The first person to walk into a Big Brother house, Season 1’s Cassandra Waldon, passed away at the age of 56 in an overseas car accident. Because she was the first houseguest to enter, and not win, blogs call her the originator of the “First to Enter Curse,” as no one who has walked into the US or Canadian Big Brother doors has ever won the competition.
Big Brother 21 star Tommy Bracco is the most recent to fall victim to the curse as he entered the doors first this season and finished in fifth place. Waldon placed sixth and was remembered for her “intelligence, wisdom, and warmth” and being a “positive and loving houseguest.”
Julie Chen Moonves has hosted the show since the first season premiered in 2000 and has already signed to retain her hosting duties for Big Brother Season 22, returning next summer.
Who is ‘Big Brother’ star Cassandra Waldon?
Born October 17, 1962, in Maryland, Waldon was 37-years-old when she competed on CBS’s reality competition program, Big Brother Season 1. The United Nations Staff Member survived the block twice before being banished and placed sixth in the competition.
She was the first person ever to walk into a Big Brother house and was the first houseguest to be evicted and then return due to a twist, similar to BB12 Rachel Reilly.
How did Cassandra Waldon pass away?
Around August 2019, Waldon was hit in a car accident while living in Rome working at the United Nations as the Director of Communications for the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
sad news, Cassandra Waldon of Big Brother 1 passed away last month.. she worked at the UN at the time she was on the show, and was well-liked by her roomies and viewers alike pic.twitter.com/zgTZwwkGI7
— hamsterwatch #bb21 (@hamsterwatch) October 4, 2019
She suffered extreme head injuries and never regained consciousness before her death on September 25. Her funeral will be held next week in her home state of Maryland.
Julie Chen Moonves honors Cassandra Waldon on Instagram
Host since the inception of Big Brother, Julie Chen Moonves remembered Waldon’s spirit on her Instagram. She posted two pictures to her 324,000 followers; one of her celebration of life pamphlet and the other of the former contestant’s Big Brother picture, both displaying her beautiful and signature smile.
Moonves captioned the photo, “Rest in Peace, Cassandra. Your light will continue to shine in this world because of the way you lived your life: with class and grace. May your family and loved ones find solace and peace. Thank you for bringing your intelligence, warmth, and wisdom to the Big Brother house Season 1. You are in my thoughts and in my prayers. May God bless your soul.” The host ended her post with the prayer hands emoji. Fans commented on her post, remembering her time in the house, with one viewer writing, “I actually just got done watching BB Season 1 today! She was always very professional, put together, and a great friend for other houseguests to talk to in the house. Sad to see her go.”
