Who are the 'Real Housewives of Nairobi?'
The ‘Real Housewives’ franchise turns to Nairobi, Kenya for a debut season, parading five of the country’s wealthiest women.
East Africa will finally have a taste of popular reality franchise The Real Housewives, after successful editions in Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos, and Abuja. Coming to Showmax on February 23 asThe Real Housewives of Nairobi,the streaming service may have struck reality TV gold, taking the show to different African countries and cementing continuity with more seasons.
With Real Housewives of Nairobi just around the corner, fans can count on the endless amounts of drama every Thursday. The reality TV show will follow the lavish lives of five women in Kenya drawn from media, entertainment, and entrepreneurship, orchestrating their own dynamic while observing the through-line and cues that have come to make the show an obsessive watch.
This East African iteration is produced by D&R Studios, and is part of The Real Housewives franchise licensed as a format by NBCUniversal Formats. Discover the cast members who will undoubtedly have our attention for weeks to come.
Susan Kaittany
Not new to the limelight, Kaittany first cut her teeth with fame as a teenage model, crowned Miss Earth Kenya in 2004. The title allowed her to compete with other contestants from around the world in the Miss Earth pageant in the Philippines. Her strong passion for beauty and fashion made her abandon her law profession for the hospitality industry.
Creating Posh Palace, a multi-million beauty empire that houses hair salons and spas in Nairobi, Kaittany has emerged as one of Kenya’s prominent beauty entrepreneurs and socialite. Her penchant for statement hairstyles suggests rich visuals when Real Housewives of Nairobi arrives. And she stays in touch with runway fashion by walking for Kenyan womenswear brand Aulgah Nato for their latest collection.
Vera Sidika
If there’s anyone Real Housewives of Nairobi needs on the show, it’s surely Vera Sidika. As one of Kenya’s most talked about celebrities, Sidika enjoys brewing controversy with her opinions which have landed her on gossip blogs and entertainment magazines. Last year, she made headlines for removing her butt implants due to medical complications, warning young women to love their natural bodies.
While her presence on social media has a stronghold in Kenya, the 33-year-old first picked up media notoriety as a video vixen. Her stint with reality television came when she was featured on Nairobi Diaries in 2015, a series that put her on screen alongside entertainers and socialites. As a businesswoman, she launched her herbal slimming tea Veetox in 2017 as well as a beauty parlor in Mombasa the following year.
Married to singer Brown Mauzo, Sidika has a daughter with one more child on the way.
Sonal Maherali
Sonal Mahreali is a mom of four who has cemented herself as a top luxury vlogger in Kenya. She launched her YouTube channel—where she shares videos on lifestyle, fashion, luxury travel, shoes, and lots more—in 2016.
It needs to be said again that Sonal has an obsession with high-end, luxury shoes. And while she’s calm and soft-spoken, she’s revealed that for Real Housewives of Nairobi she could get out of character if necessary. Maherali is married to Aly Maherali, the CEO of Executive Healthcare Solutions (EHS), the firm that represents Aetna International in Africa.
Maherali also has her own luxury clothing and shoe line, Simba Maharani.
Minne Kariuki
Those familiar with Minne Kariuki as Mariah from the Showmax originalSingle Kiasi won’t be surprised by her appearance on Real Housewives of Nairobi. Her character on the show has all of the Real Housewives tonal beats: living in a high-end apartment, drinking champagne, and traveling in private jets to luxury destinations. Importantly, she will be bringing the shade and sassiness to Kenya’s version of the Real Housewives.
The youngest of the cast members, Kariuki is married to artiste Charles Miugai, aka Lugz Kenya, with whom they have two daughters.
Lisa Christoffersen
Tanzanian-born Danish businesswoman Lisa Christoffersen has her heels at the intersection of interior design, African art, and curated luxury safari experiences.
Christoffersen is the founder of Lioness Rally, the first women-only rally team in Kenya, and Lifestyle Nairobi, an artisanal space in Nairobi’s diplomatic hub of Gigiri, featuring an art gallery, restaurants, spa, organic shops, and fashion houses.