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Daniele "Dani" Briones (née Donato) is the runner-up of Big Brother 8 (US). She later appeared on Big Brother 13 (US) and Big Brother 22 (US).

Daniele first competed on Big Brother 8, alongside her father Dick Donato, as a part of the rivals twist. Throughout the season, she managed to win several competitions (2 HoH's and 5 PoV's), which ultimately got her and Dick to finale night. She came in 2nd place, receiving 2 votes to win.

Daniele also returned for Big Brother 13, partnered with Dick once more. After Dick left the game, Daniele was given a Golden Key, allowing her to stay until the final ten. Entering the house as a part of the Veterans Alliance, she teamed up with newbies Porsche Briggs and Kalia Booker. She was evicted during the first half of the first Double Eviction by a vote of 3 to 2 placing 8th and becoming the second member of the Jury.

In Big Brother 22, Daniele was a key member of the dominant The Committee alliance. She was close with Committee members Nicole Franzel and Cody Calafiore. After becoming the HoH in week 6, she targeted ally Tyler Crispen for throwing her under the bus the previous week after the disruptor power David Alexander from removed himself from the block. However, feeling anxious about her last appearance, Daniele decided to play it safe and patch things up with Tyler and nominated her former ally Ian Terry as the new target, This proved to be a major mistake as two weeks later during the triple eviction, she became the first victim when the Committee had to turn on themselves, as she was nominated by Tyler in the third round of the Triple Eviction against her ally Nicole. When her and Nicole failed to win the veto, Dani called out Tyler and Christmas for having a final 2 during plea speeches. Despite this, she was evicted unanimously over Nicole in a 4 to 0 vote. She was close with Nicole, Cody, and Da'Vonne Rogers. She also had a dislike towards David, found quarrels with Kevin Campbell and a short-lived rivalry with Kaysar Ridha, but was one of a few people to tolerate Janelle Pierzina. She placed 7th and was the 5th member of the jury.

Daniele is often considered one of the best physical competitors in the history of the show. Across all her three seasons, she won a total of 5 HoH's and 5 PoV's, which is the third most competitions wins among multi seasons.

Biography[]

Daniele Briones Biography

Retrieved from CBS

Daniele Donato was born on August 20, 1986. She is the daughter of Dick Donato and Michelle Donato and has a brother named Vincent. Daniele was raised by her grandparents, though had a relationship with both her mother and father. Daniele began working as a waitress while living in Huntington Beach, California. She was a finalist to appear on Big Brother 6 (US) along with her father, though neither were selected to compete.

Retrieved from CBS

Name: Daniele Donato
Age: 24
Previous "Big Brother" season: "Big Brother" 8

Retrieved from CBS
Age: 33
Hometown: Orange County, California
Current city: Orange County, California
Occupation: Stay-at-home mom
Previous seasons: Big Brother 8 (runner-up) and Big Brother 13. Dani married her fellow Houseguest from Season 13, Dominic Briones.
Three adjectives that describe you: Practical, tenacious, and witty.
Favorite activities: I love doing anything with my daughter, working out, cooking, spending time with my husband and watching Real Housewives.
Why do you want to play Big Brother again?
I want to bring back the old-school Big Brother gameplay... also want to finally get my W!
What do you think will be the most difficult part about living inside the Big Brother house?
I will have a hard time being away from my baby girl, Tennessee Autumn.
Which past Big Brother cast member did you like most and why?
I respected the game play of Diane from BB5 and I like Eric from BB8 as a person, outside of the game.
What is your strategy for winning the game?
I plan to lay low for the first half and then turn the house upside down.
How does this strategy differ from the last time you played?
Last time I played too hard, too fast… oops!
Have you changed/evolved since the last time you were on the show?
Yes! Every time I play, I feel like a different person. I am older and hopefully wiser.
My life's motto is…
"I don't think I know everything, but I want to learn everything"
What would you take into the house and why?
-My daughter
-My cat
-Books
Fun facts about yourself:
-I have a hairless cat named Rudy Galindo.
-I was raised by my grandmother.
-I've road tripped through almost every state with my husband, and one day we will hit them all.
-I am a big St. Louis Cardinals fan.

-My daughter and I share the same birthday.
[1]

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Big Brother (US)[]

Big Brother 8 (US)[]

Daniele joined Big Brother 8 in 2007, along with her father, Dick. On Day 7, the House competed for the Power of Veto. Kail Harbick , as HoH, and Amber Siyavus and Carol Journey, as the nominees, automatically got to play. During the random draw, Kail got "Houseguest Choice", and picked Daniele, Carol drew Nick's name, and Amber drew Jameka's. During the competition, called "Hide and Seek Veto", players had one minute to hide a veto box inside the Big Brother house. When all six veto boxes were hidden, one by one, the players had a time limit to find another player's veto box. The player whose veto box was not found would win the Power of Veto. When it came down to Kail and Daniele, Daniele found Kail's Veto box, making Daniele the winner of the first Power of Veto competition. Meanwhile, Jen was beginning to get on her fellow houseguest nerves, leading to her having confrontations with Dick and Nick. Despite Daniele considering using the Veto to backdoor Jen, on Day 9 Daniele chose to leave the nominations intact.

On Day 14, Jen nominated Daniele and Dick for eviction, deeming them as the most negative people in the house. On Day 15, the houseguests competed for the Power of Veto. During the random drawing, Amber, Mike, and Joe were chosen to play for the power. During the competition, called "Cutthroat Christmas", players had to slide a curling stone down an icy path toward a red line. Each round, the least accurate slider would be eliminated from the game and choose a present from under a giant Christmas tree. The last player standing got the pick of the prizes won. Daniele won the Power of Veto, Amber won a chance to be handcuffed to another houseguest, Dick won a plasma TV, Mike won a date with another houseguest, Jen won a red unitard, and Joe won a slop pass. On Day 17, Daniele used the Veto on herself, and Jen put Joe up in her place.

On Day 34, the houseguests competed in the Endurance Head of Household, called Times Up, in which houseguests hung upside down on rocking pendulums. If a player fell off their pendulum, or their torso was raised above the bar, they would be eliminated. The last player standing would be the new Head of Household. After nearly two hours, Daniele won the title of HoH. On Day 35, Kail and Jen were nominated together for the third week in a row. Daniele confirmed to Kail that she was just a pawn, and she did indeed have a backdoor plan in mind. Daniele felt that Eric was the one responsible for casting the second vote against Kail, which everyone attributed to her best friend Nick. While picking players for the Veto Competition, Daniele drew Jameka's name, Jen drew Dustin's name, and Kail drew Zach's name. The competition titled The Numbers Don't Lie saw players having to bid how many hours they would be willing to do a horrid task. Each task would get more and more difficult. If a player had the lowest, they would be eliminated, but if a player was in the middle, they would not have to do the task. Jen won the Power of Veto after she agreed to wear a bunny suit for 120 hours, along with Daniele, Kail, and Zach, who had to dump smelly funk on themselves for 24 times every hour, along with Daniele, Jameka, Kail, and Zach, who had to eat slop for 720 hours, along with Kail, and receive only half of the $500,000 prize money in the event she won Big Brother. Jameka and Kail gave up the right to compete in the next 5 HoH competitions but failed to win the veto. On Day 38, Jen used the Power of Veto on herself, and Daniele put Eric up, just as she had planned. Despite the Donato's wishes, their former allies turned on them, and on Day 41, Kail was evicted by a close vote of 4 to 3, receiving the votes of Jen, Dick, and Zach.

On Day 42, Dick and Daniele were nominated for eviction. During the Veto competition Shot for Shot, players had to drink concoctions to secure shots in a croquet game. The player who scored the most points in the croquet game would win the Power of Veto. Dick beat Dustin out by one point and won the Power of Veto. On Day 45, he chose to use the Power of Veto to save Daniele.

On Day 48, Daniele won the Strange Visitors HoH Competition, in which the night before the eviction, the houseguests were visited by a series of odd characters, including the Mad Hatter. The visitors said and did things that pertained to the HOH competition. The contestants were asked a series of true-or-false questions about the visitors. If a houseguest was incorrect, they would be eliminated, unless everyone got it wrong. After winning the title, Dick and Daniele made a final four deal with showmance partners Eric and Jessica, thus the "Little Julie Chens" alliance was formed. On Day 49, Daniele nominated Amber and Jameka for eviction. During the Slop Pong food competition, the house split into the red and blue teams. The red team consisted of Dick, Eric, Jessica, and Zach while the blue team had Amber, Daniele, Jameka, and Jen. Donning togas, the houseguests had to shoot a volleyball across a net and into ten trash cans on the other side. The team that reaches ten before the other, would win food for the week. The red team beat out the blue team in a close game. Daniele was not put on slop as she was HoH. On Day 50, Daniele and Amber won a special prize during the Power of Veto competition, and they later learned it was a chance to compete on the new reality game show Power of 10. Daniele won the Golden Power of Veto. On Day 52, Daniele chose to change her nominations by removing Amber from the block and nominating Jen in her place. On Day 52, Jen was penalized for going against the slop restriction and was given a penalty eviction vote against her. Later that day, she also engaged in a controversial fight with houseguest Dick, in which she was burned by one of his cigarettes. On Day 55, Jen was evicted by a unanimous vote of 6-0.

On Day 64, previous houseguest Janelle entered the house to host the Veto competition called The Janelle-O-Vision, in which players were spun on a pink chair and had to depict which two houseguests' face made a mixed face swirl. The player with the most swirls would win the Power of Veto. With seven swirls correct, Daniele won her fourth Power of Veto of the season. On Day 66, she chose to keep the nominations intact.

After Zach won HOH, he and Jameka agreed to try to evict Dick or Daniele, and on Day 70 the father-daughter duo was nominated for the third time. On Day 71, during the final Power of Veto competition, called Big Brother Decoder, the final four houseguests had to match a clue to a houseguest's face that interlocked with another houseguest's face. Once that is done, the houseguest must twist the knob and match the houseguest with the corresponding number. The first houseguest to correctly label the many seconds they've been in the Big Brother house will win the Power of Veto. Daniele was the first to crack the code and won her fifth Power of Veto. This meant that Daniele is tied with Janelle for the highest number of Veto's won in a single season. On Day 74, Daniele chose to use the Power of Veto on her father instead of herself, making it the second time this season, and the third in Big Brother history, that a nominee won the Golden Power of Veto and left themselves on the block. Dick immediately cast the sole vote against Jameka, and she was subsequently evicted.

Dick was the winner of the final HoH competition and immediately evicted Zach from the house, making Dick and Daniele the Final Two.

On Day 77, the Final Two houseguests attended a three-hour session in which the jury members, connected via satellite from the jury house, asked the pair questions about the game and why the jury members should give either of them their respective votes. On Day 81, during the live season finale, Dick won the game with a vote of 5 to 2, with Daniele only receiving the votes of Jen and Jameka.

Big Brother 13 (US)[]

In 2011, Daniele and her father, Dick were asked to appear on Big Brother 13, where they and other notable duos from past Big Brother seasons returned to play doubles with eight new houseguests for a chance to win the grand prize of $500,000.

Before the duos were announced, Daniele hosted a show on Superpass with Big Brother 12 contestant Ragan Fox called Rumor Control. People could call in and ask questions about the new season of Big Brother. The callers were unaware that Daniele was in sequester when she was hosting the second episode of Rumor Control. Her best friend Annie Whittington, also from Big Brother 12, took over for Dani on Rumor Control for the last episode, when Dani was actually in the BB House.

On Day 6 of Big Brother 13, Dick had to leave the show for personal reasons, leaving Daniele without a partner, and with a Golden Key. Shortly after, Daniele turned on her own alliance of Veterans from past seasons and formed a new alliance with Kalia Booker and Porsche Briggs. Shortly after Dominic's eviction, the houseguests were informed that the Golden Key twist was over and all houseguests except for Rachel competed in the next Head of Household competition Big Brother Slalom. The houseguests had to hold on to a wall while standing on ‘skis’ which moved from side to side while having snow blowing on them at random times. The first five eliminated houseguests had to choose a numbered snowball four of which contained a punishment while one contained a prize. Lawon, Brendon, and Jordan picked the snowballs that contained Have-Not tickets, Adam was required to wear an elf suit for a week and Jeff won $10,000. On Day 28 Daniele nominated Brendon and Rachel for eviction and the next day Brendon won his third Power of Veto competition Time's Up. The six players had to complete mini-tasks based on previous competitions in as short a time as possible. Brendon chose to save Rachel from eviction on Day 31 Daniele chose Jordan as the replacement nominee. Brendon was evicted from the house on Day 34 with Rachel and Porsche as the only two votes to evict Jordan.

Daniele won her second Head of Household competition, Count on America. Shelly and Adam were nominated for eviction the next day by Daniele. Daniele and Jeff threw the Power of Veto competition to Adam, Big Brother Cornhole, on Day 43 which saved Adam from eviction on Day 46. During the competition, houseguests competing won a variety of prizes including, a Caribbean Vacation for Kalia, $5,000 for Jeff, a Veto ticket for Daniele ensuring her a spot in next week's Veto competition, 24-hour solitary confinement for Shelly with the privilege of receiving a phone call from home, and a "humilitard" to be worn by Jordan for a week. Daniele then nominated Brendon for eviction alongside Shelly. After a 5-1 vote in Shelly's favor, Brendon was once again evicted from the house and he became the first Jury member.

However, after Jeff won Power of Veto he removed Porsche from the block and replaced her with Daniele, completing his plan to "backdoor" Daniele. On Day 55, Daniele was evicted on a 3-2 vote, becoming the second Jury member.

Player History - Big Brother 8 (US)[]

Competition History[]

Week 1 HOH Loss
Food Loss
POV Win
Week 2 HOH Loss
Food Loss
POV Win
Week 3 HOH Loss
Food Win
POV Not Picked
Week 4 HOH Loss
Food Win
POV Loss
Week 5 HOH Win
POV Loss
Week 6 HOH Previous HOH
Food Loss
POV Loss
Week 7 HOH Win
Food Loss
POV Win
Week 8 HOH Previous HOH
Luxury Win
POV Loss
Week 9 HOH Loss
POV Win
HOH Loss
POV Loss
Week 10 HOH Loss
POV Win
Week 11 HOH Part 1 Loss
HOH Part 2 Loss
HOH Part 3 Unable to Play

Food History[]

Week 1 Slop
Week 2 Slop
Week 3 Food
Week 4 Food
Week 5 Food
Week 6 Slop
Week 7 Food
Week 8 Food Competition Phase Over
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11

Voting History[]

Week Position Voted for With Majority?
1 POV Holder Carol Journey Yes
2 Used POV on Self Joe Barber Yes
3 Mike Dutz Yes
4 Nick Starcevic Yes
5 HOH
6 Vetoed Dustin Erikstrup Yes
7 HOH/POV
8 Amber Siyavus Yes
9 POV Holder Jessica Hughbanks Yes
Eric Stein Yes
10 Nominated/POV
11 Nominated
Finale Runner-Up

HOH History[]

Original Nominees Post-Veto Nominees Intended Target
Week 5
Kail Harbick
 Evicted
Kail
Week 7
Jen Johnson
 Evicted
Jen

Player History - Big Brother 13 (US)[]

Competition History[]

Week 1 HOH Loss
Have/Have-Not Have
Co-POV Golden Key
Week 2 HOH Golden Key
Have/Have-Not Golden Key
POV Golden Key
Week 3 HOH Golden Key
Luxury Loss
POV Golden Key
Week 4 HOH Win
POV Loss
Week 5 HOH Previous HOH
Have/Have-Not Have
POV Not Picked
Week 6 HOH Win
POV Loss
Week 7 HOH Previous HOH
POV Loss

Have/Have-Not History[]

Week 1 Have
Week 2 Have
Week 3 Have
Week 4 Have
Week 5 Have
Week 6 Have
Week 7 Have-Not

Voting History[]

Week Position Voted for With Majority?
1 Golden Key Holder Keith Henderson Yes
2 Cassi Colvin Yes
3 Adam Poch No
4 HOH
5 Lawon Exum Yes
6 HOH
7 Post-POV Nominee
Finale Jury Member Porsche Briggs No

HOH History[]

Original Nominees Post-Veto Nominees Intended Target
Week 4
Brendon Villegas
 Evicted
Brendon
Week 6
Brendon Villegas
 Evicted
Brendon

Player History - Big Brother 22 (US)[]

Competition History[]

Week 1 HOH Part 1 Loss
HOH Part 2 Ineligible
Safety Suite Sat Out
POV Not Picked
Week 2 HOH Loss
Safety Suite Sat Out
POV Not Picked
Week 3 HOH Loss
Safety Suite Loss
POV Not Picked
Week 4 HOH Loss
POV Not Picked
Week 5 HOH Loss
BB Basement Win
POV Loss
Week 6 HOH Win
POV Loss
Week 7 HOH Previous HOH
POV Loss
Week 8 HOH Loss
POV Not Picked
HOH Loss
POV Loss
HOH Loss
POV Loss

Have/Have-Not History[]

Week 1 Have
Week 2 Have
Week 3 Have
Week 4 Have-Not
Week 5 Never-Not
Week 6 Never-Not
Week 7 Never-Not
Week 8 Never-Not

Voting History[]

Week Position Voted for With Majority?
1 Keesha Smith Yes
2 Nicole Anthony Yes
3 Kaysar Ridha No
4 Kaysar Ridha Yes
5 Bayleigh Dayton Yes
6 HOH
7 Kevin Campbell No
8 Kevin Campbell Yes
David Alexander Yes
Nominated
Finale Jury Member Cody Calafiore Yes

HOH History[]

Original Nominees Post-Disruptor Nominees Post-Veto Nominees Intended Target
Week 6
Ian Terry
 Evicted
Ian
THEN THEN

Post-Big Brother[]

  • Following her appearance on Big Brother 8, Daniele appeared on the companion series House Calls: The Big Brother Talk Show until its cancellation in 2010. She also appeared on the television series Reality Wanted as herself.
  • Daniele briefly dated fellow houseguest Nick Starcevic outside of the house, though the two eventually broke up.
  • Daniele and her father briefly appeared on Big Brother 9, however, they had stopped talking by 2009.
  • Daniele married fellow Big Brother 13 (US) houseguest Dominic Briones on January 19, 2013.[2]
  • Dominic and Daniele announced that Daniele was pregnant on Valentine's Day, 2018.[3]
    • Their daughter, Tennessee Autumn Briones, was born on August 20, 2018, the same day as Daniele's birthday.[4]
  • She returned for Big Brother 20 (US) along with Derrick Levasseur, Paul Abrahamian, Josh Martinez, and Britney Haynes to celebrate Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo's engagement. Dominic was there as well, but since they brought Tennessee, he had to stay with her and did not enter the house (besides the Diary Room), and thus did not appear on the episode.[5][6][7]
  • Daniele viewed the private livestream for Eric Stein's wedding on June 12, 2021.[8]
  • On September 26, 2021, Daniele and Dominic announced they were expecting a second child.
    • She gave birth to their second daughter, Lux, on November 19, 2021.[9]

Trivia[]

Reflist[]

Big Brother 8 (US) Houseguests
BB8 Dick
BB8 Danielle
Daniele
BB8 Zach
BB8 Jameka
BB8 Eric
BB8 Jessica
BB8 Amber
BB8 Jen
BB8 Dustin
BB8 Kail
BB8 Nick
BB8 Mike
BB8 Joe
BB8 Carol
Winner
Runner-Up
Evicted
Jury
Big Brother 13 (US) Houseguests
Rachel13 Small
Porsche13 Small
Adam13 Small
Jordan13 Small
Kalia13 Small
Shelley13 Small
Jeff13 Small
Daniele13 Small
Daniele
Brendon13 Small
Lawon13 Small
Dominic13 Small
Cassi13 Small
Keith13 Small
Dick13 Small
Winner
Runner-Up
Jury
Evicted
Walked
Big Brother 22 (US) Houseguests
BB22 Small Cody
BB22 Small Enzo
BB22 Small Nicole F
BB22 Small Christmas
BB22 Small Memphis
BB22 Small Tyler
BB22 Small Dani
Dani
BB22 Small David
BB22 Small Kevin
BB22 Small Da'Vonne
BB22 Small Ian
BB22 Small Bayleigh
BB22 Small Kaysar
BB22 Small Janelle
BB22 Small Nicole A
BB22 Small Keesha
Winner
Runner-Up
Jury
Evicted
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