Entertainment APMeet the cast of 11th `Big Brother'LOS ANGELES -- Chima Simone couldn't think of a better place to spend the recession than the "Big Brother" house.
"I thought it'd be fun," said the 32-year-old freelance journalist, one of 13 contestants who will be locked away for the 11th season. "I wasn't getting any responses to my query letters. I'm not traveling anywhere this summer. I thought 'Big Brother' would be a great way to make a ton of money in a limited time without really having to work for it."
Simone will be among the houseguests competing for the voyeuristic CBS reality show's $500,000 grand prize, awarded to the contestant who outlasts the rest while being monitored by dozens of cameras inside a makeshift two-story house on a soundstage.
...MoreThe confirmed contestants of "Big Brother":
- Braden Bacha, 28, model-actor from Santa Monica, Calif.
- Kevin Campbell, 29, graphic designer from Chula Vista, Calif.
- Laura Crosby, 21, bikini model from Atlanta
- Russell Kairouz, 24, mixed martial arts fighter from Walnut Creek, Calif.
- Jordan Lloyd, 22, waitress from Matthews, N.C.
- Natalie Martinez, 24, store manager from Gilbert, Ariz.
- Michelle Noonan, 27, neuroscientist from Pasadena, Calif.
- Jeff Schroeder, 31, advertising salesman from Norridge, Ill.
- Chima Simone, 32, freelance journalist from West Hollywood, Calif.
- Ronnie Talbott, 30, teacher from Belpre, Ohio.
- Lydia Tavera, 24, makeup artist from Torrance, Calif.
- Casey Turner, 41, teacher from St. Petersburg, Fla.
(Big Brother 11 premieres Thursday, July 9 at 8 pm/ET.)
