Taylor Hale, 27, becomes first Black female to win Big Brother and takes home $750,000 grand prize

Taylor Hale became the first black woman to win Big Brother in the season 24 finale on CBS on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Michigan beauty pageant queen defeated Monte Taylor, 27, of Delaware, and Matthew “Turner” Turner, 23, of Massachusetts, to win the top prize of $750,000.

Taylor also won another $50,000 after being voted America’s Favorite Houseguest by viewers.

She also became the first Big Brother winner to win the America’s Favorite Houseguest award.

Taylor was declared the winner after easily taking the jury vote by an 8-1 count.

The winner of Miss Michigan USA 2021 compared winning America’s Favorite Houseguest with her Miss Congeniality award at the Miss USA 2021 pageant.

“This is like winning Miss Congeniality again, but this time there’s a cash prize!” she said.

The winner: Taylor was congratulated on social media by Big Brother

Taylor was known for constantly munching on Lays chips during her 82 days in the Big Brother house.

During her post-show interview, she joked to Julie Chen Moonves, 52, that she’s “going to spend a lot on chips after this.”

Monte won the final Head of Household competition of the season, opting to take Taylor to the final two after forming a “showmance” over the past few weeks.

Grand Prize: The 27-year-old Michigan beauty pageant queen defeated Monte Taylor, 27, of Delaware, and Matthew ‘Turner’ Turner, 23, of Massachusetts, to win the $750,000 top prize

Taylor during her pitch to the jury, made up of nine previously convicted house guests, focused on her ability to persevere despite being bullied during the show and evicted six times.

“I’ve tied myself together every time and got up and kept fighting because like so many other women in the world, that’s what we have to do to get to the end,” Taylor said.

“I am more than my victories in this game. I have overcome so much in this game and I have come to understand that I am not a shield, I am a sword,” she added during her impassioned speech.

Third place: Turner finished in third place on the CBS reality show

‘I am not a victim, I am a conqueror. And if there’s one word that’s going to describe the season, it’s resilience. And if you were to ask yourself who was the most resilient person of the season, it was me,” she said.

“I challenge you judges to choose perseverance as the reason for winning this game. Change the course of this game,” Taylor added.

Kyle Capener, 29, was heard earlier in the season saying he thought the remaining contestants of color were working together to beat the white contestants.

The clip aired on the show’s 24-hour live stream, but was not included in the main broadcast.

Big Brother premiered on CBS in July 2000.

Resilient Participant: ‘I am not a victim, I am a victor. And if there’s one word that’s going to describe the season, it’s resilience. And if you were to ask yourself who was the most resilient person of the season, it was me,” Taylor told the judges