Breakout Big Brother stars of the 2010s: Big Brother 17

With the 2010s soon to be in the rear view mirror, we decided to look back at Big Brother seasons of the past decade. Over the next several days, we will look at the most notable breakout player from each season (in our opinion) this decade. This will mean Big Brother 12 to Big Brother 21 with Over the Top and Celebrity versions included.

With the 2010s soon to be in the rear view mirror, we decided to look back at Big Brother seasons of the past decade. Over the next several days, we will look at the most notable breakout player from each season (in our opinion) this decade. This will mean Big Brother 12 to Big Brother 21 with Over the Top and Celebrity versions included.

Next up, we will be examining the breakout star of Big Brother 17. The season saw the return of the Battle of The Block twist. Battle of the Block lasted from week 1 until the end of week 5. There were a couple of interesting players in Big Brother 17. However, one player really stood out to us above the rest. That player is Vanessa Rousso.

Big Brother 17’s breakout star: Vanessa Rousso

Vanessa is widely considered one of the greatest players to never win and one of the greatest female players of all-time. Vanessa controlled 11 out of 15 evictions during the season. She also won 4 HOHs and 3 POVs.

In addition to the Battle of the Block twist, Big Brother 17 also introduced the BB takeover twist. One celebrity would take over each week and a new twist would be announced each time. This twist ended after week 3.

In week 1, The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan took over. As part of Phil’s takeover, The Amazing Race 26 alumni Jeff Weldon and Jackie Ibarra entered the game as the 15th and 16th houseguests. He also introduced the BB Fast Forward. The two houseguests who sat out the HOH Competition would earn immunity and pick one other houseguest to be safe with them.

Da’Vonne Rogers and Vanessa sat out, earning them the BB Fast Forward. Da’Vonne elected to keep Liz Nolan safe to hide her alliance with Audrey Middleton and Shelli Poole while Vanessa held court before deciding to keep Austin Matelson safe. Later in the week, Vanessa helped evict Jace Agolli.

In week 2, Vanessa was able to remain safe again. With Shelli as HOH, Vanessa founded the Sixth Sense alliance with herself, Shelli, Clay Honeycutt, Austin Matelson, and Liz Nolan. That week, they were able to take out their target, Da’Vonne.

In week 3, Vanessa and Austin won HOH. Austin nominated Jason Roy and Meg Maley for eviction while Vanessa nominated James Huling and John “Johnny Mac” McGuire for eviction. Jason and Meg won the Battle of the Block Competition, dethroning Austin as HOH. Johnny Mac won the POV to save himself that week. During this time, Vanessa, Liz, and Austin, and Steve Moses formed the Scamper Squad alliance. Julia Nolan would later join the alliance when she officially entered the game as an individual.

Needing a replacement nominee, the Sixth Sense wanted to target Jeff Weldon for playing all sides and wanting Shelli evicted so that he could work with Clay. Struggling to find a reason to nominate Jeff without exposing their alliance, Vanessa staged a fight with Jeff and got him to throw Vanessa, Austin, and Shelli under the bus in front of everyone. Jeff was named the replacement nominee and evicted 7-4.

In week 4, Vanessa remained safe again. During this time, she won the POV and used it to save Jason and backdoor Audrey. Audrey was evicted 10-1.

In week 5, Vanessa and Jackie were the HOHs. Vanessa wanted no part of back to back HOHs so she nominated Becky Burgess and Clay in hopes they would win the Battle of the Block Competition. Jackie nominated James and Liz. Vanessa got James to throw the competition, but Liz won the competition by herself. This earned James and Liz safety for the week, dethroning Jackie and spoiling Vanessa’s plan.

Clay won the POV that week to save himself that week. Jason was named the replacement nominee. At the live eviction, Jason was evicted 7-2.

In week 6, Vanessa was able to remain safe for the week and Julia entered the game as an individual houseguest. During this time, the Sixth Sense alliance disintegrated. Vanessa helped take out her former ally Clay, after Clay requested he be sent home over his showmance Shelli. Clay was evicted 9-0.

Week 7 was a double eviction. Becky won HOH on the front end of the eviction and nominated Steve and Shelli for eviction. Steve won the POV to save himself that week and attempted to backdoor Vanessa. However, the plan backfired and Shelli was evicted 8-0. Vanessa was able to stay safe on the backend of the double eviction and helped evict Jackie.

Vanessa was also able to stay off the block in weeks 8 and 9. In week 8, Vanessa helped evict Becky. In week 9, Vanessa won the POV but chose not to use it. Johnny Mac was evicted 5-0.

After his eviction, Johnny Mac won a competition to re-enter the game, defeating Becky, Jackie, and Shelli. Vanessa won her 3rd HOH in week 10 and nominated James and Meg for eviction, with the intention of splitting one of them up. James won the POV to save himself that week, sealing Meg’s fate. Julia was named the replacement nominee, but Meg was evicted 4-1.

Week 10 was also a double eviction. Vanessa was able to remain safe on the back end of the double eviction. During this time, she helped take out James, who was evicted in a 4-0 vote.

Vanessa was also able to remain safe for week 11. During this time, she helped evict Julia. Julia was evicted in a 3-0 vote.

Week 12 marked the 3rd double eviction of the season. Vanessa won her 4th HOH on the front end of the double and nominated Johnny Mac and Steve for eviction, with the intention of targeting Johnny Mac. However, Johnny Mac won the POV to save himself and Austin was named the replacement nominee. When the vote came down at the live eviction, it was a 1-1 tie, forcing Vanessa to break it. Vanessa voted to evict Austin, blindsiding him.

At the final 4, Steve won HOH and nominated Liz and Vanessa, with the intention of targeting Vanessa. However, Vanessa won the POV to save herself that week. Johnny Mac was the only possible replacement nominee, so he went on the chopping block. At the live eviction, Vanessa chose to evict Johnny Mac.

At the final 3, Steve won his 4th HOH of the season. By default, Vanessa and Liz were nominated for eviction. Steve shocked everyone by betraying Vanessa (with whom he had made a final 2 earlier in the game) and voting to evict her on finale night. Steve went on to win the Big Brother 17 in a 6-3 vote. Vanessa was one of the 3 votes for Liz to win.

You could make arguments for James or Johnny Mac as the breakout star of Big Brother 17. However, Vanessa was head and shoulders above the rest that season. It has been said by the jury that had she made it to the final 2, she would’ve beaten either Steve or Liz. With the game Vanessa played, she earns the nod as Big Brother 17’s breakout star. It is honestly a travesty that she hasn’t returned yet.

Who is your breakout star of Big Brother 17? Let us know in the comments!