Derrick Levasseur is the winner of Big Brother 16.
He was a part of The Detonators, Team America, a final two alliance with Cody named The Hitmen, and a backup final two deal with Victoria Rafaeli. He was formerly a member of the Bomb Squad, Los Tres Amigos, and The Rationale. Derrick made it all the way to the end without ever being nominated (although he was nominated by default when he failed to win the Final HOH which was won by his ally Cody) and won by a vote of 7-2 making him the first winner in Big Brother U.S history to accomplish this feat.
Derrick is considered by some to be one of the greatest players to ever play Big Brother, and is often compared to certain Big Brother legends such as Will Kirby, and Dan Gheesling.
Biography
Retrieved from CBS.com
Age: 30
Hometown: Providence, R.I.
Current City: Providence, R.I.
Occupation: Police Officer - Sergeant
Three adjectives that describe you: Confident, methodical and ambitious.
Favorite Activities: I am a big fan of guns and enjoy modifying and shooting them; I get to use most of them at work. Also, I like to scuba dive.
What do you think will be the most difficult part about living inside the Big Brother house: Being away from my family for so long. Even though you are in the house with other people, you have to remember that they are trying to take $500,000 away from you and it will be tough to not have my family to release some of the tension.
Do you have a strategy for winning Big Brother?: My strategy involves three phases. First, attempt to find common interests with as many houseguests as I can, while developing a profile on them. Second, start using the facts I learned about the houseguests against them. Finally, if I’m able to win a few HOH's/POV's late in the game, I can make some moves that will determine the winner.
Which past Big Brother cast member did you like most: I love that Dan Gheesling was always using sports analogies to pump himself up because I'm the same way.
What are you afraid of: I am not a fan of heights.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of: I'm proud of my education and the accomplishments in my career as a police officer.
Finish this sentence: My life’s motto is… Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today - James Dean
What would you take into the house and why: A picture of my daughter as she is everything to me, my memory foam pillow since I need a good night sleep and a deck of cards.
What would you do if Big Brother made you famous: I would try and use it to make some positive changes. I would like to give back to my family and help out the kids of Central Falls. Also, I'm a huge animal lover. Sign me up for anything I can do to help reduce the number of puppy mills, kill shelters and helping animals get adopted.
Derrick attended college on a full ride baseball scholarship and got his master’s degree in Business Management. He’s been a Police Sergeant for 10 years after starting as an undercover officer when he was only 20 years old.[1]
Player History - Big Brother 16
Competition History
| Week 1 | HOH | Loss |
| BOTB | Ineligible | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 2 | HOH | Loss |
| BOTB | Ineligible | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 3 | HOH | Win |
| BOTB | Survived | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 4 | HOH | Previous HOH |
| BOTB | Ineligible | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 5 | HOH | Loss |
| BOTB | Ineligible | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 6 | HOH | Loss |
| BOTB | Ineligible | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| HOH | Loss | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 7 | HOH | Loss |
| BOTB | Ineligible | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 8 | HOH | Win |
| BOTB | Dethroned | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 9 | HOH | Loss |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 10 | HOH | Loss |
| POV | Loss | |
| HOH | Win | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 11 | HOH | Previous HOH |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 12 | HOH | Previous HOH |
| Luxury | Loss | |
| POV | Loss | |
| HOH | Win | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 13 | HOH Part 1 | Loss |
| HOH Part 2 | Win | |
| HOH Part 3 | Loss |
- Note: Although Derrick was not the outgoing HOH heading into Week 12, the houseguests all pushed the Rewind Button, undoing all of Week 11's events and resetting the week, meaning that Derrick was technically the outgoing HOH once again, barring him from playing in the HOH competition.
Have/Have-Not History
| Week 1 | Have |
| Week 2 | Have-Not |
| Week 3 | Have |
| Week 4 | Have |
| Week 5 | Have-Not |
| Week 6 | Have |
| Week 7 | Have |
| Week 8 | Have |
| Week 9 | Have |
| Week 10 | Have-Not |
| Week 10 | Have |
| Week 11 | Have/Have-Not Phase Over |
| Week 12 | |
| Week 13 |
Voting History
| Week | Position | Voted for | With Majority? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Joey Van Pelt | Yes |
| 2 | – | Paola Shea | Yes |
| 3 | HOH | – | – |
| 4 | – | Brittany Martinez | Yes |
| 5 | – | Amber Borzotra | Yes |
| 6 | – | Jocasta Odom | Yes |
| – | Hayden Voss | Yes | |
| 7 | – | Nicole Franzel | Yes |
| 8 | Dethroned HOH | Zach Rance | Yes |
| 9 | – | Donny Thompson | Yes |
| 10 | – | Nicole Franzel | Yes |
| HOH | – | – | |
| 11 | – | No Voting | |
| 12 | – | Frankie Grande | Yes |
| HOH | – | – | |
| 13 | Nominated | – | – |
| Winner | – | – | |
HOH History
| Original Nominees | Post-Veto Nominees | Intended Target | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 3 | |||||||
| Week 8 (Dethroned) |
Dethroned | OR | |||||
| Week 10 (Day 77) |
OR | ||||||
| Week 12 (Day 88) |
|||||||
Post Big Brother
- Derrick and Jana had a second child, a daughter named Peyton Kensie in February of 2016.[2]
- He returned for Big Brother 17 (US) alongside fellow Hitman Cody Calafiore (and his older brother, future houseguest Paulie Calafiore) to discuss the game.
- On June 16, 2017, Derrick released a book called The Undercover Edge.[3]
- He returned for Big Brother 19 (US) to host the HoH competition following the first Double Eviction.
- He returned for Celebrity Big Brother 1 (US) along with fellow BB16 houseguest/winner Nicole Franzel and fellow winners Ian Terry and Josh Martinez, to explain how to win the game.
- He returned for Big Brother 20 (US) to discuss the game.
- He would later return days later in Big Brother 20 (US) along with Paul Abrahamian, Josh Martinez, Britney Haynes, Daniele Donato and Dominic Briones (offscreen) to celebrate Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo's engagement.
- Derrick and Cody started a podcast called The Winners Circle and began coverage of Big Brother 23 (US).[4] They were temporarily joined by Tiffany Mitchell for Big Brother 24 (US).
- Derrick and Cody were interviewed for the Big Brother: 25th Anniversary Celebration ahead of Big Brother 25 (US).
- Derrick is rumored to have competed on the third season of Peacock's The Traitors with Britney Haynes and Danielle Reyes. He is rumored to have joined the cast later, alongside Survivor's Boston Rob Mariano and The Challenge's Wes Bergmann.
- Derrick appeared in the Final Three recap episode of Big Brother 26 to deliver a message to the houseguests as part of the conclusion to the season long BBAI twist.
Investigation Discovery
Derrick's Promo Photo for Breaking Homicide
- Derrick participated in the Martin Sheen produced series Hard Evidence: OJ Is Innocent on Investigation Discovery, which aired in January 2017.[5]
- Derrick later became host of his own crime investigation show, Breaking Homicide, on Investigation Discovery, which premiered in April 2018. The show was renewed for a second season, which premiered in June 2019.
Trivia
- While in the house, Derrick was informed his grandfather passed away on July 25, 2014.
- Derrick is the first houseguest in Big Brother history to make it past Day 78 without ever being nominated, the second being Austin on BB17. The third and fourth are James and Nicole on BB18. The fifth is JC on BB20. The sixth and seventh are Holly and Tommy on BB21. The eighth and ninth are Enzo and Cody on BB22. The tenth and eleventh are Bowie Jane and Matt on BB25.
- Derrick is one of ten houseguests to have reached the final 3 while never being nominated for eviction. The others are Danielle Reyes and Jason Guy from Big Brother 3 (US), Jillian MacLaughlin from Big Brother Canada 1, Anthony Douglas from Big Brother Canada 7, Enzo and Cody from Big Brother 22 (US), Tychon Carter-Newman from Big Brother Canada 9, Todrick Hall from Celebrity Big Brother 3 (US) and Bowie Jane from Big Brother 25 (US).
- With the exception of Cody and Tychon, the rest of them were put on the block by default after they failed to win the Final HOH.
- Derrick is one of three houseguests in Big Brother 16 to have never competed in a Battle of the Block competition, following Devin Shepherd and Joey Van Pelt.
- Derrick was the last person in Big Brother 16 to be dethroned as HOH.
- Derrick is technically the first winner in Big Brother history to win the game and never win a Power of Veto Competition after it's introduction in BB3. He was followed by Taylor Hale.
- Since there was no POV in BB1 and BB2, if you include Eddie McGee and Will Kirby, then Derrick is the third winner to not win POV but win the game.
- Before the prize money increased to $750,000 from Big Brother 23 (US) onwards, Derrick had accumulated the most money of any contestant, having earned $575,000.
- Aside from the $500,000 winnings, he earned $20,000 from the Team America tasks, $5,000 in the "Sloppy the Snowman" HOH competition, and an additional $50,000 for winning Big Brother as a member of Team America.
- Some people have also compared him to the winner of Survivor: Cagayan Tony Vlachos.
- Derrick holds the record for the most rounds safe without ever being nominated or facing an eviction, with 15.
- Derrick confirmed that he was set to compete on Big Brother 22 (US), but ultimately dropped out before quarantine and sequester due to his daughters not wanting him to leave.
References
| Preceded by Season 15  Andy Herren |
Winner Season 16  Derrick Levasseur |
Succeeded by Season 17  Steve Moses |
| Big Brother 16 (US) Houseguests | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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