As we look forward to Pinoy Big Brother's next season, let's recall the 16 "big winners" who won the hearts of our Kapamilya viewers.
Nene Tamayo, Season 1
Tagged by her fellow housemates as “Kumander Nene” due to her past military background as the first ROTC Corps Commander in University of the East with a tough persona and strong and long-lasting stamina in every task they had to accomplish, Romblon-native Jennivev “Nene” Tamayo impressed us with the exceptional leadership skills and admirable personality she emanated.
We were also astounded when she unleashed the inner dance diva in her and enthusiastically spearheaded their batch during their Dance Marathon Task, which earned her the nickname “Nenergizer” because of her unfaltering energy in dancing continuously after her housemates had stopped already.
Fourteen years after, she is now a dutiful matriarch to her husband of 13 years Anthony Plamio, who used to be her dance instructor and partner when she joined the reality dance competition U Can Dance in 2006, and to their bike enthusiast unico hijo Zane. Aside from that, she also runs a home-based food processing business selling pickled bangus, tinapa, and tuyo sealed in small jars.
Keanna Reeves, Celebrity Edition 1
She might be criticized and misjudged because of the controversy she got involved in prior to her entrance in the show business, but Janet Derecho Duterte, or more popularly known by her screen name Keanna Reeves, proved that she is more than what we perceived her to be as she won the favor of her housemates and the viewers. Besides, she also displayed how a good and trustworthy friend she was, especially during the moment when her fellow housemate Rustom Padilla, who is now BB Gandanghari, shockingly confessed that he was gay, as she listened to him intently and expressed how much she respected him.
The former sexy actress still appears on television from time to time. She will be part of the teleserye The Killer Bride.
Kim Chiu, Teen Edition
Before being hailed as the Princess of Philippine Movies and TV because of her exemplary contributions and achievements through the years, this Cebuana stunner captivated us with her bubbly and sunny personality and unmistakable Chinese beauty.
While inside the house, she was able to live harmoniously with her co-housemates despite figuring in a love triangle with fellows Mikee Lee and Gerald Anderson. Moreover, she also wowed us with her impressive singing talent and mind-blowing contortion ability.
Ever since she stepped out to the outside world 15 years ago, Kim has been dubbed “Chinita Princess” and is among the most illustrious and in-demand actresses and brand ambassadors in the country.
Bea Saw, Season 2
Fondly called by her housemates as “Mommy Bea” due to her compassionate and motherly character, the Filipino-Taiwanese beauty from Baao, Camarines Sur had been known for her sunny disposition, innate charm, calmness, and diplomatic approach towards various situations. Thus, we were all dumbfounded when she got engaged in scorching spats with her housemates Wendy Valdez and Maricris Dizon, which ensued to the latter’s forced eviction after her indirect threat of stabbing her.
During her intense confrontation with Maricris, she uttered one of the most unforgettable quotes in PBB history: “Alam mo ‘yang respeto? Hindi mo ‘yan iniimpose, ini-earn ‘yan! And your age, act your age!”
Because of her natural charisma, she was able to score supporting roles in some local blockbuster romantic flicks, such as “One More Chance” (2007), “My Amnesia Girl” (2010), “My Cactus Heart” (2012), and “A Second Chance” (2015), as well as appearing in a number of Kapamilya programs. She also had her hosting debut as the official “Kuyarazzi” for PBB Updates of the succeeding edition.
At the present, she has been married for seven years to her husband Rocky Tan, to whom she has two adorable daughters.
Ruben Gonzaga, Celebrity Edition 2
He might not be familiar to us living in Manila, but he’s actually famous in Davao for he was a member of ABS-CBN Davao’s group of comedians Joke Squad and also works as a stand-up comedian in different bars.
Because of his vibrant personality, it became easy for him to develop rapport with his housemates and to notch the most coveted Big Winner spot, making him the first-ever male champion, succeeding Nene Tamayo, Keanna Reeves, Kim Chiu, and Bea Saw.
After his successful stint in PBB, Ruben appeared in some of the ABS-CBN teleseryes, such as May Bukas Pa (2009), wherein he portrayed the industrious and loving Father Patrick who took care of the lead character Santino (Zaijian Jaranilla), and in the controversial Halik, playing Samson, one of the hardworking and cheerful subordinates of Lino (Jericho Rosales).
Ejay Falcon, Teen Edition Plus
Before charming us with his unmistakable good looks and wowing us with his exceptional acting chops through the TV series and movies he starred in, not to mention his notable and special appearance in the Korean drama Where Stars Land, the “Promdi Hottie” from Mindoro first captured our attention in Teen Edition Plus.
Apart from that, he also touched our hearts with his personal story and his yearning to meet his estranged biological French father. PBBdid everything to help him find his dad, but to no avail. Instead of getting disheartened, he kept on searching for him until now.
While inside the house, he was romantically linked to his Filipino-German housemate Valerie Weigmann after admitting the feelings he harbored for her since the first time they met and even serenaded her with the help of his fellow housemates and their guardians.
He is one of the headline stars of the drama series of ABS-CBN, Sandugo.
Melai Cantiveros, Double Up
Without a doubt, the pride of General Santos City, South Cotabato is one of the most remarkable housemates to ever join the reality show. With her comical and positive personality, hilarious expressions, and natural sense of humor, it was not hard for the viewers to love and root for her, instantly making her a crowd favorite. She was also the one who popularized the utterances “Char” and “Over”, which were adapted by many of us in our daily exchanges.
Aside from taking home the whopping prizes as the Big Winner, she also took with her the heart of her fellow housemate and now husband Jason Francisco, to whom she has been already married for six years and has two cute daughters named Amelia Lucille and Stella Rosalind.
Moreover, her showbiz career continuously flourished through the years as she starred in various teleseryes and movies. She is currently one of the hosts of the morning talk show Magandang Buhay and the on-going Otso season of PBB.
James Reid, Teen Clash of 2010
Of course, who would not know James Reid, the other half of the kilig reel-to-real loveteam JaDine and one of the hottest and most famous heartthrobs we now have in the country?
With his irresistible charm and impressive talent, the Fil-Aussie hottie was able to captivate the audiences, making him a fan favorite and later on the Big Winner. During his stay in the house, he was paired with girl housemates Ann Li and Devon Seron, which fueled “wars” between their supporters.
Unbeknownst to others, he almost didn’t made it at least on the Big Night nor the Big 6 for he used to be on the verge of getting forced evicted twice due to his poor health condition. But the universe apparently designed a grand plan for him as he got better in the long run and was able to keep pace with his housemates.
He pursues a career in acting and music at present with blockbuster films and toprating under his belt. The movies he top-billed includes “Diary ng Panget” (2014), “This Time” (2016), “Never Not Love You” (2018), and “Miss Granny” (2018), while On the Wings of Love (2015) and Till I Met You (2016) were the teleseryes he starred with Nadine. He was one of the judges of Idol Philippines.
At the same time, he also put up his own record label Careless Music Manila, through which he’s able to unravel his authentic self and achieve more creative freedom in the songs he releases.
Slater Young, Unlimited
Dubbed as “The Hotshot Engineer of Cebu”, Slater was the first male regular housemate to snag the Big Winner crown after besting 29 other housemates who, like him, courageously accepted the challenges bestowed by Kuya during their five-month sojourn. Living a quiet and comfortable life as the heir of a construction firm in Cebu, we are befuddled on why he still wanted to join the competition. But it was revealed that his primary objective was to know himself more and to be able to discover his weaknesses and strengths.
During his stay, he also became close friends with openly lesbian housemate Divine Maitland-Smith, which stirred speculations about a possible romantic bond between them. But they denied it and imposed that they are just friends.
He appeared on a number of ABS-CBN dramas like E-Boy and Ina, Kapatid, Anak, but decided to venture on business. He is currently based in Cebu, where he tied the knot with his lifestyle blogger girlfriend Kryz Uy and their famous “Sky Pod” mansion is built.
Myrtle Sarrosa, Teen Edition 4
With the striking colorful and anime-inspired costumes she wore inside the house, not to mention her hypnotizing doll eyes and bright smiles, it wasn’t difficult for the “Cosplay Cutie of Iloilo” to capture the attention of the viewers, more so our affection, as she emerged as the Big Winner at the end of the season.
While inside the house, she was paired by her fans with housemates Kit Thompson and Yves Flores.
After PBB, the famed cosplayer found herself pursuing a career in music, hosting, and acting while completing her college education. She graduated Cum Laude in the University of the Philippines with a degree in BA Broadcasting Communication.
Her latest TV appearance was in Wansapanataym: Mr. CUTEpido portraying the domineering radio station manager Gretchen Galvez and she’s about to be seen in the Star Cinema zombie apocalypse flick “Block Z.”
Daniel Matsunaga, All In
Not having even a drop of Filipino blood in him, the Brazilian-Japanese’s model-actor’s Big Winner finish received mixed reactions as many believed that those participants with Filipino parentage are only the ones deserving to win the title. He addressed this after he was hailed as the winner by declaring how proud he is to be a Filipino at heart and thanked everyone who believed in him and saw how huge his love is for the Philippines.
Apart from possessing good looks, his pleasant personality, diligence and dependability in accomplishing their weekly tasks gained him not only the admiration of the housemates, but of the public as well. He was also considered as the other “big brother” in the house as he generously gave sensible advices to the younger housemates.
His unmistakable closeness with fellow housemate Vickie Rushton sparked controversies, as the latter is still in a relationship with actor Jason Abalos. But that was dismantled when the couple talked about this inside the house and the two housemates involved clarified that they were just friends.
After PBB, he appeared in various programs of the Kapamilya network, such as Two Wives, Ipaglaban Mo, Be My Lady, I Can Do That, A Love To Last, and Halik.
Jimboy Martin, 737 (Teens)
He might be quiet, but the “Barrio Rapper of Nueva Vizcaya” could make everyone shut up with his amazing skills in rap, drawing inspiration from one of his idols Gloc-9.
Growing up in a simple life in the province, it was seemed innate for Jimboy to be mature, to be always willing to reach out to his housemates in need, and to be responsible – the qualities we are looking for in a modern Pinoy teenager and making him worthy to be hailed as the Big Winner.
He had his acting debut through the 2016 primetime drama Born For You and became part of It's Showtime as one of the members of the Hashtags.
Miho Nishida, 737 (Adults)
Having been exposed to Japanese culture and language ever since she was two years old, communicating with her housemates had been difficult for her as she’s not very much fluent with Tagalog and only speaks a little English. Instead of being her disadvantage, this seemingly became her edge as her cute and hilarious antics and determination won the hearts of the housemates and viewers alike.
While inside the house, she had developed a romantic connection with fellow housemate Tommy Esguerra, which extended even after the competition. Slew of television guestings and acting stints welcomed her once she stepped out of the house and she even ventured on having a musical career.
She last appeared in the Arci Muñoz and Piolo Pascual-starrer Since I Found You (2018) and in a few episodes of PBB online spin-offs programs.
Maymay Entrata, Lucky Season 7
From the moment she was presented as one of the housemates of the latest season of PBB, we already knew that she’s going to be one of the contestants that we would be excited to see every night. With her natural charm, goofiness, sunny disposition, amiability, and relatability as an avid fangirl to local celebrities, the pride of Cagayan de Oro easily captured the hearts of her housemates and of the audiences, making her one of the ultimate crowd favorites and the Big Winner.
She became close to almost all the housemates, but it is her special bond with Edward Barber that truly enamored us and ensued to a phenomenal team up that never fails to thrill us on and off cam.
They’ve been inseparable ever since as they made appearances in various TV programs of ABS-CBN, graced the pages and covers of some magazines, and scored significant roles in blockbuster films, including the first movie they top-billed together in 2017 – “Loving in Tandem.”
Yamyam Gucong
After almost nine months and four batches, PBB Otso has finally proclaimed Yamyam Gucong as its ultim8 big winner.
Dubbed as the "Iskulit Bai of Bohol", he's been well-loved by his housemates and was consistently a top favorite of the viewers due to his admirable personality, his perseverance and keenness in the challenges and tasks, and unabashedly showcasing his authentic self.
It can be recalled that he was able to score his spot in the Ultim8 Big 8 after he was hailed as the batch winner of the second batch or #Batch2getherForever.
Yamyam made his first drama acting stint in Maalaala Mo Kaya in which he portrayed his own life story. He appeared in several Kapamilya TV and online shows, and became part of blockbuster films. In 2019, he built his own bakeshop in Bohol using his prize money.
Liofer Pinatacan
Liofer Pinatacan, the ‘Dong Diskarte ng Zamboanga del Sur,’ made history as the first Big Winner of a season that ran successfully amidst a pandemic. He was voted by fans and viewers as the big winner of “Pinoy Big Brother Connect” during the first virtual Big Night on March 14, 2021.
Liofer won a house and lot from Phirst Park Homes and P1 million from Brilliant Skin Essentials.