A Milwaukee attorney had a historic win on 'Big Brother.' Here are some of Wisconsin's other reality TV all-stars. (2024)

Milwaukee attorney Xavier Prather made history Sept. 29, 2021 when he became the first Black champion on CBS's "Big Brother."

But he's far from the only Wisconsin contestant to find success on reality TV. Over the years, several Badger State residents and local celebrities have become national figures for their on-air exploits.

Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the state's reality TV all-stars.

Ben Chan, "Jeopardy"

A Green Bay resident and assistant professor of philosophy at St. Norbert's College, Ben Chan captured the hearts of local "Jeopardy" fans with a surprising run of victories that ultimately — and somewhat controversially — ended in May 2023.

Chan, a longtime fan of the show, decided to try out for it after one his close friends unexpectedly died in 2021. He won nine straight games, all of them in runaway fashion. His streak came to an end after he lost after misspelling a word by one letter in Final Jeopardy.

During his run, Chanwon three games in episodes that aired on television, but subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 and was not able to travel for tapings. He subsequently returned and continued his winning streak until his eventual loss.

Mark Lambrecht, 'The Mole'

Mark Lambrecht was a 42-year-old high school history teacher and soccer coach from Mukwonago when he won the fifth and final season of ABC's now-defunct reality game show "The Mole."

Lambrecht won the competition— in whichcontestants work as a group to add money to a pot that only one of them will eventually win while one contestant, The Mole, secretly works to undermine those efforts— in 2008. He took home a pot of $420,000.

Donald Driver, 'Dancing With the Stars'

Green Bay Packers fan favorite Donald Driver followed up his success in the NFL with a first-place finish in the 14th season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Driver, who retired from footballbefore he appeared on the show,earned a perfect score on his final dance—a hip-swaying, pop-locking cha-cha— with dance partner Peta Murgatroyd. Driver won over audiences by frequently performing shirtless, showcasing his muscular, tattooed chest, and his real assets:a compelling personal story, wide smile and charisma.

He's not technically a Wisconsinite, but he spent his entire pro football career here so we'll claim him as our own.

Andrea Boehlke, 'Survivor'

Random Lake native Andrea Boehlke has become oneof the most well-known and successful "Survivor" players of all-time. She has appeared on the show three times — all during the previous decade.

Boehlke told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a 2020 interview thatshe felt working on the farm helped her develop a "strong work ethic," that she used in the gameto build relationships.

She had plenty of memorable moments on the show;the first of which came in herfirst appearance when the then-21-year-old won her way back four days after being voted out during "Survivor: Redemption Island."

Maya Warren and Amy DeJong, 'The Amazing Race'

Everyone loves a good underdog story, and Maya Warren and Amy DeJong certainly fit the bill when they won season 25 of "The Amazing Race."

Dismissed early on as non-threats, Warren and DeJong, both Madison natives and food scientists, relied on their grit and intelligence to overcome the race's physical and mental challenges.

Warren parlayed her reality TV experience into a gig making ice cream flavors for Cold Stone Creamery. DeJong earned a Ph.D. in food science, specializing in candy science.

Danny Gokey, 'American Idol'

Even though he didn't technically win, Milwaukee native Danny Gokey captured the hearts of audiences nationwide when he competed on season 8 of ABC's "American Idol."

Gokey auditioned for the showjust four weeks after his wife, Sophia, died during an operation related to a lifelong heart condition. His wife, afan of the show,had urged him to auditionbefore she died.Gokey ended up making it to the top three, behind runner-up Adam Lambert and winner Kris Allen.

Gokey continues to make and perform his music. He released anew full-length album, "Jesus People," on Aug. 20.

Trixie Mattel, 'RuPaul's Drag Race'

Trixie Mattelis now known for many things, but became a public figureby appearing in 2015 on "RuPaul's Drag Race" and in2020 winning "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars."

The man behind the makeup, Brian Firkus, was actually the product of the small northern Wisconsin town Silver Cliff. But Mattel herself was born in Milwaukee, where Firkus moved when he was 18 to attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and where he performed in drag for the first time.

More: Pride across a century: A look at the LGBTQ history of Wisconsin

More: 11 facts about the Wisconsin LGBTQ community you might not have known, until now

Mattel is now one of the most famous drag queens in the world— and most recently becamea co-owner of This Is It!,the oldest LGBTQ+ bar in Wisconsin.

Sean Duffy and Rachel Campos-Duffy, 'The Real World'

A former Wisconsin congressman, Sean Duffy, introduced himself to the public in 1997 on thesixth season of MTV's "The Real World."

Duffy represented Wisconsin's 7th Congressional Districtin the House of Representatives from 2010-19. Prior to his stint on Capitol Hill, Duffy worked as the district attorney in Ashland County from 2002-10. After he resigned from Congress, Politico reported he took a jobat BGR Group, a Republican-leaning lobbying firm, which countsComcast and Pfizer among its corporate clients.

Duffy's wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, also rose to prominence as a "Real World" cast member. She appeared on the show in 1994 and has since become a television personality. She regularly appears on Fox News and has guest-hosted the daytime news and talk show "Outnumbered."

Kimberly Hall, The Food Network

Food Network fans will know Kimberly Hall's name. The Milwaukee baker— who graduated from Greendale High School and studied business management at Upper Iowa University — has appeared on the network seven times since 2010, when she won the "Hometown Showdown" cake-decorating contest in New York.

She's appeared in six more of the network's competitions:"Cupcake Wars," "Sugar Dome," "Macy's Thanksgiving Cake Spectacular," "Holiday Wars" and twice in "Halloween Wars."

Hall in 2020 opened Signature Sweets, a bakery in Shorewood that specializes in Hall's trademark life-like, 3D cakes.

Nick Viall, 'The Bachelor'

Born in Waukesha, Viall was "The Bachelor" on the ABC competition series' 21st season, after finishing second on two straight seasons of "The Bachelorette." A fan favorite who later competed on "Dancing With the Stars," Viall stirred up tabloid headlines in 2018 when some media outlets reported that he was dating former "Mad Men" star January Jones, who had vocally professed her, um, fascination with him.

Rachel Lindsay, 'The Bachelorette'

Lindsay, a Marquette Law School graduate, was the first Black Bachelorette on the ABC reality series of the same name in 2017. (She later married the winner of that season of "The Bachelorette," Bryan Abasolo.) Before that, she finished third on Waukesha native Nick Viall's season of "The Bachelor." She also appeared on other reality shows, including "The Bachelor Winter Games" and "Ghosted: Love Gone Missing."

Chris Foran of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel staff and Christopher Kuhagen of USA-Today Network-Wisconsin contributed to this report.

Contact Steve Martinezat (262) 650-3182or steve.martinez@jrn.com. Followhimon Twitter at @stjmartinez.