Ali Vincent Wins Season Four of "The Biggest Loser"

The Season Winner Revealed Tonight on on "The Biggest Loser" 4/17/08

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ALI VINCENT BECOMES FIRST FEMALE “BIGGEST LOSER” IN THE SERIES’ FIVE-SEASON HISTORY WHEN SHE WINS NBC’S “THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES” – AND $250,000 – AT LAST NIGHT’S LIVE SEASON FINALE

Plus, Chicago's Bernie Salazar Wins the "At-Home" Prize of $100,000 Among Eliminated Contestants

BURBANK, CA –-- Ali Vincent, a 33-year-old hair stylist from Mesa, Arizona, became the first female "Biggest Loser" in the series history when she won $250,000 – and the coveted title of "The Biggest Loser" – at the live, season five finale of NBC's hit series "The Biggest Loser: Couples" on April 15. Vincent lost 112 lbs. and 47.86% of her body weight to claim the prize. She started the show at 234 lbs., and ended weighing just 122 lbs.

Five seasons of the hit series has never produced a female winner until now. "It's been five years in the making and it has definitely been a Herculean task," said Vincent's trainer, Jillian Michaels. "Ali has delivered a significant message to women across the world, and that is -- in the face of adversity with all odds stacked against you, you can accomplish anything by committing your heart and your mind."

Vincent came on the show this season with her mother, Bette Sue Burklund, who lost 75 lbs. and went from 261 to 186 lbs. Vincent was eliminated in episode four of the series, but a twist in episode 11 brought all of the eliminated contestants back to weigh in again, and the male and female eliminees who had lost the highest percentage of body weight after returning home got to return to the game. Vincent came back then, along with Mark Kruger.

Vincent and Kelly Fields (Titusville, FL), both members of trainer Jillian Michaels' "black team," were two of the finalists, and America voted at www.nbc.com to determine who would be the third finalist. In the first five minutes of the live finale, viewers learned that Roger Shultz (Enterprise, AL) from trainer Bob Harper's "blue team" had beaten Mark Kruger (Dartmouth, MA) to win a spot in the finals.

The runner-up among the three finalists was Shultz, who lost 164 lbs. and 45.18% of his body weight. He began the show weighing 363 lbs. and weighed in at 199 for the finale. Coming in third place was Fields, who lost 109 lbs. and 40.22% of her body weight. She began the show at 271 lbs. and slimmed down to 162 lbs. for finale.

The winner of this season's "at home" prize went to Bernie Salazar, a 27-year-old teacher from Chicago, who lost 130 lbs. and 45.94% of his body weight. He began the series weighing 283 lbs. and weighed in at 153 for the finale.

According to Nielsen Media Research, last night's finale averaged a 4.4 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49 and 11.2 million viewers overall. The "Biggest Loser" finale matched NBC's highest 18-49 rating in this time period, excluding Olympics, since November 29, 2005. In total viewers, "Biggest Loser" delivered NBC's heftiest audience in the time slot since August 21, 2007. For its climactic hour from 9-10 p.m., "The Biggest Loser" ranked #1 in adults 18-49 and other key demographics ahead of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" results show. "Biggest Loser" generated a 53% gain from its first half-hour to its fourth in 18-49 (to a 5.2/13 from a 3.4/10) and an increase of 46% or 4.2 million persons in total viewers (to 13.3 million from 9.1 million).

Season six of the series -- "The Biggest Loser: Families" – will premiere in the fall and will include teams of two family members.

"The Biggest Loser: Couples" is a production of Reveille LLC, 25/7 Productions and 3Ball Productions. Ben Silverman (NBC's "The Office," "Ugly Betty"), Dave Broome ("A Model Life with Petra Nemcova," "Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope"), JD Roth ("Age of Love," "Beauty and the Geek"), Todd A. Nelson ("Unan1mous," "Beauty and the Geek") and Mark Koops ("American Gladiators," "Shear Genius") serve as executive producers.

Alison Sweeney is the host, and Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels also star.

The new teams competing for the $250,000 grand prize were:

Brittany Aberle eliminated 3/18/08 (Hair stylist), 22, San Jacinto, California and Bernardo Salazar Individually eliminated 3/4/08 (At home Biggest Loser) (Teacher/Dancer for Chicago Bulls), 27, Chicago, Illinois – STRANGERS

Curtis Bray (Graphic designer), 35, Los Angeles, and Mallory Bray (Business owner), 36, Los Angeles – HUSBAND AND WIFE Eliminated 1/8/08

Bette Sue Burkland (Hair stylist), 53, Mesa, Arizona and Alison Vincent (Hair stylist), 32, Mesa, Arizona – MOTHER AND DAUGHTER Eliminated 1/22/08 Ali returned 3/12 and won The Biggest Loser 4

Jackie Evans Individually eliminated 2/5/08 (CEO of non-profit organization), 49, Frankfort, Illinois and Dan Evans (Camp counselor/musician) Individually eliminated 3/25/08, 21, Frankfort, Illinois – MOTHER AND SON

Kelly Fields (Nurse), 38, Titusville Third Place this season, Florida and Paul Marks Individually eliminated 2/19/08 (Missile Support/Space Center), 43, Rockledge, Florida – EX-WIFE AND EX-HUSBAND

Neill Harmer (Web developer), 28, Bethany, Oklahoma and Amanda Harmer (teacher), 29, Bethany, Oklahoma – HUSBAND AND WIFE Eliminated 1/15/08

Maggie King eliminated 3/18/08 (Camp counselor at a weight loss camp), 23, Denville, New Jersey and Jennifer Widder Individually eliminated 1/29/08 (Assistant director at a weight loss camp), 22, River Edge, NJ – BEST FRIENDS

Mark Kruger Individually eliminated 2/26/08 but returned 3/12 and eliminated by America in the Finale (Aerial device sales representative), 35, Dartmouth, Massachusetts and Jay Kruger Eliminated 4/1/08 (Aerial device account manager), 31, Bedford, Massachusetts – BROTHERS

Roger Shultz (Associate athletic director) (Second Place this season), 40, Enterprise, Alabama and Trent Patterson Individually eliminated 2/12/08 (School safety and security coordinator), 39, Endicott, New York – FORMER FOOTBALL TEAMMATES

Lynn Westphal (Interior Decorator), 60, Elyria, Ohio and Jenni Westphal (Nanny), 31, North Ridgeville, Ohio – FATHER AND DAUGHTER Eliminated 1/1/08

Source: NBC Press Release