10 Things You Didn’t Know About Garcelle Beauvais

Many of the other Housewives franchises feature black women, but it took a decade for this edition to diversify its cast. That fact isn’t lost on Garcelle — a Hatian-American — and she’s here to represent. “As the first African American Housewife in the Beverly Hills franchise, I am honoured and humbled by this awesome opportunity to exemplify the fact that Black Girl Magic lives and thrives in every ZIP code,” she said in a statement.

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Garcelle is one pretty woman, and magazines seem to agree. Before she was known for acting, Garcelle got her start as a model, and has done print ads for Avon, Mary Kay and Clairol. Since then she’s been included on several “hot” and “sexiest” lists, and was named one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful in 2014.

Like Lisa Rinna and Denise Richards (and basically most of the RHOBH crew), Garcelle made a name for herself on-set before joining the series. She played Francesca “Fancy” Monroe on The Jamie Foxx Show, but she’s been plenty busy with other roles since then. From Tell Me a Story and The Magicians to Siren, and a part in the upcoming Coming 2 America alongside Eddie Murphy and Wesley Snipes, her resume may be the most impressive of the bunch.

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Garcelle comes from a big family — she’s the youngest of six siblings. They all moved from Haiti to Miami with their mother following their parents’ divorce when Garcelle was six. Now, it seems like the clan is still close; Garcelle’s sister, Shontelle Beauvais, has even been spotted with her sis on red carpets. In our opinion, Garcelle’s experience with so many siblings could come in handy on RHOBH, especially in terms of dealing with the sister-like squabbles she’ll inevitably encounter.

In case you needed another reason to love Elmo, Grover, and the rest of the gang, apparently they were instrumental in Garcelle learning how to speak English when she was younger. Because she was only six years old when she came to Miami, French was her first language and she had a hard time making friends. Before long though, Sesame Street helped her to fit in just fine with her new peers.

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Like so many Housewives before her, Garcelle is all about dabbling in new business ventures. In 2013 she published a children’s book, I Am Mixed, a story that was inspired by her twins’ experiences as kids of mixed race. And in 2008 she also launched a new kids jewelry line, Petit Bijou by Garcelle. Lisa Rinna just so happened to be at the launch party.

Garcelle has been both lucky and unlucky in love. She married her first husband, producer Daniel Saunders, in 1991. They divorced nearly 10 years later in 2000. Then, in 2001 she wed talent manager Mike Nilon, but found out nine years later that he’d been cheating on her. She did not take it well, and even circulated an email to his workplace, outing him. “Tiger Woods/Jesse James/Mike Nilon,” she wrote. “What do they have in common . . . I found out today that MY husband of almost 9 yrs has been having an affair for 5 yrs with some slut in Chicago. I am devastated!!!! And I have been duped!! Our boys don’t deserve this!” Hear, hear.

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While her marriages may not have ended on a great note, Garcelle did have three kids during that time. Her firstborn, Oliver, was born in 1991. Then, following fertility treatments with Mike Nilon, Garcelle gave birth to twin boys, Jax Joseph and Jaid Thomas, in 2007. When we see Garcelle on the show she will certainly have her hands full, given that the twins are now 13.

Garcelle and Jamie go way back to their days of doing TV together, but they’ve also played the President and First Lady in White House Down. They’ve been besties ever since—Garcelle was even the one who publicly spilled the tea and confirmed rumours that Jamie and Katie Holmes had broken up. “He’s the sweetest... And he’s also single!” she told Us Weekly last September. “We’re like brother and sister! We really are. Like, I’ve seen him go from party boy bachelor to a really great dad and, you know, we hang out with my kids, his kids, so it’s really beautiful.”

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It can be tough for a newbie on any of these Housewives series, especially as they adjust to the drama that comes from shooting a season (and then watching it air). Luckily for Garcelle she was already friends with Denise and Lisa, which made the transition a bit easier. “Lisa Rinna gave me a good tip,” the actress told Hollywood Life. “She goes, ‘You know, it’s one thing to film the show. But then when it airs and the world gets to weigh in, it’s a whole other thing.’ So I’m trying to get tough skin. I may not read comments on Instagram and Twitter. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”

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