Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Debbie Hansen's 23-year-old daughter is living in a house in Los Angeles with 15 strangers.  She shares a bedroom with a man someone else chose as her soul mate. Not every mother would be happy about that.  It's OK with Hansen, because it's not real life -- it's a TV reality show.

Amanda Hansen of Fridley, Minn., is on "Big Brother 9." The show airs on CBS (Duluth Channel 3) at 8 p.m. Tuesday and 7 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday.   Gogebic Range viewers are cheering for Hansen.

Debbie (Coleman) Hansen was born and raised in Ironwood. She left the area after high school graduation in 1976. Today, she lives in Webb Lake, Wis., and sells real estate.  Her sister, Benita Pusakulich, of Ramsay, said she has watched earlier versions of "Big Brother," but it's different to see her niece on the show.

"I'm rooting for her. I'm hoping that she wins," she said Thursday. "We got everybody watching."

That includes her children, Karie of Bessemer, Kristin of Marquette and Ryan of Ironwood, and Becky Lair, Dallas.   "Amanda is very close to them," Pusakulich said.

Amanda's step-grandmother, Carol Westeen of Ironwood, has watched "Big Brother" since it started a few years ago.  "I love those shows, and I am real excited she's on," Westeen said Wednesday. "To see somebody you're close to, it's really nice."

Controversy, Alliances

"Big Brother" features eight "couples" who live out an unreal life in front of the camera night and day. Debbie Hansen said there are contests concerning such things as food and what trivia contestants know about one another. There are physical competitions.

Each Wednesday, the housemates vote one couple off the show. They also vote for a head of household.  The show derives its energy from shifting alliances, squabbles and personality conflicts.  Amanda Hansen was voted head of household the first week of the show. That protected her and her partner from being ousted.

"Then a lot of controversy stirred up," Debbie Hansen said. "You have to form alliances with some people. She's not doing good with her partner."

Pusakulich said Wednesday's show worried her.

"They got in a couple arguments, but that happens when you put a whole bunch of strangers in a house," she said.  Her niece looks good on television.

"She looks just like my sister, just like her mother," she said.  When the show ends, the last housemate left wins $500,000.

Auditions

In real life, Amanda Hansen is a paralegal who lives in a suburb of Minneapolis.  Her mother said she loves TV and would like to be a model or actress. She has entered beauty pageants and modeled for Kohl's department store. She competed in track in high school and college.

"She's very competitive," Debbie Hansen said.

Amanda auditioned for "Big Brother" twice in Chicago, then was invited to Los Angeles for a week of auditions in January.  Real-life friends and family have no contact with the "Big Brother" household, according to Debbie Hansen.  After her daughter was named head of household, Amanda posted a letter on a Web site.

"She said it was tougher than she thought," Debbie Hansen said. The letter recounted nightly fights and a big blowup between Amanda and her partner. It said she missed her family.  Still, she's hoping to make it to the end -- although her mother fears her competitiveness and success will alienate the other housemates.  Westeen thinks her granddaughter can take care of herself.

"She is very athletic and very smart," Westeen said. "I would hope that she doesn't get kicked off soon."

Pusakulich said her outgoing niece likes to be in the public eye.

"This is great exposure for my niece," she said. (Source)