Watch CBS News

"Big Brother" jury selects 13th season champion

Rachel Reilly from Los Angeles wins "Big Brother," Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011. Sonja Flemming/CBS

(CBS/AP) So you were locked in a house with a bunch of nutjobs for 75 days. But now you have a pile of dough.

After being locked away from the outside world for 75 days, the "Big Brother" veteran Rachel Reilly emerged Wednesday as the winner of CBS' voyeuristic reality TV competition. The show's seven-person jury selected the 26-year-old cocktail waitress from Los Angeles to win the $500,000 grand prize over 23-year-old newbie contestant Porsche Briggs from Miami.

"I was a target since I walked into this house," argued Reilly.

At the beginning of the 13th season, the flame-haired Reilly entered the "Big Brother" abode with fiance Brendon Villegas, a 31-year-old graduate student. The pair met last summer as competitors on the show's 12th edition. The ups and downs of their relationship -- and the game -- resulted in frequent emotional outbursts from Reilly throughout the summer.

"Oh, it's going to be a very hard decision," Villegas joked as he cast his vote for his fiance.

Reilly, who secured four of the seven-person jury's votes, dominated the 13th season by winning several competitions with her veteran alliance and openly targeting the batch of newbie players. She was never able to keep Villegas safe though. He was voted off the show twice after a game-changing twist allowed him to return during the fifth week of competition.

"Rachel, you're lucky this is not a personality contest," said 25-year-old fellow veteran Daniele Donato, the only returning player to go against the vets, as she cast her vote for Briggs.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.