Jacqueline Elizabeth Laurita (née Grippe, formerly Holmes; born April 26, 1970) is an American

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

and spokeswoman on autism issues, known for starring in ''

The Real Housewives of New Jersey ''The Real Housewives of New Jersey'', abbreviated ''RHONJ'', is an American reality television series that premiered on May 12, 2009, on Bravo. Developed as the fourth installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen sea ...

'' (2009–14, 2016).

Career

Beginning in 2009, Laurita became an original cast member of ''

.'' Her husband, Chris Laurita, appeared on the show along with his two sisters,

Dina Manzo Claudine J. "Dina" Cantin (, formerly Manzo and Ioannou; born March 7, 1972) is an American television personality and entrepreneur. She is most known for appearing on ''The Real Housewives of New Jersey'' as an original main cast member, appeari ...

and Caroline Manzo. In 2014, Laurita departed the series; however, she made appearances throughout the season, before returning for Season 7. In April 2017, Laurita announced she would not be returning for good for the series' upcoming eighth season. In addition to appearing on the series, she also appeared on ''

Manzo'd with Children ''Manzo'd with Children'' is an American reality television series on Bravo which premiered on October 5, 2014. Bravo announced the series in April 2014, making it the first spin-off show of ''The Real Housewives of New Jersey''. The first seaso ...

''. She also had a small role in '' Bad Parents'' directed by Cathya Jentis. In 2016, Laurita co-wrote ''Get It!: The Busy Girl's Guide to Getting Your "It" Together: A Beauty, Style, and Wellness Book'' with Jenè Luciani. She co-hosted a podcast, ''The LookOver Ladies'', and is active in the autism community.

Personal life

Laurita was born in

Fort Monmouth Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey and the site of a major upcoming Netflix film production campus, alongside a variety of other redevelopment. The site is surrounded by the commun ...

, New Jersey. She is of Italian, specifically Sicilian, descent through her father and Austrian descent through her mother. She was married to Matt Holmes from 1989 to 1992 and shares a daughter, Ashlee (formerly Ashley), with him. She later married Chris Laurita and had two sons with him, Christopher "C.J." and Nicholas. Her son Nicholas, who was born just prior to filming of season two of the show, was diagnosed with autism in 2012. Her husband started a popcorn company, ''The Little Kernel'', with profits donated to a foundation that provides resources to parents with children on the autism spectrum. Laurita had considered leaving the show after her son's autism diagnosis in 2012 but decided to stay and use the platform to share information. "We wanted to raise awareness for autism and educate others about it," she said. "We also didn’t want anyone, including our son, Nicholas, to think we backed out because we were ashamed of his diagnosis or trying to hide it.” Laurita's first grandchild, Cameron Hendrix Malleo, was born on August 30, 2016, to Laurita's daughter, Ashlee Holmes, and Pete Malleo. Holmes married Malleo in August 2018 and they divorced in 2022. In 2019, Laurita moved back to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

with her husband and their two sons. In 2023, they moved to

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

as Chris Laurita expanded his business, Velocity Global Brand apparel company.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurita, Jacqueline Living people American women writers 1970 births 21st-century American women