BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
NeNe Leakes
| NeNe Leakes | |
|---|---|
Leakes at the PaleyFest 2013 panel for The New Normal
| |
| Born | Linnethia Monique Johnson December 13, 1967 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Residence | Duluth, Georgia, U.S. Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, U.S. |
| Education | Morris Brown University(dropped out) |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Home town | Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Gregg Leakes (m. 1997–2011, 2013–) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Linnethia Monique "NeNe" Leakes (/ˈniːni liːks/; née Johnson; born December 13, 1967) is an American television personality, actress, producer, author and fashion designer. She is best known for her seven year stint on the reality television series The Real Housewives of Atlanta as an original cast member and for her recurring character Roz Washington on the sitcom Glee. She also played Rocky Rhoades as a series regular on the award-winning sitcom The New Normal on NBC until its cancellation in 2013. Currently, she is one of the main judges on ABC's revival of the 50s game show To Tell The Truth along with Betty White, which is slated to air in 2016.
Contents
Early life
Linnethia Monique Johnson was born December 13, 1967, in the New York City, New York, borough of Queens.[1] She was sent to live with an aunt in Athens, Georgia when she was 4.[2]
Career
Before Leakes met the producers of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, she had appeared on TV shows like The Parkers. In 2003, she had also landed a minor role as a stripper in the filmThe Fighting Temptations starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyoncé.[citation needed] None of her scenes are present in the final edit of the movie, therefore she is not credited for her work on the production.[citation needed]
In 2008, Leakes made her first appearance on The Real Housewives of Atlanta.[3] After the first season, she co-wrote with Denene Milner the book Never Make The Same Mistake Twice. Leakes was a part of the cast for the first seven seasons. In June 2015 Leakes announced she would not return to the Real Housewives of Atlanta for the eighth season.[4]
Leakes has also transitioned into scripted television, playing the secretary Rocky Roades in the NBC comedy The New Normal.[5][6] Ryan Murphy cast NeNe on his series Glee in the third season in a recurring role as synchronized swim coach and Olympic bronze-medalist Coach Roz Washington.[7][8][9][10] In 2011, Leakes was a contestant on the eleventh installment of Donald Trump's NBC series Celebrity Apprentice.[11] During the tenth episode of Apprentice, after arguments with fellow cast member Star Jones, Leakes walked off the show.[12][13] Leakes failed to win any money for her selected charity, "My Sister's House".
Leakes has guest-hosted Anderson Live,[14] The Talk, and appeared in Betty White's Off Their Rockers[15] and The Price Is Right.[16] On March 4, 2014 she was announced to be one of the celebrities who will compete in the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars. She paired with professional dancer, Tony Dovolani. Leakes and Dovolani were eliminated in Week 7 of competition (Latin Night) on April 28, 2014, finishing in 7th place.[17]
As well as competing on Dancing with the Stars, Leakes played the Mistress of Sensuality in Las Vegas, for resident show Cirque du Soleil: Zumanity.[citation needed] Leakes made her Broadway debut on November 25, 2014, as a replacement Madame in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. She played the role until the production closed on January 3, 2015.[18]
She is currently playing Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago on Broadway.
Other ventures
Production
In 2013 Leakes founded NeNe Leakes Entertainment, a television production company. The production company produced Leakes spin-off series I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding alongside True Entertainment, where Leakes was also credited as an executive producer. The spin-off series I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding, which documented the preparations for their second wedding,[19] premiered on September 17, 2013.[20]
Fashion line
In February 2014, Leakes announced that she would be launching a clothing line later in the year. On the 28th of July 2014, Leakes launched The Nene Leakes Collection for theHome Shopping Network (HSN). The collection sold out just days after the launch of the line. "We took meetings with a lot of different people. And HSN actually felt right," Leakes said. "When they walked into the room we totally clicked. And you need to really work with people who really understand and get you." She announced[where?] that more pieces will be added to the collection in October 2014 and that it will expand into jewelry in January 2015.[citation needed]
Personal life
Leakes resides in Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.[21] She also rents a house in the Hollywood Hills West, Los Angeles.[22][23][24] She has two sons, Bryson and Brentt,[25] and a granddaughter, Bri'Asia Bryant (born June 2012), by the former.[26]
She and husband Gregg Leakes separated in 2010, and she filed for divorce on April 29, 2010. The divorce was finalized September 29, 2011, after season four of The Real Housewives had finished shooting.[27] In October 2011, Leakes released a memoir describing her experiences with abuse called Never Make the Same Mistake Twice: Lessons on Love and Life Learned the Hard Way.[28] NeNe and Gregg Leakes reunited and announced that they were engaged in January 2013.[29][30] Bravo filmed their wedding planning and ceremony for a spin-off entitled I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding.[31] NeNe and Gregg remarried on June 22, 2013, at the InterContinental Buckhead Hotel inAtlanta.[32]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Fighting Temptations | Stripper | Deleted scene |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Parkers | Minor Role | 1 episode | |
| 2008–present | The Real Housewives of Atlanta | Herself | Main cast | |
| 2011 | The Celebrity Apprentice 4 | Herself | Season 11; 10 episodes | |
| 2012–15 | Glee | Roz Washington | 13 episodes | |
| 2012 | The Amandas | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2012 | The Game | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2012 | Let's Stay Together | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2012–13 | The New Normal | Rocky Rhoades | Series regular | |
| 2013 | Betty White's Off Their Rockers | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2013 | The Price Is Right | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2013 | Miss USA | Herself | Main judge, 1 episode | |
| 2013 | I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding | Herself | 7 episodes | |
| 2013-present | Fashion Police | Co-Host | Guest Co-Host (2013-15); Special Co-Host (2016-present) | |
| 2014 | The Millionaire Matchmaker | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2014 | Dancing with the Stars | Herself | Season 18; 8 episodes (including the finale) | |
| 2015 | The Prancing Elites Project | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Real Husbands of Hollywood | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2015-2016 | New Year's Eve with Carson Daly | Co-Host | Special broadcast from Times Square | |
| 2016 | To Tell the Truth | Main Judge | Series regular | |
| 2016 | Lip Sync Battle | Herself/contestant | 1 episode |
Guest co-hosting
NeNe has appeared as a guest co-host on a variety of talk-shows including Anderson Live (3 episodes), Kris (1 episode), The Chew (2 episodes), WWE Raw (1 episode), The View (2 episodes), Fashion Police (5 episodes before joining as special co-host in 2016), The Real (2 episodes), and Live with Kelly and Michael (1 episode).
Music videos
| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | If I Don't Have You | Tamar Braxton | Madam Nene |
Video games
| Year | Video Game | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Kim Kardashian: Hollywood | NeNe Leakes |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Loving Him Is Killing Me | Pinky Bell | |
| 2014 | Zumanity | Mistress of Sensuality | Las Vegas Resident show |
| 2014–15 | Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella | Madame | The Broadway Theatre |
| 2015 | Chicago | Matron "Mama" Morton | The Ambassador Theatre |
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