Fans of Big Brother are mourning the death of Amber Siyavus, who became one of the most memorable faces of the show’s eighth season.
Siyavus died Friday, October 9, in Clark County, Nevada, according to records from the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner.
She was 46.
Troubled final years before death
Her cause and manner of death have not been determined and remain under investigation. TMZ was the first outlet to report the news.
For viewers who remember the 2007 season, Amber was impossible to forget. She was deeply emotional throughout her time in the Big Brother house, where she frequently broke down in tears and eventually earned the nickname “Whamber.”
She spent more than 60 days in the house and finished in seventh place.
During her time on the show, she also spoke openly about her daughter, Lexi Tomcavage, and formed close friendships with fellow houseguests Dustin Erikstrup and Jameka Cameron.
Following news of her death, longtime Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves shared a clip from her 2007 interview with Amber and paid tribute to the former contestant.
“Rest in Peace Amber. Hard to believe but I know you are back in our eternal home with our Creator,” Chen Moonves wrote. “Thank you for your heart and honesty. We will remember you with love ❤️.”
Behind the reality-TV fame, however, Amber’s life included profound personal struggles and painful chapters that few viewers would have known about, according to TMZ.
In 2018, she suffered an unimaginable loss when her 18-year-old daughter, Lexi, died in Ohio in a death that was investigated as an apparent suicide. Amber had often spoken about her daughter while she was inside the Big Brother house more than a decade earlier.
Amber also experienced a number of legal problems in the years before her death. According to court records obtained by TMZ, she pleaded guilty in 2020 to attempting to resist an officer with a dangerous weapon after prosecutors alleged that she tried to drive away while a Henderson, Nevada, police officer was partially inside her vehicle.
She received a suspended prison sentence of 19 to 48 months and up to four years of probation, along with orders for substance abuse and mental health evaluations.
No longer under court supervision
That same year, she also pleaded guilty to felony forgery involving Western Union money orders. That case resulted in another suspended prison sentence and up to two years of probation.
By 2023, she was no longer under court supervision for those offenses.
Still, for many Big Brother viewers, Amber will be remembered not for her legal troubles, but for the emotional and vulnerable woman they watched on television in 2007.
She entered the house as a Las Vegas Caesars Palace server and quickly became part of the season’s “Late Night Crew.” The season was ultimately won by Dick Donato, but Amber left her own mark on the show and its fans.
Now, those fans are remembering her once again — this time with the news that her life has come to a tragic end at just 46.
And the words from Chen Moonves may be among the most fitting tributes to the woman viewers thought they knew all those years ago:
“Thank you for your heart and honesty. We will remember you with love ❤️.”