The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is adding a name that instantly raises the show’s profile. According to TMZ, production sources confirmed that Leah Remini, 56, is joining season 16 as a full diamond holder, making her one of the biggest Hollywood names ever added to a Housewives cast. Variety later confirmed the news as well, reporting that filming was already underway, with cameras set to start rolling on Remini’s storyline in Los Angeles within the week.
Calling this a coup for the franchise isn’t an exaggeration. Housewives casts are usually built from real estate agents, socialites, and reality TV veterans. Remini is a sitcom icon with a genuine, decades-long Hollywood résumé, and her addition changes the caliber of who’s willing to sign on for this franchise.
A Career That Started In The ’80s
Remini’s path to Beverly Hills started long before reality television existed in its current form. She got her first break in 1989 with a two-episode arc on Who’s the Boss, which led to a starring role as Charlie Briscoe on the spinoff Living Dolls. Throughout the 1990s, she built a steady résumé across shows including Saved by the Bell, First Time Out, and Fired Up.
Her defining role came in 1998, when she landed the part of Carrie Heffernan opposite Kevin James on The King of Queens. She played his TV wife for nine seasons, a run that cemented her as one of sitcom television’s most recognizable faces. The two later reunited in 2017 for the finale of James’s show Kevin Can Wait, with Remini appearing as Vanessa Cellucci through the following season. In 2018, she starred alongside her real-life best friend Jennifer Lopez in the film Second Act.
Her Life After Scientology
Beyond her acting career, Remini has spent over a decade as one of the most visible public critics of the Church of Scientology. She left the organization in 2013 after roughly 30 to 35 years as a member, and has been outspoken about its practices ever since.
In 2015, she published Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, documenting her experience inside the church. A year later, she launched Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath on A&E, a series she produced, edited, and narrated examining alleged abuses within the organization. The show ran from 2016 to 2019 and earned Remini an Emmy win.
That history means Remini arrives at RHOBH with a public persona built on confrontation and advocacy, not just comedic timing, a combination that should make her a genuinely unpredictable presence in a cast built around conflict.
What’s Happening In Her Personal Life
Remini married actor Angelo Pagan in July 2003, and the couple welcomed daughter Sofia in June 2004. Pagan, 58, is also father to three sons, Alex, Nicholas, and Angelo Jr., from a previous relationship. After 21 years of marriage, Remini and Pagan finalized their divorce in October 2024.
Fans joining her for this new chapter will likely get a closer look at her life post-divorce as she settles into the franchise.
She’s Not The Only New Face
Remini’s arrival comes alongside another notable addition. Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles star Tracy Tutor, 51, confirmed on August 19 that she’s joining RHOBH as well, filling the spot left open after Amanda Frances announced she would not return for a second season.
“Well, the secret’s officially out,” Tutor wrote on Instagram. “I’m joining the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and I could not be more excited for this next chapter.”
She previewed her own personality heading into the show. “Beverly Hills is home. I’ve raised my girls here, built my career here, and now apparently I’ve decided to let you all even further into my life. Excited? Very. Nervous? A little. Likely to get into some trouble? Absolutely. So what’s left to say but, let’s f***ing go.”
Filming has already brought some of the cast together outside the show itself. Several returning Housewives attended Bozoma Saint John’s wedding to Keely Watson in Ghana on August 21, suggesting the current cast’s relationships remain warm heading into a season with two major new additions.
Patricia covers the Kardashians, Real Housewives, The Traitors, and Below Deck. She specializes in breaking news and celebrity updates, from business ventures to on-screen drama. Patricia has covered reality TV and entertainment for three years.
