Danielle Staub

Danielle Staub

Staub attending the Shawn Carter Foundation Carnival, September 2011.
Born Beverly Ann Merrill
July 29, 1962
Athens, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation Television personality
Years active 2009–present
Television The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Spouse(s)
  • Kevin Maher (m. 1986–87)
  • Thomas Staub (m. 1993–2007)
Children 2

Danielle Staub (born Beverly Ann Merrill; July 29, 1962) is an American television personality. In May 2009, she came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which documents the lives of several women residing in New Jersey. In August 2010, Staub left the series after two seasons.

Life and career

During the first season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, the participants in the reality show confronted Staub with Charles Kipps's book Cop Without a Badge, which recounts events surrounding an undercover FBI informer, Kevin Maher (one of Staub's former husbands) including an account of Staub's arrest.[1] Known at the time as Beverly Ann Merrill, Staub cooperated with authorities and received five years' probation.[1][2] Although Staub has acknowledged that she was arrested in June 1986,[3] she denies many of the other allegations made by Maher.[1] Staub's autobiography, The Naked Truth, was released on May 25, 2010,[4] and in it she claims that her arrest was a matter of "wrong place/wrong time".[5]

After weeks of speculation, it was confirmed by Bravo that Staub would not be returning to the show for season three but no reason was given.[6] It was later revealed that Caroline Manzo told Bravo and Andy Cohen that she would not return to the series if Danielle did.[7] Rumors have often emerged about Staub returning to the show as either a regular or a guest star, especially since Caroline Manzo has permanently left the cast to do a spin-off program, but Staub has said that Andy Cohen wanted her to appear without being paid and she was not interested in doing so.

In June 2010, her Wayne, New Jersey home, which had been featured on the The Real Housewives of New Jersey, was put up for sale.[8] As of the end of 2014, the property is listed as a short sale in connection with Staub's successful completion of a bankruptcy filing.

In September 2010, she appeared on the Style Network's comedy program, The Dish. She acted in several sketches including a surprise cold open where she tried to take over as the show's host after leaving the real presenter, Danielle Fishel, bound and gagged backstage. The appearance gained media attention after one particular sketch which some say was a parody of Staub's cast mate Teresa Giudice by portraying her as a monkey.[9]

In 2011, Staub, along with Heidi Montag of The Hills and Jake Pavelka of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love, starred in a food-related reality series for VH1 called Famous Food, in which they "[revamp] a restaurant from the ground up".[10] Danielle ended up as a co-winner but it was never clear if she actually got to work at the new Lemon Basket restaurant before it was closed down.

Controversies and legal problems

Stripping deal and lawsuit

In May 2011, she signed a three-year deal with Scores Gentleman's Club as a fully nude stripper and agreed to star in adult online content.[11] [12] However, just days after signing her contract for adult performances, Staub announced she was seeking psychological and addiction treatment, and reneged on the deal.[13] Scores later sued Staub for breach of contract, but that lawsuit was dismissed.

Staub also lost a lawsuit filed by her former boyfriend Steve Zalewski, where he claimed she had defamed him by saying she was unaware that some of their sexual interactions had been recorded. However, while Zalewski was awarded $100,000 in civil judgment, Staub's 2014 bankruptcy agreement listed that amount as an "unsecured" asset, and Zalewski is unlikely to ever receive any of the amount.

Published works

References

External links