Lisa Rinna facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lisa Rinna
Rinna modeling at The Heart Truth Fashion Show 2008
Born	Elizabeth Deann Rinna (1963-07-11) July 11, 1963 (age 61) Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, television personality, model
Years active	1985–present
Known for	The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Days of Our Lives Melrose Place
Spouse(s)	Harry Hamlin ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	2

Lisa D. Hamlin (born Elizabeth Deann Rinna; July 11, 1963) is an American actress, television personality and model. As an actress, she is best known for her roles as Billie Reed on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives and Taylor McBride on Fox's television drama Melrose Place. Between 2014 and 2022, Rinna starred on Bravo's hit reality television series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Other television credits include being a contestant on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice and ABC's Dancing with the Stars, as well as guest-starring roles on series such as Entourage, The Middle, Veronica Mars, Community, and 8 Simple Rules. Rinna made her Broadway debut in Chicago as Roxie Hart in June 2007.

She was the host of Soapnet's talk show Soap Talk (2002–2006), for which she earned four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Talk Show Host. She also hosted the M&M awards. Rinna has also written three books: Starlit; The Big, Fun, ... ... Book; and The New York Times best-seller Rinnavation. Her other ventures include a fashion line for QVC named The Lisa Rinna Collection, the cosmetics collection Rinna Beauty, and the beverage company Rinna Wines.

Early life

Lisa Rinna was born July 11, 1963 in Newport Beach, California to Lois Irene (née DeAndrade) and Frank Rinna. She is of Italian, Portuguese, and English descent. When Lisa was seven, her older half sister Laurene passed away. During that same year, her family relocated to Medford, Oregon, when her father was transferred there for job-related reasons, and she spent the remainder of her childhood there. Rinna graduated from Medford Senior High School in 1981. After graduating, Rinna moved to San Francisco, California, to pursue a career as a model. She started her career by appearing in commercials. "I think I got my SAG card doing a Mervyn's commercial,” she told the Los Angeles Times.

Career

Acting

At age 21, Rinna appeared in the music video for John Parr's single "Naughty Naughty," as the passenger in Parr's car. Rinna later made her television debut appearing as the girlfriend of Jason Bateman's character in several episodes of The Hogan Family in 1990. In 1992, she first received national recognition when she originated the character of Billie Reed on NBC's Days of Our Lives. Her character was an instant hit with viewers, earning Rinna two consecutive Soap Opera Digest Awards. She departed in 1995, but went on to reprise the role in 2002, 2012, and 2018. She then made the jump to primetime television, portraying Taylor McBride on Aaron Spelling's Melrose Place from 1996 to 1998. Through the late 1990s, Rinna appeared in a series of television films, including Lifetime's ..., Lies & Obsession opposite her husband Harry Hamlin. Her previous Lifetime film, Another Woman's Husband, boasted one of the highest ratings for a movie on Lifetime since 1999. In 2001, Rinna played the role of Veronica Simpson in the comedy film Good Advice, which starred Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. Over the summer of 2007, Rinna starred as Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago alongside her husband, who played the role of Billy Flynn.

In 2004, Rinna guest-starred on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules and the CW drama Veronica Mars, playing the recurring role of Lynn Echolls on the latter. In 2007, she portrayed Drama's ex-girlfriend Donna Devaney on HBO's Entourage, in the episode "Malibooty." In 2008, she appeared in Disney Channel's musical comedy television series Hannah Montana, in the role of Mr. Dontzig's cousin Francesca. In 2009, Rinna expressed interest in reprising her role of Taylor McBride on the CW's revival Melrose Place, if given the offer; however, the series was cancelled after only one season. In 2011, Rinna appeared on Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush as Brooke Diamond. In 2021, Rinna reprised her role of Billie Reed for a special Peacock miniseries, Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem, alongside costars Deidre Hall, Eileen Davidson, and Jackée Harry. She has continued to appear in television roles, with guest parts on series including C.S.I., The Middle, The Guest Book, Awkward. and This Close.

In 2023, Rinna guest starred on the third season of American Horror Stories.

Hosting and reality television

Rinna was the host of Soap Talk (2002-2006), the flagship daily lifestyle show of cable network Soapnet. She and co-host Ty Treadway received four consecutive Daytime Emmy Award nominations for their work. At the same time, Rinna hosted three seasons of Lifetime's TV home makeover program Merge. In 2007, she also hosted Oxygen's Tease, a reality competition series for hairstylists. From 2007 to 2009, she was the host of TV Guide Network's awards season red carpet coverage, replacing Joan Rivers. In 2006, Rinna competed in the second season of Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Louis van Amstel. She was eliminated in round seven based on audience voting, despite having higher marks from the judges than fellow celebrity dancer Jerry Rice. She was a regular guest co-host on Live with Regis and Kelly.

In 2008, TV Guide reported that Rinna and Hamlin had signed a deal to create a reality television series based on their family life. The series, titled Harry Loves Lisa, premiered on TV Land on October 6, 2010, and ran for 6 episodes. In 2010, she was also featured as a guest judge on the fourth episode of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race. In 2011, Rinna competed in season 4 of The Celebrity Apprentice. She was eliminated after being the project manager on the second task, writing and performing a children's book. Rinna returned to the show in its sixth season as one of the "All-Stars" contestants. After being eliminated from that roster, she appeared on the May 13, 2013, episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with Lil Jon to discuss their time on the show. In 2014, she appeared as one of the contestants on ABC's game show Sing Your Face Off.

In 2014, Rinna joined the main cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for the show's fifth season. She acknowledged in a 2019 Los Angeles Times interview that being a Housewife brought her unprecedented attention: "I've never been more famous than I am at this point, because of the show." Rinna, along with singer-songwriter Kandi Burruss of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, was among the franchise's first celebrity hires. She is widely considered one of the best Housewives of all time. In 2020, she was nominated as Favorite Reality Star at the People's Choice Awards. On January 6, 2023, Rinna announced her departure after eight seasons.

Modeling

Lisa Rinna modeling at The Heart Truth Fashion Show in 2008

Rinna has graced the covers of CVLUX, Living Well, Soap Opera Magazine and Soap Opera Digest. Rinna has appeared in commercials and print ads throughout her career. In 2008, she appeared in print ads for Mars Inc's M&M candies with Joey Fatone as part of the "There's an M&M in everyone" advertising campaign. In 2012, Rinna appeared in an infomercial for abdominal muscle toner "The Flex Belt" alongside Adrianne Curry, Denise Richards and Janet Evans. She has appeared in a television commercial for Taco Bell and an infomercial for Winsor Pilates. In 2012 to benefit the charity Dress for Success, she modeled an adult incontinence brief made by Depend under a tight-fitting evening gown. She appeared in print ads and commercials for Depend and, according to reports, Depend paid her $2 million to be their celebrity spokesperson. In September 2019, she walked the runway for Kyle Richards' and Shahida Clayton's new women's clothing brand at New York Fashion Week.

In 2008, she released a series of workout videos called Dance Body Beautiful.

Fashion

Rinna and her husband Harry Hamlin jointly owned the Belle Gray clothing boutique in Sherman Oaks, California in 2011. They closed the store in 2012 because, by then, both had grown too busy with their respective acting careers to manage it. In June 2019, Rinna launched an activewear collaboration with retailer Goldsheep. Proceeds from the collaboration benefited The Trevor Project, a national organization providing crisis intervention to LGBTQ youth.

QVC

In April 2012, Rinna brought her collection to QVC as the Lisa Rinna Collection, which has been a success.

Cosmetics

In September 2020, Rinna announced that she will be launching Rinna Beauty, with its lip kits named Birthday Suit, Legends Only, and No Apologies.

Personal life

Rinna married actor Harry Hamlin on March 29, 1997, in Beverly Hills, California. The couple have two daughters, Delilah Belle (born June 10, 1998) and Amelia Gray (born June 13, 2001). Rinna is also stepmother to Hamlin's son Dimitri Alexander from his relationship with Ursula Andress.

Filmography

Theater

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Lisa Rinna para niños