Celebrity Apprentice 2011: Who is NeNe Leakes and why is she famous?

 

 

Celebrity Apprentice 2011!

Who is NeNe Leakes and why is she famous?

[Apr. 6]

Star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, NeNe Leakes has a dominating personality. She is unafraid to speak her mind, and she has gotten some flak over some over-the-top behavior. She has been the subject of some controversy with fellow Celebrity Apprentice contestant, Star Jones, even prompting movie star actor Matthew McConaughey to say he can’t wait to see the inevitable fireworks between she and former The View talk show host Star Jones go down. As a green celebrity, NeNe Leakes is competing to benefit Atlanta Union Mission to support My Sister’s House for Women Against Domestic Abuse, but as a Hollywood celebrity who gained fame as a reality television show star, fans want to know… who is this woman and why is she famous? [Even if it is only in her own home town.]

Linnethia “NeNe” Leakes is a native of Queens, New York, and mother of 18-year-old Brice and 9-year-old Brentt, according to Essence magazine. And while she also is a green celebrity, she certainly brought the New York attitude with her to Housewives, and she is poised to do the same for Celebrity Apprentice. If anyone was cast to play the role of antagonist on Celebrity Apprentice, NeNe Leakes is a prize choice.

In an interview with Essence magazine NeNe Leakes said of her appearance on Housewives, “We’re going to bring a lot of fun, a lot of drama. We are five fun, fabulous girls. We’re very smart, we’re businesswomen, we’re go-getters, we’re moms, and I think everybody is going to absolutely love the show. We do have our differences here and there. I really wanted to do the show to get my name and business out there.”

That business is Twisted Hearts Foundation, of which NeNe Leakes is the founder, she said. The organizations mission, the green celebrity said, is to help stand up against domestic violence. And it’s a cause too many women never should have to stand up for.

“I just want to help,” green celebrity Nene Leakes tells NBC of her chosen charity, Atlanta Union Mission: My Sister’s House. “I just want to be that voice. I just want to help people who have gone through some of the things I’ve gone through,” speaking of domestic violence against women. She said, “So for me to be able to be the Apprentice and bring awareness about domestic violence, Atlanta is just going to stand up and dance.”

But NeNe Leakes may first have to get over her tiff with Star Jones, who has been feuding with NeNe.

From the beginning, People magazine reported:

Star Jones has got it in for me,” The Real Housewives of Atlanta star told reporters during a conference call. “But it’s all good. I’m okay with it. There are a lot of people who don’t like Star, so I won’t be the only one.” […]

“She is very different. She’s a piece of work,” Leakes says of Jones. “Anyone who sits around all day and says all her friends are doctors and lawyers and A-list celebrities – cut the BS, I don’t have time for it.”

While the two green celebrities have settled their feud, reportedly for the meantime, don’t expect much to change when it comes down to the wire if the women are pitted against one another. They both carry the strength of conviction. Hopefully they can bring that conviction together to make real work — not feuding — happen.