Phaedra Parks | |
|---|---|
 Parks in 2018 | |
| Born | Phaedra Creonta Parks (1973-10-26)October 26, 1973 (age 51) Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | Wesleyan College (BA) University of Georgia (JD) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Phaedra Creonta Parks (born October 26, 1973) is an American attorney, legal analyst, television personality, author, activist, and businesswoman.
She is best known for appearing onBravo'sThe Real Housewives of Atlanta from 2010 until 2017, rejoining the cast in 2024. Prior to this, she was an established attorney, fronting her own legal firm, The Parks Group. In 2022, she starred on the second season ofThe Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip onPeacock, and in 2023, joined the cast for the tenth season ofMarried to Medicine.
Parks was born inAthens,Georgia, whereRHOA co-starNeNe Leakes also lived, and attended the same high school as Leakes. She is one of four children to pastor parents Regina Bell and Henry Parks.[citation needed] Before undertaking aJuris Doctor at theUniversity of Georgia School of Law,[1] she attended theLondon School of Economics (LSE) andWesleyan College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours.
Parks first appeared onThe Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2010.[2] She was already an established attorney, with her own legal practice, The Parks Group. Throughout her career, she had represented multiple public figures such asBobby Brown.[3][4] In 2006, she was awarded 'Attorney of the Year'[citation needed] and has served on Georgia's Law School Alumni Council,[5] theGrammy Recording Board, UGA Law School Board, and G-Capp.[citation needed] She has served as a legal analyst on shows likeFox News andNBC regarding theMichael Jackson trial. Parks has also acted as a television producer forBET'sThe Tiny and Toya Show.[5]
Her appearance onThe Real Housewives of Atlanta helped her become nominated as one of Atlanta's top 100 Black women of influence, as her season 3 debut kick-started high publicity and positive attention for Parks.[6] Her seven season stint on the show saw Parks involved in multiple main storylines including the dissolution of her marriage to Apollo Nida and pregnancies resulting in sons Ayden and Dylan.[7] In 2017, Parks was ultimately fired ahead of the show's tenth season following a damaging rumour she circulated about fellowRHOA cast memberKandi Burruss and her husband, Todd Tucker concerningPorsha Williams and Shamea Morton.[8][9][10] Following her departure fromRHOA,Bravo tentatively announced a new unscripted series focused on Parks alone titled,Rich People's Problems.[3][11] The show was never released.
In 2013, Parks released her first book,Secrets of the Southern Belle: How to Be Nice, Work Hard, Look Pretty, Have Fun and Never Have an Off Moment.[12][13] In 2020, Parks and then-boyfriend, Medina Islam, appeared on the season two premiere ofMarriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition[14][15][16] She made her acting debut inCovenant, an eight-episode anthology series onAllblk, in October 2021.[17][18] She played Bernice Whitfield, the family matriarch.[14] In 2021, it was announced that Parks would be appearing on the second season ofThe Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip (subtitledEx-Wives Club), the franchise's 'mash-up' series produced byPeacock featuring multiple well-known former housewives from the franchise.[19][20]
In 2022, alongside Parks'RHUGT main cast appearance, she additionally starred in a recurring guest role inThe Real Housewives of Dubai's first season, as a friend of housewifeCaroline Brooks.[21] Shereé Whitfield stated that Parks filmed forSeason 14 ofRHOA at her fashion show, however scenes featuring Parks were never aired. Rumours regarding Parks' return toRHOA in a full-time capacity have begun to swirl following executive producerAndy Cohen stating he would love to have her back, following her 2017 firing.[22] Reportedly, her appearances onRHUGT,RHOA andRHODXB are to test whether her Bravo comeback appeals to audiences.Kandi Burruss has stated she would leaveRHOA if Parks returns.[23]
In January 2023, it was announced that Parks would return for the fifth season (and secondEx-Wives Club season) ofThe Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, taking place inMarrakesh, Morocco and set to premiere in 2024.[24] Parks signed onto the tenth season ofMarried to Medicine, replacing Dr. Contessa Metcalfe and Anila Sajja.[25] In September 2023, it was announced that Parks would be a contestant on Peacock'ssecond season ofThe Traitors, which aired in early 2024. She was selected to be a 'traitor' and was banished in episode ten.[26]
In July 2024, it was announced that Parks would be returning toThe Real Housewives of Atlanta, after a six-season hiatus, for the sixteenth season.[27] In September 2024, Parks was announced as one of the celebrities competing onseason 33 ofDancing with the Stars. She was partnered withValentin Chmerkovskiy.[28]
Between 2009 and 2017, Parks was married to Apollo Nida. Nida was convicted of conspiracy to commitmail,wire, andbank fraud, but Parks has maintained she had no knowledge of his criminal activity.[29][30] With Nida, she has two children.[17] She dated Medina Islam before breaking up in 2021.[31]
RegardingThe Real Housewives of Atlanta and similar shows, Parks stated that she would “never” let her children watch the programs, saying “That’s not child-appropriate” and “I don’t think it was created for children and so I don’t know if any responsible parent allows their child to watch those types of shows.”[32]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Tiny and Toya | Consulting producer | |
| 2010–2017, 2024– | The Real Housewives of Atlanta | Herself | Main cast (seasons 3–9, 16–) |
| 2011–2022 | The Wendy Williams Show | Herself | |
| 2012–2024 | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Herself | Guest |
| 2014–2022 | Dish Nation | Herself | Guest co-host in seasons 10 and 11 |
| 2015, 2023– | Married to Medicine | Herself | Guest (season 3) Main cast (season 10–) |
| 2018 | Braxton Family Values | Herself | |
| 2020 | Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2021 | Covenant | Bernice Whitfield | 2 episodes |
| 2022–24 | The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip | Herself | Main cast (Seasons 2 & 5) |
| 2022 | The Real Housewives of Dubai | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | The Real Housewives of New Jersey | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2024 | The Traitors | Contestant - Traitor | 7th Place (season 2) |
| 2024 | Dancing with the Stars | Contestant withVal Chmerkovskiy | 8th place (season 33) |
| 2024 | Will Trent | Adela Blakely | 1 episode |