Regina Jennifer Sorensen (née Bingham formerly Bird; born 19 March 1974) is an Australian television personality best known for being a contestant on and winning the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

and fourteenth seasons of ''

Big Brother Australia ''Big Brother Australia'' (also known simply as ''Big Brother'') is an Australian Reality television#Reality competition or game shows, reality show based on the international ''Big Brother (franchise), Big Brother'' format created by John de ...

'' in 2003 and 2022 respectively, and is the only contestant to win twice. Small in stature with an unusual nasal intonation, she earned public admiration with her down-to-earth charm, strong

work ethic Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. Desire or determination to work serves as the foundation for values centered on the i ...

, and

naivety Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

. She was the first ''Big Brother'' contestant to win twice (2003 and 2022 respectively). "Go Reggie" bumper stickers were a big hit in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

in 2003. Sorensen was included in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

newspaper ''

The Mercury Mercury most commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the closest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a chemical element * Mercury (mythology), a Roman deity Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Mercury (toy manufacturer), ...

s list of "Tassie's Top 200" movers and shakers in 2007.

Career

In late 2003, Sorensen signed up with manager Harry M. Miller and filmed a pilot for a TV show which never made it to air. Later she appeared as a contestant on 2005

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

celebrity skating competition series ''

Skating on Thin Ice ''Skating on Thin Ice'' was a short-lived Australian celebrity reality television programme broadcast on the Nine Network in 2005. Hosted by Jamie Durie, nine celebrities learnt to skate with the ultimate goal being to perform with Disney on I ...

''. From December 2004 to May 2005 she worked for airline

Virgin Blue Virgin Australia, formerly known as Virgin Blue, is an Australian airline based in Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of two active airlines (the other being Virgin Atlantic) to use the Virgin brand, as well as the larger by fleet size. It comme ...

as a flight attendant – her "dream job" – although she resigned claiming she had been bullied by her colleagues. In 2025, Sorensen appeared as a contestant on the eleventh season of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''.

Big Brother

In 2003, Sorensen won third season of ''Big Brother'' with 72% of the final vote, the biggest margin in a ''Big Brother'' finale to date, in addition to being the first female winner of the Australian show. Sorensen was involved in the week 12 task on season 9 of '' Big Brother 9'' in 2012, the show's comeback season on the

. She was one of several former housemates that entered the house to try to get the current housemates to fail their weekly task, which was to ignore everyone who entered the house that was not a housemate. In 2022, Sorensen starred in a third network, the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

's, iteration of Big Brother, '' Big Brother 14'', as one of eight past housemates, in the mix with newly cast stars. She was one of three former winners to enter the house, alongside '' Big Brother 4'' winner

Trevor Butler Trevor Butler is a TV personality, best known for being a contestant and winner of ''Big Brother Australia'' series 4 (airing in 2004). He known for being the first, and currently only, contestant to win the million-dollar prize, as opposed ...

and '' Big Brother 10'' winner Tim Dormer. She was ultimately crowned the winner of ''Big Brother'' for a second time, where she spent a total of 148 days in the house (in both seasons). She became the fifth contestant in the world to win the show twice and the first person to do so in ''

'', also she was the first female winner of ''Big Brother'' since Terri Munro won the eighth and final season on Network Ten in 2008.

Personal life

Before appearing in ''Big Brother'' in 2003, Bird and her husband Adrian managed a

fish and chip Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of battered and fried fish, served with chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, the dish is a common takeaway ...

shop in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Their marriage ended shortly after the

season finale A season finale (British English: series finale; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will attempt to ...

. She spent some time residing in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and later

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. She now lives in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. In 2007, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter with her second husband, Dale Sorensen. In 2009, she gave birth to a son, who was diagnosed with

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

at four weeks old. In 2005, Bird lost $40,000 to a conman who claimed to be a

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

where she paid him the money to fund the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

of a

travel show A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or tourist attractions without recommending particular package deals or tour operators. A travelogue film is an early type of travel ...

she would appear in. She has also been a victim of

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitorin ...

Health

In 2008 she underwent emergency surgery arising from an

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these sympto ...

and was also declared

legally blind Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

after having been diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition,

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a member of a group of genetic disorders called inherited retinal dystrophy (IRD) that cause loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visua ...

, a rare hereditary eye disease that may lead to blindness. She had lost 90% of her central vision. About her condition, she states "I've now lost all of my

peripheral vision Peripheral vision, or ''indirect vision'', is vision as it occurs outside the point of fixation, i.e. away from the center of gaze or, when viewed at large angles, in (or out of) the "corner of one's eye". The vast majority of the area in the ...

, I have no

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night v ...

. I could wake up tomorrow and it's going to be gone". In 2017, Sorensen suffered from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

caused by a heart condition.Big Brother's Reggie Bird tears up detailing her battle with blindness
Lachlan Guertin from Yahoo News!. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022. She was interviewed by ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' in July 2009, during which she discussed her ongoing degenerative eye condition and her second child due in August 2009. She has also appeared on ''

The Daily Edition ''The Daily Edition'' was an Australian afternoon entertainment show on the Seven Network which was first broadcast on 17 June 2013 and ended on 26 June 2020. The show featured a combination of live breaking news, as well as live interviews wit ...

'' in 2016 to discuss her illness.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, Regina Living people People from Hobart Australian blind people Television personalities with disabilities 20th-century Australian women 21st-century Australian women 1974 births Big Brother (Australian TV series) winners