With each season of The Real Housewives of New York, it seems like there is a new cast member who finds themselves getting some extra spotlight.  This season, it seems like Countess LuAnn de Lesseps  will be getting a lot of attention for her antics on the show. As the season continues to unfold, it will be interesting to see how things pan out for Countess LuAnn and the rest of the women. One of the only remaining original cast members, LuAnn has been demoted to a “friend” during the sixth season of the show.  However, now back to being a main cast member, LuAnn seems determined to show everyone why she deserves to be a part of the cast.  Here are 10 things you didn’t know about Countess Luann.

She is a published author…sort of

Countess LuAnn de Lesseps may be one of the most popular cast members of Real Housewives of New York, but she isn’t the type to just stay in the house all day and let someone else take care of her.  de Lesseps has worked hard to establish herself and her brand, and in 2009 she released a book titled, Class with the Countess: How to Live with Elegance and Flair.”  However, since the book was released, LuAnn has admitted that she wasn’t actually the person who wrote it.

She used to be a model

Before becoming a reality TV star, Countess LuAnn was already living the dream.  According to de Lesseps, she was once signed to the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency. However, while she has stated this fact – there doesn’t seem to be any other information on her modeling career. While some people never even get to live out one of their dreams, de Lesseps has gotten to live two.  Working as a model and becoming a TV star sounds like a good time.

She’s from Connecticut

Although she is a cast member on The Real Housewives of New York, Countess LuAnn is actually from Connecticut.  Born and raised in a town called Berlin, LuAnn’s family owned a local business and she was raised with her parents and siblings. While living in CT, LuAnn also became a licensed nurse.  She may be a millionaire now, but as you can see – she comes from humble beginnings.

She is a single mother

Being a parent definitely comes with its challenges.  However, for people who live life in the spotlight and are responsible for raising children, it can be especially difficult to find the perfect balance.  However, Countess LuAnn seems to have the single mother thing under control, and she is very proud of her two children. Surprisingly, unlike other children with famous parents, LuAnn’s kids seem to be well-adjusted and ambitious. Her daughter, Victoria, is a talented artist, and her son, is studying illustration in college.

She has a singing career

In this day and age, single moms do it all – and Countless LuAnn is no exception.  Like many other women across the Real Housewives franchise, LuAnn has also had a singing career.  In 2009, she released her first song, “Money You Can’t By Class.”  Since then she has continued to do her thing on the microphone and recently she released a song called “Girl Code (Don’t Be Uncool)” and the Internet has been going crazy over the track.  However, as with other Real Housewives and their song, a lot of the hype surrounding the song seems to be because people find it somewhat funny.

She hates hearing car horns

There aren’t many people who enjoy hearing car horns.  In fact, sometimes that sound is all it takes to set you over the age. Well, Countless LuAnn is no different.  In an interview, she stated that she hates the sound of car horns. Until 2013, New York City had several “No Honking” signs around the city to attempt to keep the obnoxious junking to a minimum.  However, the signs have since been removed.  Living in Manhattan with plenty of other loud city noises, LuAnn has probably been going crazy since the signs have been taken away.

She isn’t afraid to speak her mind

Like most RHONY cast members, Countless LuAnn isn’t afraid to speak her mind. During her time on the show, she has had several verbal altercations with some of her cast mates.  Even when the cameras aren’t rolling, LuAnn has no problem taking her problems to Twitter or expressing them in an Interview. Recently, LuAnn made it very clear that everything isn’t great between her and cast mate, Bethenny Frankel.  According to LuAnn, “she’s [Frankel] not my moral compass!”

She’s been accused of being racist

Back in 2012, Countless LuAnn made a statement that left one of her cast members feeling offend.  After referring to Native Americans as “Indians.” LuAnn was informed that “everyone over third grade,” knows that Indian is not the proper term.  However, refusing to let her reputation be that of a racist, LuAnn set the record straight stating, “Everything I say seems to bug Carole Radziwill. If I say tomato, she will say tomahto! First, I want to say that if anyone thought that something I did on last night’s episode was offensive, I’m sorry. To insinuate that I am insensitive or racist is insulting and flat-out, not true. The U.S. Census Bureau surveyed people of various races, asking what they liked to be called and over 49% of American Indians preferred to be called American Indian while 37% said that Native American was their preference.”

She loves to tweet

In this day and age, having a presence on social media is a necessity.  Anybody who wants to have a strong fan base needs to form a relationship with their fans, and social media is a great way to do that.  With that being said, LuAnn loves to tweet and she’s all about interacting with her fans. Although she only has 231,000 followers which isn’t a particularly high number for a ‘celebrity,’ she definitely makes sure to keep them entertained.

Her net worth is in question

According to a source, Countless Luann’s net worth is only $2 million, not quite as much as you’d expect.  However, other sources have her net worth recorded as $14 million, which would definitely be a more favorable amount for LuAnn. Aside from getting paid to appear on the show, she also makes money off of her songs and other appearances. However, the exact amounts aren’t always determined.

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