasted 82 days in the house, defeated Danielle by a 9-1 vote, won $500,000, and became the first female winner in Big Brother (American) history. Lisa had two HoH victories and one PoV win.
Big Brother 4: Jun and Alison
Jun Song and Alison Irwin both also lasted 82 days in the Big Brother house and became the second back-to-back female-led duo to make it the the final two and finale night in 2003 on Big Brother 4. A famous “floater” in the game, Jun also used her skills in the kitchen to curry favor with the houseguests.
Ironically, Alison put Jun up for eviction as a pawn alongside Dana Varela, and when neither won the PoV, Dana was voted out. After that, Jun and Alison cemented a Final 2 alliance with Alison before the two formed the Girl Power alliance with Erika Landin to get out the remaining men.
In Week 8, Jun won HoH and decided to eliminate her Ex, Jee, with Erika being voted out a week later. Robert Roman was the last man standing but was voted out on Day 75 as Jun and Alison saw their F2 dreams realized.
The house voted Jun the winner by a 6-1 vote and the $500,000 grand prize with Alison taking home $50,000 as the runner-up. Jun had that one aforementioned HoH win and one PoV win.
Big Brother 6: Maggie and Ivette
In Big Brother 6 in 2005, it was Maggie Ausburn and Ivette Corredero who were the Final 2, making it three times in the first six American seasons that two women were in the Final 2.
One of the most underrated players in Big Brother history, Maggie ended up facing Ivette in the Final 2. Maggie and Ivette were members of The Friendship Alliance and battled the Sovereign Six Alliance. When Miami waitress Ivette won the final HoH, she took Maggie to finale night where Las Vegas ER nurse Maggie won by a 4-3 vote.
Like Jun, Maggie won one HoH and one PoV. Maggie was nominated for the block four times and spent 80 days in the house. And this was the aforementioned season where the last four HouseGuests were all women with icon Janelle Pierzina finishing third (Day 76) and April Lewis ending up fourth (Day 73).
Big Brother 11: Jordan and Natalie
While the first six women who all made it to the Final 2 together were all allies at some point, in Big Brother 11 in 2009, the Final 2 of Jordan Lloyd and Natalie Martinez were rivals. Jordan formed an alliance, and ultimately a relationship with houseguest Jeff Schroeder, and somehow made it to the finals in one of the most entertaining seasons of the CBS primetime show.
A waitress from Charlotte, the then 22-year-old Jordan defeated the 24-year-old Natalie by a 5-2 vote and took home $500,000, and eventually, a husband that season. Jordan also returned with Jeff for Big Brother 13 and finished in fourth place. On BB11, Jordan won HoH twice, the PoV once, and lasted 73 days in the house.
Jordan won the $500,000 grand prize while Chicago native Jeff won $25,000 after being voted America’s Favorite Player on BB11.
Big Brother 13: Rachel and Porsche
The last time we saw two women in the Final 2 was on Big Brother 13 in 2011, with Rachel Reilly and Porsche Briggs, when five of the last six HouseGuests were women including Jordan Lloyd (4th), Kalia Booker (5th), and (Shelly Moore, 6th).
After failing a year earlier on Big Brother 12, Rachel returned with then-fiancé Brendon Villegas as part of the Dynamic Duo twist and had maybe the strongest season of all of the women who made all-women Final 2’s with an impressive four HoH wins and two PoV victories.
Las Vegas event hostess Rachel beat Miami Beach cocktail waitress Porsche by a 4-3 jury vote on finale night and spent 75 days in the house on her way to winning the $500,000 grand prize. Rachel would go on to compete in The Amazing Race three times.