Big Brother 3 is the third season of the American reality television series Big Brother. It is based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. The season premiered on CBS on July 10, 2002 and lasted for a total of 82 days. The series concluded on September 25, 2002 when Lisa Donahue was crowned the winner, and Danielle Reyes the runner-up. The premise of the series remained similar to the previous season. The series revolved around twelve strangers living in a house together with no communication with the outside world. They were constantly filmed during their time in the house, and were not permitted to communicate with those filming them. One HouseGuest, known as the Head of Household, had the task of nominating two of their fellow HouseGuests for eviction. The Power of Veto was designed to let the winner take one of the eviction nominees off the block, but because it neither allowed an actual nominee to save themselves nor gave the winner any incentive to change the majority viewpoint without putting themselves in future jeopardy, it was useless and never played; future seasons would take the final Power of Veto twist, for a "Golden Veto" that a nominee could win and use to save themselves, and use it as the Veto standard for the entire game. The HouseGuests then voted to evict one of the nominees, with the HouseGuest who received the most votes being evicted from the house. When only two HouseGuests remained, the previously evicted HouseGuests would decide which of them would win the $500,000 grand prize.
Format Big Brother is a game show in which a group of contestants, referred to as HouseGuests, lived in a custom built "house", constantly under video surveillance. While in the house, the contestants were completely isolated from the outside world, meaning no phone, television, internet, magazines, newspaper, or contact with those not in the house. This rule could be broken, however, in the event of a family emergency or passing. At the start of each week in the house, the HouseGuests would compete for the title of Head of Household. The Head of Household for each week would have luxuries such as their own personal bedroom and free laundry service, but was responsible for nominating two HouseGuests for eviction. The Head of Household would not be able to compete in the following week's Head of Household competition, meaning that a HouseGuest could not hold the title for two weeks in a row. The winner of the Power of Veto could choose to save one of the nominated HouseGuests, forcing the Head of Household to nominate someone in their place. All HouseGuests excluding the Head of Household and nominees later vote to determine which of the two nominees should be evicted, and the nominated HouseGuest who received the most votes was evicted during a live episode. If there is a tie in the voting, the reigning Head of Household is required to make the tie-breaker decision. Unlike other versions of Big Brother, the HouseGuests may discuss the nomination and eviction process openly and freely. When only two HouseGuests remained, the previously evicted HouseGuests returned to decide which of the two should win the game.
The HouseGuests also competed in food competitions, in which the losers were required to solely eat peanut butter and jelly for the rest of the week. The HouseGuests also participated in weekly luxury competitions, in which those competing could win prizes. The players were competing for a $500,000 prize, though the runner-up would receive a $50,000 prize. The format of the series was mainly seen as a social experiment, and required HouseGuests to interact with others who may have differing ideals, beliefs, and prejudices. HouseGuests were also required to make visits to the Diary Room during their stay in the house, where they were able to share their thoughts and feelings on their fellow HouseGuests and the game. While in the house, the HouseGuests are given no information from the outside world. This includes the families and loved ones of the HouseGuests, whom they are not permitted to see or speak to. The house featured no telephones, televisions, or reading material other than for religious use. HouseGuests could voluntarily leave the house at any time, however, would not be able to return. In addition, a HouseGuest could be removed from the house at any time for breaking the rules; removal from the house meant the HouseGuest would not be eligible to return to the house or appear at the finale.
HouseGuests
Name Age Occupation Residence Entry Result 26 Bartender Los Angeles, California Day 1 WinnerDay 82 30 Media buyer Fairfield, California Day 82 25 Videographer Mobile, Alabama 24Real estate appraiserMemphis, Tennessee Day 1 32 Fashion designer Chicago, Illinois 30 Writer Morristown, New Jersey 51 Teacher Shadow Hills, California 25 Marketing representative New York, New York 28 Waiter Queens, New York 27 Firefighter Milford, Connecticut 35 Retail sales specialist Las Vegas, Nevada 39 Bank representative Superior, Wisconsin
Future appearances Danielle Reyes and Marcellas Reynolds returned for Big Brother: All Stars. Lisa Donahue was also a candidate for All Stars, but was not selected. Josh Feinberg made a brief appearance on All Stars for a Head of Household competition. Amy Crews returned for Big Brother 10 to host a food competition along with other Big Brother alumni. Danielle Reyes also made a brief appearance on Big Brother 11 to share her thoughts on the season. Reyes as well as Donahue made a brief cameo on the premiere of Big Brother 20, where they were both seen in the audience. Reyes also made brief appearances during the premiere and finale episodes of Big Brother 25. Reyes also competed on the Christmas spin-off Big Brother Reindeer Games.
In 2025, Danielle Reyes competed on the third season of the Peacock reality TV series The Traitors.
Summary On Day 1, twelve HouseGuests entered the Big Brother house. That night, they participated in their first food competition, in which they entered the backyard to find a table full of groceries and twelve shopping bags. There were also three trees in the yard, each with two nests on them. HouseGuests were given ninety seconds to fill their bag with groceries, find a partner, and get into a nest with that partner. If they completed the competition, they kept their groceries for the week; the group won. Upon completing the competition, the HouseGuests learned that the last pair remaining in their nest with the groceries would win $3,000 for each week that they both remained in the house, giving them a potential total of $30,000. The week that one of them was evicted, the prize would stop growing. The competition lasted more than four and a half hours, with Jason and Lori winning. On Day 2, HouseGuests competed in the "Wheel of First Impressions" Head of Household competition, in which HouseGuests were given a stack of cards with descriptions on them and a wheel with the HouseGuests’ names on it. One at a time, a HouseGuest would take a card and state which HouseGuest they felt the card best described; they would then take another card and do the same. The wheel would then be spun, and the HouseGuest whose name the wheel landed on had to eliminate one of the two selected HouseGuests. When only two HouseGuests remained, the eliminated players would vote for which of the two they would like to see win Head of Household. Lisa won.
On Day 3, the HouseGuests learned that they must compete for the right to use the hot tub in the backyard. They put on bathing suits provided by Big Brother, which featured a blue top and red bottoms. The HouseGuests split into three groups of four, each with two men and two women. A group must jump into a pool and swap their suits with a member of the opposite sex to ensure that they had the same color of suit, meaning that upon exiting the male team members should have on a female's top and bottom of matching color, and women should have a matching male's top and bottom. Each group must do the same task, and all three groups must finish within six minutes. The HouseGuests completed the challenge, unlocking the hot tub. On Day 4, Lori and Marcellas were nominated for eviction, with Marcellas being the target. HouseGuests competed in the "Eggs Over Easy" food competition, in which the men and women threw eggs to each other over a divide. Each egg had a food written on it, and the eggs that did not break were foods that were given to the house. On Day 7, HouseGuests competed in the "Saving Face" Power of Veto competition, in which HouseGuests shot a set of three balls at a cutout representing one HouseGuest. When a HouseGuests cutout got three balls in it, that HouseGuest was eliminated. Gerry won the Power of Veto. HouseGuests competed in the "Luau Luxury" competition, in which they split into two teams and were required to figure out which five items were missing from the house. The winning team earned a dinner, while the losing team had to watch them eat it. Gerry removed Marcellas from the block, as he felt he had been nominated for "racist and homophobic" reasons; Amy was the replacement nominee. On Day 13, Lori became the first evicted HouseGuest in a vote of five to four.
Following Lori's eviction, HouseGuests participated in the "In the House" Head of Household competition, in which they were asked questions regarding in which room a certain item in the house was located. They provided answers by picking up an item that symbolized a room in the house. Marcellas was the winner of the competition. On Day 14, HouseGuests competed in the "Architectural Digestion" food competition. Before the competition began, HouseGuests split into two teams of five and weighed themselves. They then had to eat a giant brownie house without using their hands, and the team who gained the most weight won. Josh was disqualified for using his hands; his team still won. Danielle, Tonya, Eric, Gerry, and Chiara were on the peanut butter and jelly diet for the week. That night, Marcellas nominated Josh and Tonya for eviction, stating that he had nominated Josh for personal reasons and that Tonya was a pawn. The Power of Veto competition this week was the "An Offer You Can't Refuse" competition. Each HouseGuest started the game with one box and would make deals with one another in an attempt to get their box. When the competition is over, the HouseGuests will open their boxes. The HouseGuest who has the box with the Power of Veto in it would win the power. Danielle won. That week, the America's Vote was for HouseGuests to participate in a competition pertaining to bowling. HouseGuests had to both roll a ball with a HouseGuest in it, as well as be rolled while in the ball. They got a point for each pin they knocked over, and the HouseGuest with the most points won. Danielle won and chose which exercise equipment was added to the house; she chose a silent elliptical trainer. During the Power of Veto ceremony, Danielle left the nominations intact, meaning either Josh or Tonya would be evicted. On Day 20, Tonya became the second evicted HouseGuest in a vote of five to three.