Reagan Charleston (née Tucker) (born 1988) is an American jewelry designer, lawyer and reality television personality known for appearing on Southern Charm New Orleans.

Early life and education

Reagan Tucker was born and raised in

Mandeville, Louisiana Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. Its population was 11,560 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 13,192 at the 2020 United States census. Mandeville is located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interst ...

, and is of Louisiana Creole descent. She is a descendant of Mary Peychaud, a member of the family which created

Peychaud's Bitters Peychaud's Bitters is a bitters distributed by the American Sazerac Company. It was originally created between 1849 and 1857 by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) who traveled to Ne ...

and who is credited with creating the

Sazerac The Sazerac is a local variation of a cognac or whiskey cocktail originally from New Orleans, named for the ''Sazerac de Forge et Fils'' brand of cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. The drink is most traditionally a combi ...

cocktail. Charleston's grandparents and mother were copper sculpture artists and owned an art gallery in the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old S ...

. She has stated that her family background in art inspired her to become a jewelry designer. In 2015, she began attending

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is a private law school in New Orleans, Louisiana affiliated with Loyola University New Orleans. Loyola's law school opened in 1914 and is now located on the Broadway Campus of the university in the hi ...

, and graduated on May 12, 2018.

Career

Jewelry design

Charleston founded Reagan Charleston Design, a jewelry and fashion accessory company, after returning from a trip to

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

in 2012. She grew up in her Grandparents art galleries and studios in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where her mother and grandparents made copper sculptures. She works with her sister, Reina, and mother, Lauren, both artists and metalsmiths. Her designs take inspiration from the

culture of New Orleans The culture of New Orleans is unique among, and distinct from, that of other cities in the United States, including other Southern cities. New Orleans has been called the "northernmost Caribbean city" and "perhaps the most hedonistic city in the ...

, as well as European history and architecture, especially

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

and

Croatian culture The culture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croatian people have been inhabiting the area for fourteen centuries. Linguistic anthropological evidence suggests Croats originated from orth Iran There are important remnants of the ea ...

. On October 18, 2018 she opened a jewelry shop called Reagan Charleston Jewelry in

One Canal Place One Canal Place, located at 365 Canal Street in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, is a 32-story, -tall skyscraper. The building contains The Shops at Canal Place and is attached to the Westin New Orleans Canal Place hotel, ...

. In October of 2021, she debuted a collaborative collection with

Eugenia Kim Eugenia Kim is a New York City-based accessories designer best known for her line of hats. Background Kim grew up in Pennsylvania and was the first child of parents who immigrated to the United States from Korea. She did well in science and ma ...

with her jewelry adorning the Eugenia Kim hats.

Southern Charm New Orleans

Reagan and Jeff Charleston became cast members of the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series Southern Charm New Orleans in 2017. Reagan Charleston had previously lived in Charleston, South Carolina and was a friend of

Whitney Sudler-Smith Whitney Sudler-Smith (born June 2, 1968) is an American filmmaker, television director, and classically trained guitarist. He is the Creator and Executive Producer of Bravo's '' Southern Charm'', a reality docu-series about life in Charleston, ...

, the executive producer of

Southern Charm ''Southern Charm'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 3, 2014. The series chronicles the personal and professional lives of several socialites who reside in Charleston, South Carolina. The show focuses on t ...

. Both Reagan and Jeff reprised their roles in season 2 of ''Southern Charm New Orleans''.

Other work

Charleston sits on the board of

Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as '' Baldur's Gate'', '' Mass Effect'', '' Metal Gear Solid'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Metroid Prime'', '' Overwatch'', and '' S ...

's Sideline Pass, and on the style board for

. On April 26, 2019 Charleston announced via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that she passed the

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associa ...

in Louisiana. She was also Grand Marshall for the 2020 Krewe of Pandora in the

Jefferson Parish Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "F ...

parade.

Personal life

Reagan married

Jeff Charleston Jeffrey David Charleston (born January 19, 1983) is a former American football defensive end. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Idaho State University. Charleston has also been a ...

in 2012. The couple separated in 2018, and later divorced. In December 2018 she married Reece Thomas. She decided to keep the last name Charleston because it was on all her professional documents and business. Their daughter Reece Ellis Thomas was born on June 12, 2019. Their son Rexford Vance Thomas was born August 23, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charleston, Reagan American jewelry designers Participants in American reality television series Louisiana Creole people 1988 births Living people