Linnethia Monique “NeNe” Leakes is her full name. NeNe Leakes is an actress, presenter, businesswoman, author, and fashion designer from the United States. She was born in New York City and raised in Queens, Georgia, but she spent most of her childhood in Athens, Georgia.
She is best known for her roles on The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of Atlanta, where she played the recurring role of Roz Washington on the Fox comedy-drama series Glee. She was also a member of the original casts of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Atlanta.
Leakes appeared on every episode of The New Normal as a series regular as Rocky Rhoades until the show was canceled in 2013. She appeared on the reality competition shows Dancing with the Stars (ABC) and The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC). Leakes made her Broadway debut as Madame in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella in 2014. The following year, she appeared in Chicago as Matron “Mama” Morton.
She was a regular on the game show, To Tell the Truth, which initially aired in the 1950s and was recently revived by ABC. In addition to her television work, NeNe Leakes had a clothing line sold on the Home Shopping Network before opening her SWAGG boutiques in a few cities across the United States.
Nene Leakes Net Worth
Nene Leakes is an American reality television star, actress, author, fashion designer, and businesswoman. As of this writing, Nene Leakes’ net worth is $14 million.
Before leaving “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” in 2015, NeNe Leakes was paid $1 million per season. That is the highest episode salary of any Bravo housewife.
Nene Leakes Early Life
Linnethia Monique Johnson was born and raised in the New York City borough of Queens. She was one of five children, three of whom stayed with her mother while she and one of her brothers went to live with an aunt in Athens, Georgia.
Her mother was unable to provide for all five of her children simultaneously. The other two kids stayed with their mother. After graduating from Clarke Central High School in Athens, she decided to further her education by attending Morris Brown College in Atlanta for two years. She did not become pregnant during this time.
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Nene Leakes Career
Before meeting RHOA producers, casting director Robi Reed-Humes cast Leakes in The Parkers. In Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé’s 2003 film The Fighting Temptations, she played a stripper. Her scenes were omitted from the finished film.
Leakes first appeared on RHOA as an original cast member in 2008. After the first season, she co-wrote Never Make the Same Mistake Twice. Leakes appeared in each of the seven seasons. Leakes announced her departure from RHOA season 8 in June 2015.
Leakes was a full-time housewife from seasons 10 to 12. Leakes played a supporting role in season 8 and reportedly earned her entire salary from the previous seven seasons. Leakes announced her departure from Season 13 in 2020.
On NBC, Leakes also plays Rocky Roades in The New Normal. Ryan Murphy cast Leakes as synchronized swim coach Roz Washington in the third season of Glee. Leakes appeared on Celebrity Apprentice in 2011. After an argument with Star Jones in the tenth episode, Leakes left Celebrity Apprentice.
All featured Leakes in Anderson Live, The Talk, and The Price Are Right. On March 4, 2014, she was announced as a Dancing with the Stars contestant. Tony Dovolani was her partner. In Week 7, Leakes and Dovolani finished seventh (April 28, 2014).
In Las Vegas, Leakes was Zumanity’s Mistress of Sensuality. She made her Broadway debut in 2014 as Madame in Cinderella. She was on the field until January 3, 2015. In November 2015, she played “Mama” Morton in Chicago for four weeks. “Come and Get This Hunni,” a 2020 song by Leakes.
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Nene Leakes Other Ventures
Leakes founded NeNe Leakes Entertainment, a television production company. I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding, a Leake’s spin-off series produced by the company and True Entertainment, premiered on September 17, 2013.
In February 2014, Leakes announced that she would launch a clothing line later that year. On July 28, 2014, Leakes debuted the Nene Leakes Collection for the Home Shopping Network. (HSN).
In March 2016, Leakes announced a one-woman comedy tour of the United States called “So Nasty, So Rude,” inspired by one of her catchphrases. Many of the tour dates were sold out when it began in April.
Leakes opened the first SWAGG Boutique location in Duluth, Georgia, in November 2017, and it will remain open until August 2020. SWAGG Boutique was later expanded to Miami Beach and the MGM National Harbor in Maryland, both of which are still open and operating today.
In October 2020, Leakes announced on Instagram that she would open a bar in Duluth, Georgia. The Linnethia Lounge, named after Leakes, will open in May 2021. Tamar Braxton and KeKe Wyatt have both appeared and performed.
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Nene Leakes Personal Life
Leakes lives in a suburb of Atlanta. Her residence is Casa Leakes. Leakes listed the house in 2021. On April 29, 2010, she divorced Gregg Leakes. Season four of The Real Housewives of New York concluded on September 29, 2011.
NeNe and Gregg Leakes married in January 2013. I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding filmed the wedding planning and ceremony. On June 22, 2013, NeNe and Gregg remarried in Atlanta.
Gregg was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in June 2018 but is now cancer-free. She announced in June 2021 that he had relapsed and was recovering from surgery. Gregg Leakes died of colon cancer in 2021, at 66.
On April 16, 2022, Leakes filed a lawsuit against NBCUniversal, Bravo, production companies True Entertainment and Truly Original, and Real Housewives producer Andy Cohen. She dropped the case on August 19, 2022.
Nene Leakes Real Estate
In 2015, Leakes paid $2,075,000 for a 10,000-square-foot mansion outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It had six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, and a pool.
The property has a country club, restaurant, swimming pool, tennis courts, and other amenities. It is built on a golf course. In October 2021, Nene listed this home for $4 million. In January 2022, she accepted a $2.6 million offer.
In January 2020, Leakes spent $260,000 on a second home in the Georgian city of Duluth. Her $2 million gated community mansions are a 15-minute drive from her new 2,076 square foot home with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
Why Did She Leave ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’?
On April 21, it was revealed that NeNe Leakes had filed a lawsuit against Andy Cohen, the executive producer of RHOA, and the network that made her a millionaire. According to the reality star’s attorney, Kim Zolciak-Biermann was a bad coworker who caused NeNe to face years of racial discrimination.
NeNe desires that justice be served. According to her attorney, NBC, Bravo, and True “foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated, if not encouraged.”
Co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann has been racist to NeNe since the show’s inception, and Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen and other executives have done nothing to stop it. The 14th season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta premieres on Bravo on Sunday, May 1 at 8 p.m. EST.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nene and Wendy Williams Remain Friends?
NeNe Leakes declares that she is no longer friends with Wendy Williams following her interview with Andy Cohen. Wendy Williams and NeNe Leakes no longer have a friendship.
Kenya and Nene Still Have a Friendship?
Kenya Moore hasn’t given up hope of ever meeting NeNe Leakes. “I wouldn’t call us friends.”
What Has Changed Between Diana and Nene?
Diana Gowins and NeNe Leakes: Even a strong woman like NeNe Leakes has supporters. Diana Gowins was NeNe’s best friend before she became famous. Gowins was also a bridesmaid in Leakes’ second wedding in June, and you may have seen her in Real Housewives of Atlanta scenes.