Daniel "Dan" Robert Gheesling was the winner of Big Brother 10 (US) and the runner-up of Big Brother 14 (US).
Dan started in Big Brother 10. When his close ally Brian Hart became evicted in Week 1, Dan appeared to be on the outs, but he managed to get off the others' radar by giving them the perception that he was not a threat by throwing early competitions. During Week 4, he was voted by the viewers to be America's Player for the week, both he and Memphis Garrett formed The Renegades, and he successfully completed the America's player task by casting the deciding vote against Jessie Godderz, resulting in his elimination. Both he and Memphis stayed in control for the rest of the game and made it to the Final Two where Dan would win in a unanimous 7-0 vote. With his consistent victory, he became the first of two winners, and only US winner to succeed in a unanimous vote, and play a Perfect Game (Not receiving any eviction votes, and getting all jury votes). Dan is further remembered for his bold moves such as convincing Ollie to throw an HOH competition to him, only to betray him and get his ally Michelle Costa evicted.
He returned in Big Brother 14 as a Coach, but he along with the other coaches returned to the game at the end of Week 3. He was known for making one of the best strategic moves in Big Brother history by hosting his own funeral which resulted in him getting vetoed off the block when he was the target. He managed to convince his teammate Danielle Murphree to use the Power of Veto on him at the Final 4 which enabled him to blindside her Showmance Shane Meaney. Other highlights of his game include controlling the second half of the game, outlasting the other coaches, not having a any eviction votes against him, and reaching the final 2 a second time. However, his cutthroat game-play cost him the win against Ian Terry in a 6-1 vote.
In two appearances, he finished 1st and 2nd, which is the best result in two appearances in the history of the game. He is the first player and only winner to make it to the Final Two twice. Due to all this, he became widely regarded as one of the best players of all time along with Will Kirby. Since his performance in BB14, there have been several debates on who the greatest Big Brother player is between himself and Dr. Will.
Biography
Retrieved from CBS.com
Big Brother 10
Dan attended Michigan State University and earned a Master's Degree in Kinesiology. He is currently working as a teacher in an all-boys Catholic school.
He is conservative and not a fan of liberals. He doesn't think that America would have been ready for a female president and if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency, he would have moved out of the country. He describes vegans as weird tree-huggers and believes that religion is important and that it helps to establish basic values. He thinks it becomes more important as you get older.
His ideal romantic partner will be caring, hot, have dark hair and skin and be exotic looking. He prefers someone who is not into parties. He likes to eat sushi, turkey cutlets, Mediterranean food, and Cheez-Its. He enjoys alternative and rap music and also likes to listen to Frank Sinatra. His favorite movies include "The Godfather," "Good Will Hunting" and "The Karate Kid, Parts I and II." He likes the color black and thinks he wears it well. His favorite activities include running, coaching football, and going out with friends.
He once worked as a college football coach and claims he was the youngest person to do so. He also enjoys watching football. He thinks tattoos are trashy and that piercings are for freaks.
His birth date is September 1, 1983.[1]
Big Brother 14
Dan Gheesling, often referred to as the nicest winner in the history of the show, was the first Houseguest to win by a unanimous vote. The BIG BROTHER: SEASON 10 Jury crowned him the winner over Memphis by a vote of 7-0. No stranger to mentoring, this teacher and high school football coach is back to lead his team to victory. According to Dan, “I’m back to coach a team to do the exact same thing that I did which is win a half million dollars!” Since we last saw Dan on BIG BROTHER, he has been very busy. He coached his football team to a state championship, got married and penned two books with a third on the way. After coaching his team to victory this summer, the Michigan native is looking forward to being considered the “best player to ever play this game.”[2]
Player History - Big Brother 10
Competition History
| Week 1 | HOH | Not Chosen |
| Food | Win | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 2 | HOH | Loss |
| Food | Win | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 3 | HOH | Loss |
| Food | Win | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 4 | HOH | Loss |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 5 | HOH | Loss |
| Food | Win | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 6 | HOH | Loss |
| Food | Win | |
| POV | Win | |
| Week 7 | HOH | Win |
| POV | Loss | |
| HOH | Previous HOH | |
| POV | Win | |
| Week 8 | HOH | Loss |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 9 | HOH | Win |
| POV | Loss | |
| HOH Part 1 | Win | |
| HOH Part 2 | Unable to Play | |
| HOH Part 3 | Win |
Voting History
| Week | Position | Voted for | With Majority? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Renny Martyn | No |
| 2 | Nominated | – | – |
| 3 | – | Angie Swindell | Yes |
| 4 | – | Jessie Godderz | Yes |
| 5 | – | Libra Thompson | Yes |
| 6 | POV Holder | April Dowling | Yes |
| 7 | HOH | – | – |
| POV Holder | Bryan Ollie | Yes | |
| 8 | Vetoed | Renny Martyn | Yes |
| 9 | HOH | – | – |
| HOH | Jerry MacDonald | Sole Vote | |
| Finale | Winner | – | – |
- Note: As he was America's Player during Week 4, the public controlled Dan's vote.
HOH History
| Original Nominees | Post-Veto Nominees | Intended Target | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 7 | |||||
| Week 9 | |||||
| Day 71 | N/A | ||||
Player History - Big Brother 14
Competition History
| Week 1 | HOH/HTR | Coach |
| Coaches Competition | Loss | |
| POV | Coach | |
| Week 2 | HOH | Coach |
| Coaches Competition | Loss | |
| POV | Coach | |
| Week 3 | HOH | Coach |
| Coaches Competition | Loss | |
| POV | Coach | |
| Week 4 | HOH | Loss |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 5 | HOH | Loss |
| Have/Have-Not | Have | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 6 | HOH | Loss |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| HOH | Loss | |
| POV | Not Picked | |
| Week 7 | HOH | Loss |
| GBOV | Loss | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 8 | HOH | Loss |
| POV | Win | |
| HOH | Win | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 9 | HOH | Previous HOH |
| POV | Loss | |
| HOH | Loss | |
| POV | Loss | |
| Week 10 | HOH Part 1 | Win |
| HOH Part 2 | Unable to Play | |
| HOH Part 3 | Loss |
Have/Have-Not History
| Week 1 | Coach Phase |
| Week 2 | |
| Week 3 | |
| Week 4 | Have |
| Week 5 | Have |
| Week 6 | Have |
| Week 7 | Have-Not |
| Week 8 | Have/Have-Not Phase Over |
| Week 9 | |
| Week 10 |
Voting History
| Week | Position | Voted for | With Majority? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coach | Jodi Rollins | Sole Vote |
| – | – | ||
| 2 | Coach | – | – |
| 3 | Coach | Reset | Yes |
| 4 | – | Janelle Pierzina | Yes |
| 5 | – | Wil Heuser | Yes |
| 6 | – | Mike Malin | Yes |
| – | Ashley Iocco | Yes | |
| 7 | Vetoed | Britney Haynes | Yes |
| 8 | POV Holder | Frank Eudy | Yes |
| HOH | – | – | |
| 9 | – | Jenn Arroyo | Yes |
| Vetoed | Shane Meaney | Sole Vote | |
| 10 | Nominated | – | – |
| Finale | Runner-Up | – | – |
HOH History
| Original Nominees | Post-Veto Nominees | Intended Target | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 8 | |||||||
Post Big Brother
- Dan married Chelsea Niemiec on July 2nd, 2011. Angie Swindell, Jerry MacDonald, and Memphis Garrett were in attendedce.[3]
- On February 14th, 2016, Dan announced that he and Chelsea are expecting their first baby. His wife eventually gave birth to their son, Desmond Daniel Gheesling on July 3rd, 2016.[4]
- On March 18th, 2018, Chelsea gave birth to her and Dan's second son, Miles Glen Gheesling.[5]
Trivia
- All three times Dan was Head of Household in Season 10, the pre-veto nominees were Jerry and Memphis.
- Dan is the first of two winners to receive all jury votes. He also had no eviction votes cast against him throughout the entire game, meaning he and Kevin Martin played a "perfect game."
- Dan is the first player in Big Brother history to make it to the finale both times he played, followed by Paul Abrahamian.
- Dan is the second houseguest to play Big Brother twice and not be evicted, following Dick Donato. However, because Dick walked during Week 1 of Season 13 for personal reasons, Dan (and Paul) are currently the only Returning houseguests who have lasted throughout the entire game without being evicted.
- Dan holds the record for voting with the majority more than any other contestant: he voted with the majority a total of 17 times, only voting with the minority once. That was the very first vote he ever cast, as Dan voted to keep Brian, his alliance member to stay in the game.
- Dan is the first contestant on the American version of Big Brother to go on in another Big Brother house (BBCAN1) besides that of the American show, this was also later done by Big Brother 13 winner Rachel Reilly who went into the BBCAN2 house.
- In Big Brother 14, Dan was the only Coach to outlast all his players.
- Dan is the only returnee from Big Brother 14 to win a Head of Household competition.
- Dan is the only returnee never to receive an eviction vote against them over the course of their career.
- Dan is the first houseguest to win 2 POVs in a single season and went on to win the entire game.
- Dan's game in season 10 was regarded by many as similar to Big Brother 2 winner Will Kirby's game.
- Big Brother 16 winner Derrick Levasseur and Big Brother 17 contestant Vanessa Rousso became compared to Dan.
- Dan shares the most Jury Votes in the US out of both of his seasons with Paul Abrahamian, with both having a total of 8 Jury Votes, Dan having seven his first time and one his second, and Paul getting four votes both times.
References
- ↑ http://www.cbs.com/shows/big_brother/cast/15598/
- ↑ http://www.cbs.com/shows/big_brother/cast/119850/
- ↑ http://toofab.com/2011/07/07/big-brother-winner-dan-gheesling-gets-married-chelsea-niemiec-photos/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/dangheesling/status/749581783935684608?lang=en
- ↑ https://people.com/babies/big-brother-alum-dan-gheesling-welcomes-second-son/
| Preceded by Season 9  Adam Jasinski |
Winner Season 10  Dan Gheesling |
Succeeded by Season 11  Jordan Lloyd |
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