Katherina Wakile (''née'' Pierri; born October 4, 1965) is an American
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
personality. She starred in the
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
* Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
* Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...
series ''
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 ...
'', which features the lives of her and her family members.
Early life
Wakile was born October 4, 1965, in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. She has a younger sister, Rosie, and three brothers.
Wakile resides in
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
Franklin Lakes is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,079, an increase of 489 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 10,590, which in turn reflected ...
, with her husband of over 20 years, Richard "Rich" Wakile, an owner/operator of NJ gas stations, and their two children, Victoria (b. 1994) and Joseph (b. 1996). Kathy and Victoria frequently participate in events that raise awareness for brain cancer, an illness they take close to heart, as Victoria underwent two operations to remove a benign
brain tumor
A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...
.
Career
Wakile joined the show's third season in May 2011. She was put in the middle of confrontations between her cousin
Teresa Giudice
Teresa Giudice ( , ; ; born May 18, 1972) is an American television personality best known for being in '' The Real Housewives of New Jersey''. Besides appearing on the show, Giudice wrote multiple ''New York Times'' bestseller cookbooks and wa ...
and her cousin-in-law Melissa Gorga. Wakile's main storylines concern her kids growing up, her daughter’s health issues, and her wish to open a restaurant one day. In Season 3, Wakile feuded with Teresa and also had difficulties getting to know Caroline Manzo due to the latter’s allegiance with the former. In Season 4, Wakile's conflict with Teresa continues. Her sister Rosie, who is gay, has also been featured on the show and gained a following due to her story of being different and
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
. Wakile also appeared in the fifth season of the show and this season saw the repair of many friendships including the relationship between Wakile and Teresa. In May 2014, it was announced Wakile would not return for the series’ sixth season, but would make periodic appearances throughout. She was credited as a "Friend of the Housewives" for seasons 6 and 7.
Aside from appearing on the series, she has introduced three product lines since joining the show, including ''Dolci Della Dea'', which includes a cannoli kit, ''Goddess Eye Jewelry'', a jewelry line which gives portion of the sales to the National Brain Tumor Society, and ''Red Velvet Cosmo,'' a ready-to-pour cocktail. Red Velvet Cosmo is based on one of her favorite desserts,
red velvet cake
Red velvet cake is a red-colored layer cake with cream cheese or ermine icing. The origin of the cake is unknown, although it is popular in the Southern United States and has been served as a dessert at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria hotel s ...
. The drink won a medal in a national tasting competition. Wakile has also written a cookbook ''Indulge: Delicious Little Desserts That Keep Life Real Sweet''.
In May 2017, Wakile announced she would be opening up a restaurant in