Kris Jenner Relists Iconic KUWTK Mansion for $11.25 Million After $2M Price Cut$170 million
Kathryn Edwards$2 million
Courtney Hansen$4 million
Karen Huger$10 million
Nara Smith$6 million
Emma Hernan$4 million
Antonela Roccuzzo$20 million
Cindy Margolis$5 million
Dannielynn Birkhead$3 million
Amanda Cerny$10 million
Breckie Hill$1.5 million
Paige DeSorbo$1 million
Jacqueline Laurita is an American reality television personality, author, and former cosmetologist who has a net worth of $500 thousand. She is best known as an original cast member of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” which introduced viewers to her marriage, children, and relationships with the extended Manzo-Laurita family.
Jacqueline Laurita Quick Facts
| Full name | Jacqueline Elizabeth Grippe Laurita |
| Born | April 26, 1970, New Jersey |
| Education | Chantilly High School, Virginia |
| Known for | “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” (original cast, 2009) |
| Spouses | Matt Holmes (divorced 1992); Chris Laurita (married May 11, 2002) |
| Children | Ashlee (born 1990); Christopher “CJ” (born 2002); Nicholas (born 2009) |
| Net worth | $500 thousand (estimate) |
Early Life
Jacqueline Laurita was born Jacqueline Elizabeth Grippe on April 26, 1970, in New Jersey. Her father, Jerome, was an Army colonel, and she grew up with her mother, Bonnie, and brothers Thomas and Robert. The family’s military assignments took them to several places, including Germany and South Korea.
Laurita attended Chantilly High School in Virginia before moving to Las Vegas in 1990 with her family and then-husband, Matt Holmes. Before becoming a reality television personality, she worked as a cosmetologist and model. She later described spending more than two decades in the beauty industry, including reviewing products and working with chemists and formulators.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Laurita joined “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” when it premiered in 2009. The original cast included her sisters-in-law, Dina Manzo and Caroline Manzo, along with Teresa Giudice and Danielle Staub. Those existing family connections helped distinguish the New Jersey series from other installments of the franchise.
Her early storylines followed her marriage to Chris, her relationship with daughter Ashlee, and shifting friendships within the group. Laurita’s close friendship with Giudice eventually deteriorated, producing arguments and reconciliation attempts that became recurring parts of the series. She also shared her family’s response to her son Nicholas’ autism diagnosis, bringing a more personal subject into a show often dominated by social conflicts.
After five seasons as a full-time cast member, Laurita appeared in a recurring role during the sixth season in 2014. She returned as a full-time Housewife for season seven in 2016. In April 2017, she confirmed that she would not return for season eight after being offered a part-time position that might expand depending on her storyline and relationships with the cast. Explaining her decision to Entertainment Tonight, she said: “I just felt that after being on the show for seven years and putting my time and everything into that, to not have a confirmed full-time decision, with that feeling that I had to kind of tryout again, it just didn’t feel right.” She also rejected reports that the departure resulted from salary demands, saying negotiations had not reached that stage.
Laurita subsequently appeared on podcasts and discussed her experiences on the show without returning to the New Jersey cast. In February 2023, she and Giudice reunited for a lengthy lunch in Las Vegas with their husbands, publicly ending years of estrangement.
Other Television Work and Writing
Laurita appeared on Caroline Manzo’s Bravo spinoff, “Manzo’d with Children,” and made guest appearances on numerous talk shows. Her credits include “The Wendy Williams Show,” “The Dr. Oz Show,” “The Nate Berkus Show,” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” She also had small acting roles in the NBC series “Mercy” in 2009 and the comedy “Bad Parents” in 2012.
In 2016, Laurita and beauty and style writer Jené Luciani published “Get It!: A Beauty, Style, and Wellness Guide to Getting Your ‘It’ Together.” The book combined advice on hair, makeup, skin care, clothing, fitness, and organization, drawing on Laurita’s professional beauty experience. Published by BenBella Books, it was aimed at readers balancing personal care with work and family responsibilities.
Autism Advocacy
Nicholas was diagnosed with autism in 2012, when he was three years old. Laurita discussed the diagnosis publicly and allowed viewers to see aspects of the family’s experience on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” She went on to speak at conferences, colleges, and fundraising events, sometimes appearing alongside Chris.
In 2015, Laurita announced that she and Chris were working on a book called “Defy Expectations” about raising their son. Their advocacy also intersected with Chris’s business interests when he co-founded the miniature popcorn brand The Little Kernel. Launched in 2016, the company pledged a portion of its proceeds to Generation Rescue, an organization that supported families affected by autism.
Personal Life
Laurita’s first marriage was to Matt Holmes, with whom she welcomed daughter Ashlee in December 1990. The couple divorced in 1992. Ashlee also appeared on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” where her relationship with her mother became a recurring storyline.
Jacqueline met Chris Laurita while modeling at a trade show in Chicago. They maintained a long-distance relationship while she lived in Nevada and he lived in New Jersey, eventually marrying on May 11, 2002. They have two sons, Christopher “CJ,” born in 2002, and Nicholas, born in 2009.
Jacqueline became a grandmother in August 2016 when Ashlee welcomed son Cameron Hendrix Malleo. Jacqueline, Chris, and their sons moved from New Jersey to Las Vegas in 2019. In 2023, they relocated to Orange County, California, as Chris expanded his apparel business.
Bankruptcy Litigation and Financial Problems
In 2009, Signature Apparel Group, the clothing company owned by Chris and his brother Joseph, entered bankruptcy. The resulting litigation included a $7.8 million lawsuit accusing family members of using company assets for personal spending. The complaint alleged that funds had supported an “increasingly opulent lifestyle of private jets, limousines, extravagant parties, premium automobiles, designer clothing, ostentatious home furnishings and lavish vacations.”
The bankruptcy generated several related civil proceedings. In an August 2017 ruling, a federal bankruptcy judge found Chris liable for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breaches of fiduciary duty involving the company’s business arrangements. The court also determined that his company New Star Group had been unjustly enriched by $1.8 million and should return that amount to the bankruptcy estate. Jacqueline was not a defendant in that particular proceeding, although she was named in a separate case involving alleged transfers from Signature Apparel.
In March 2019, WWD and Law360 reported that Chris had reached a proposed $500,000 settlement concerning claims that family spending had depleted Signature Apparel’s assets. The agreement was subject to bankruptcy court approval. Separately, reports in 2013 said New Jersey had pursued Jacqueline for more than $340,000 in unpaid state taxes.
Legal expenses produced another substantial dispute years later. In August 2025, Us Weekly reported that a New Jersey judge had entered a default judgment against Jacqueline and Chris on July 3 after they failed to respond to a lawsuit from their former attorneys, Seidman & Pincus. The reported award totaled approximately $761,000, consisting of about $342,000 in fees and $419,000 in interest. The firm had represented the couple in litigation connected to Signature Apparel’s bankruptcy and withdrew from that representation in 2018. A source close to the couple told Us Weekly that Chris disputed the amount billed and was attempting to negotiate a settlement.
Real Estate
Jacqueline and Chris paid $1.72 million for their Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, home in February 2002. The approximately 5,674-square-foot property had six bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and a half bathroom on about 1.75 acres. It became familiar to viewers through “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”
In 2013, Hudson City Savings Bank sought foreclosure over a missed payment on the home’s $1.6 million mortgage. Monthly payments exceeded $10,000. The Lauritas reached an agreement with the lender that year, but the property later faced renewed foreclosure proceedings.
They listed the house for $2.85 million in 2014 and brought it back to market for approximately $2.3 million in 2017. In April 2019, the asking price was $1.95 million, falling to $1.85 million in May and $1.75 million in July. The family left New Jersey that summer, and the listing was removed in October.
The property returned to the market in 2021 for approximately $1.99 million. Listing records show that it sold in January 2022 for $1.875 million, nearly $1 million below the original 2014 asking price.
Jacqueline Laurita’s $500 thousand net worth is the balance of a long reality-television career against years of bankruptcy litigation, tax claims and legal bills. Her fellow Housewives’ fortunes are covered in our Alexis Bellino net worth and Kristen Taekman net worth profiles, and for another model-turned-reality figure see Hailey Clauson net worth.
