As Bravo expands its successful franchise, we're just learning details on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, premiering October 14. Meet the cast—including two of Paris Hilton's aunts and Kelsey Grammer's ex-wife—and watch the preview after the jump.
While the Housewives shows purportedly showcase the fabulous lives of wealthy women, we've learned over the years that appearances can be deceiving and that many of the cast members of the different shows are actually broke. But Bravo pulled out all the stops with casting Beverly Hills, landing the ex-wife of an actor we've actually heard of, two former child stars (who also happen to be Paris Hilton's aunts), and a member of Maloof family (who own an NBA team and the Palms Casino Resort). Here's a rundown of the cast, followed by a sneak peek of what this season has in store. Ladies and gents, your new pack of Phyllis Neflers:
Kyle Richards
Both Kyle and her sister Kim—who is also on the show—were successful child actors. Their other sister is Kathy Hilton, Paris's mom. Kyle appeared on Little House on The Prairie and the original Halloween. She's married to a high-end realtor and has four kids ranging in age from 2 to 21. She says that she's "addicted" to all the Housewives shows and is a longtime friend of Bethenny Frankel (Bethenny used to babysit the Hilton girls).
Kim Richards
Kim is Kyle's sister, and in the preview clip, we learn that the two women have "unresolved issues" with each other. Kim was somewhat of a Lindsay Lohan back in the day (early Lindsay, not recent Lindsay) as she signed with Disney Studios when she was 10 and starred in films like Nanny and The Professor, Escape To Witch Mountain, and No Deposit, No Return. She's also somewhat of a Valerie Cherish, as she also appeared in TV shows like Diff'rent Strokes, ChIPS and Magnum PI. She retired early to focus on raising her four kids, to whom she's a single mom.
Lisa VanderPump
Lisa—with her porno-sounding name, pampered dog Gigolo, live-in gay companion, and her pan-European accent—is clearly the Jackie Collins of the bunch. She owns two restaurants, one of which she describes as "the sexiest restaurant in Beverly Hills." She's been happily married for 29 years, and has two children, one of which is named Pandora.
Adrienne Maloof
Adrienne, along with her mom and four brothers comprise "the Maloof Family dynasty." They own the Sacramento Kings, Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, an entertainment company that produces film, TV and music, and Maloof Money Cup, the World's largest skateboard competition. She's married to a plastic surgeon, with whom she has three children. She also has a "strong dedication to martial arts."
Taylor Armstrong
Taylor is married to a venture capitalist. She has a four-year-old daughter for whom she recently threw a $50,000 birthday party. Her Bravo bio says, "This Midwestern girl knows how powerful men in Beverly Hills work, so she makes sure that she is always looking her best because she knows that something younger and prettier can always come along and catch her husbands' eye."
Camille Grammer
Camille recently filed for divorce from Kelsey Grammer, her husband of 13 years, and from the looks of the preview clip, Kelsey participated during filming while their marriage was falling apart. She describes herself as a "multi-talented model, actress, dancer, and advocate." She got her start as a dancer on Club MTV back in the late '80s. As seen in the preview clip, Camille and longtime friend Kyle have some kind of fight during filming, and it would seem that a lot of the drama this season will revolve around that.
DISCUSSION
Ok, Cali peeps, I hope this doesn't sound ignorant. But, what are the differences between OC and Beverly Hills, besides zipcodes?