Welcome to New York, Racquel Chevremont!
The new star of “The Real Housewives of New York City” will be joining Jenna Lyons, Brynn Whitfield, Jessel Taank, Erin Lichy, Ubah Hassan and Sai De Silva for Season 15 of the Bravo reality series.
But who exactly is the show’s newest apple-holder?
Chevremont was born and raised in the Bronx, making her a true New Yorker.
Chevremont is an art curator with over 20 years of experience working with institutions and advising corporations, collectors and artists.
She has curated artists including Dawoud Bey, Natia Lemay, Glenn Ligon, Julie Mehretu, Gordon Parks, Deborah Roberts and more into collections for movies and TV shows such as “Severance,” “Empire,” “And Just Like That…” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”
Chevremont was discovered in 1993 by photographer and model scout Steve Landis for Elite Models.
She has graced ad campaigns for Benetton, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Fila, L’Oréal and Nivea, as well as magazine covers for International Elle.
Chevremont is a proud queer black woman.
“I’m what you’d call a later-in-life lesbian, and when I first came out, I lost a lot of people,” she told GLAAD in an interview published Thursday.
“I believe that because of my age and my accomplishments, I didn’t care what anyone had to say. I didn’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone. I had spent my entire adult life in the fashion and art worlds, so while my personal life might have suffered, my professional life didn’t really skip a beat due to my queerness. I was lucky to be a part of two industries where queerness is embraced.”
Chevremont is a co-founder of The Josie Club, a social impact group that organizes community around collaborative event productions. It is run by and for queer black women.
According to her Instagram, Chevremont has two children — a son and a daughter — of teen/preteen ages.
“It’s exciting,” Chevremont told GLAAD.
“I honestly didn’t think they would be interested in me in the end because they already had a queer woman,” she added, referring to Lyons.
“I wasn’t sure if they were going to want two queer women on a franchise that has historically been about married heterosexual women. I think it was a bold decision and honestly a more authentic representation of NYC.”
“My family and I really had to think about it; in the end, it made sense,” Chevremont told the outlet.
“My entire adult life has been about representation and using whatever platform I have to get the voices of queer folks of the diaspora out there. What better way to do so if not as a member of this iconic franchise?”
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Chevremont is hoping to “show people a loving, fun family along with [her] chosen family.”
She also wants to “show that we all have more similarities than not; that queer women can be successful, beautiful and in loving relationships raising children, too; that this world exists.”
The new Bravolebrity added, “I hope that seeing me and my family and being able to relate to us regardless of your sexual orientation will perhaps change a couple of hearts and minds.”