NeNe Leakes

Linnethia Monique "NeNe" Leakes (/ˈniːni liːks/; née Johnson; born December 13, 1967) is an American television personality, actress, presenter, businesswoman, author, and fashion designer. She first rose to prominence after becoming the breakout star on Bravo's reality television series, The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She is widely regarded as one of the most notable personalities from The Real Housewives franchise and a prominent figure in reality television and pop culture.

Born in Queens, New York and raised in Athens, Georgia, she is also known for her recurring character, Roz Washington, on the Fox comedy-drama series Glee.

Leakes also played Rocky Rhoades as a series regular on the sitcom The New Normal on NBC until its cancellation in 2013. She was a participant on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice and ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Leakes made her Broadway debut as Madame in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella in 2014, and in 2015, starred as Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago.

She was one of the regular panelists on ABC's revival of the 1950s game show To Tell the Truth. In addition to her television projects, Leakes had a clothing line on Home Shopping Network, before launching her SWAGG boutiques in select cities across the country.

Linnethia Monique Johnson was born in Queens, New York City. One of five children, she and one of her brothers were sent to live with an aunt in Athens, Georgia, while the other three children stayed with her mother. It was believed that her mother could not take care of all five. After graduating from Clarke Central High School in Athens, she decided to further her formal education at Morris Brown College in Atlanta for two years before becoming pregnant.

Before Leakes met the producers of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, she had appeared on TV shows like The Parkers thanks to meeting casting director Robi Reed-Humes. In 2003, she landed a minor role as a stripper in the film The Fighting Temptations, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyoncé. However, none of her scenes are present in the final edit of the movie.

In 2008, Leakes made her first appearance on The Real Housewives of Atlanta as an original cast member. After the first season, she co-wrote the book Never Make The Same Mistake Twice with Denene Millner. Leakes was a main cast member for the first seven seasons. In June 2015, Leakes announced that she would not be returning for the show's eighth season. However, Leakes was featured in season 8 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta in a supporting role, reportedly earning her full salary from the previous seven seasons. Leakes later returned to the show as a full-time housewife for the tenth through twelfth seasons (2017–20).

In 2020, Leakes announced that she would not return to The Real Housewives of Atlanta for its thirteenth season.