Cast of The Real Housewives of Vancouver (From left to right: Christina, Reiko, Jody, Mary and Ronnie)Handout
Camille Grammer, move over. The identities of the five women who will cat-fight their way to notoriety on The Real Housewives of Vancouver have been revealed.
The Real Housewives franchise comes to Canada for the first time with the promise of "all the juiciest storylines, drama, power, wealth and glamour that viewers love about the huge, international hit franchise," according to Barbara Williams with Shaw Media, whose Slice channel will air the series. "There's an insatiable appetite for the Housewives series," she said in a statement.
The women include Christina Kiesel, described as a "free-spirited blonde," a "lady of leisure" and "a modern-day Brigitte Bardot" in a Slice bio out on Tuesday. Twice-divorced with no kids, she has travelled the world (more than 30 countries in the last four years alone) and her best friend is an outspoken hairdresser, sought after by Vancouver's elite.
Reiko MacKenzie is "a Japanese-Canadian bombshell," who studies mixed martial arts and collects exotic sports cars. Married to "a soft-spoken venture capitalist," she was on her way to a career in law when her first daughter came along (her kids are 8 and 2). So "she turned her focus to being a mother and looking after her family." When she's not racing her Ferraris.
Ronnie Seterdahl Negus owns a 200-acre Napa Valley vineyard and four houses in a gated waterfront area of West Vancouver. Also a private jet and a yacht. She has four children of her own and a stepdaughter, and has been married for 10 years. Described as a "luxury toy aficionado," she also "loves a good secret."
Jody Claman is a "self-made businesswoman and fashionista," who started a catering company with $800 and grew the company into a multimillion dollar empire (Jody's Fine Foods & Catering). Self-described as "Martha Stewart on acid," Claman also owns a high-end West Vancouver boutique called the Glass House and takes "great pride in earning her own living," despite the fact she is well provided for by her second husband – "a handsome and extremely successful businessman."
Mary Zilba, the only non-blonde in the bunch, is a former Miss Ohio, TV reporter and host, and recording artist who once sang the national anthem at the Orange Bowl and was also cast in Steven Bochco's short-lived series Cop Rock. She put her career on hold to raise her family. Now divorced with three teenage boys, she "isn't impressed with the crop of single men available in Vancouver."
The series will debut on Slice on April 4, with a two-hour "premiere event."
Marsha Lederman