Phaedra Creonta Parks (born October 26, 1973) is an American attorney, legal analyst, television personality, author, activist, and businesswoman. She is best known for appearing on

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 ...

's ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'', abbreviated ''RHOA'', is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of '' The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired sixteen season ...

'' from 2010 until 2017, rejoining the cast in 2024. Prior to this, she was an established attorney, fronting her own legal firm, The Parks Group. In 2022, she starred on the second season of ''

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip ''The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip'', abbreviated as ''RHUGT'', is an American reality television series that premiered on Peacock on November 16, 2021. The series follows several women from ''The Real Housewives'' franchise as they vacat ...

'' on

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

, and in 2023, joined the cast for the tenth season of '' Married to Medicine''. In 2024, she appeared as a contestant on the second season of ''

The Traitors ''The Traitors'' is a reality game show franchise created by the All3Media All3Media Limited is a British worldwide independent television, film, and digital production and distribution company based in London. The All3Media group cons ...

'', where she gained notoriety for her standout performance as a traitor on the season.

Early life

Parks was born in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, where ''RHOA'' co-star

NeNe Leakes Linnethia Monique "NeNe" Leakes (; 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 B ...

also lived, and attended the same high school as Leakes. She is one of four children to pastor parents Regina Bell and Henry Parks. Before undertaking a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

at the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law ...

, she attended the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(LSE) and

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a Private university, private, Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's Colleges in the Southern United States, women's college in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the fi ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours.

Career

Parks first appeared on ''

'' in 2010. She was already an established attorney, with her own legal practice, The Parks Group. Throughout her career, she had represented multiple public figures such as

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

. In 2006, she was awarded 'Attorney of the Year' and has served on Georgia's Law School Alumni Council, the Grammy Recording Board, UGA Law School Board, and G-Capp. She has served as a legal analyst on shows like

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

regarding the Michael Jackson trial. Parks has also acted as a television producer for BET's ''The Tiny and Toya Show''. Her appearance on ''

'' helped her become nominated as one of Atlanta's top 100 Black women of influence, as her season 3 debut kick-started high publicity and positive attention for Parks. Her seven season stint on the show saw Parks involved in multiple main storylines including the dissolution of her marriage to Apollo Nida and pregnancies resulting in sons Ayden and Dylan. In 2017, Parks was ultimately fired ahead of the show's tenth season following a damaging rumour she circulated about fellow ''RHOA'' cast member

Kandi Burruss Kandi Burruss (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the multi-platinum R&B female vocal group Xscape ...

and her husband, Todd Tucker concerning Porsha Williams and Shamea Morton. Following her departure from ''RHOA'',

tentatively announced a new unscripted series focused on Parks alone titled, ''Rich People's Problems''. The show was never released. In 2013, Parks released her first book, ''Secrets of the Southern Belle: How to Be Nice, Work Hard, Look Pretty, Have Fun and Never Have an Off Moment''. In 2020, Parks and then-boyfriend, Medina Islam, appeared on the season two premiere of '' Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition'' She made her acting debut in ''Covenant'', an eight-episode anthology series on

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, in October 2021. She played Bernice Whitfield, the family matriarch. In 2021, it was announced that Parks would be appearing on the second season of ''

(''subtitled ''Ex-Wives Club),'' the franchise's 'mash-up' series produced by

featuring multiple well-known former housewives from the franchise. In 2022, alongside Parks' ''RHUGT'' main cast appearance, she additionally starred in a recurring guest role in '' The Real Housewives of Dubai's'' first season, as a friend of housewife Caroline Brooks. Shereé Whitfield stated that Parks filmed for Season 14 of ''RHOA'' at her fashion show, however scenes featuring Parks were never aired. Rumours regarding Parks' return to ''RHOA'' in a full-time capacity have begun to swirl following executive producer

Andy Cohen Andrew Joseph Cohen (born June 2, 1968) is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer. He is the host and executive producer of ''The Real Housewives'' Multimedia franchise, franchise and Bravo (American TV network), B ...

stating he would love to have her back, following her 2017 firing. Reportedly, her appearances on ''RHUGT'', ''RHOA'' and ''RHODXB'' are to test whether her Bravo comeback appeals to audiences.

has stated she would leave ''RHOA'' if Parks returns. In January 2023, it was announced that Parks would return for the fifth season (and second ''Ex-Wives Club'' season) of ''

'', taking place in

Marrakesh, Morocco Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. The city was ...

and set to premiere in 2024. Parks signed onto the tenth season of '' Married to Medicine'', replacing Dr. Contessa Metcalfe and Anila Sajja. In September 2023, it was announced that Parks would be a contestant on Peacock's second season of ''

'', which aired in early 2024. She was selected to be a 'traitor' and was banished in episode ten. In July 2024, it was announced that Parks would be returning to ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'', after a six-season hiatus, for the sixteenth season. In September 2024, Parks was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 33 of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''. She was partnered with

Valentin Chmerkovskiy Valentin Aleksandrovich "Val" Chmerkovskiy (born March 24, 1986) is a Ukrainian-American professional dancer, best known for his appearances on the U.S. version of '' Dancing with the Stars'', which he won three times. Chmerkovskiy is a two-time ...

Personal life

Between 2009 and 2017, Parks was married to Apollo Nida. Nida was convicted of conspiracy to commit

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

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, and

bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many ins ...

, but Parks has maintained she had no knowledge of his criminal activity. With Nida, she has two children. She dated Medina Islam before breaking up in 2021. Regarding ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' and similar shows, Parks stated that she would "never" let her children watch the programs, saying "That's not child-appropriate" and "I don't think it was created for children and so I don't know if any responsible parent allows their child to watch those types of shows."

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Phaedra 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers American women lawyers African-American television personalities People from Athens, Georgia Lawyers from Atlanta Television personalities from Atlanta Living people Wesleyan College alumni University of Georgia alumni 1973 births