Sonja Morgan | |
|---|---|
 Morgan in 2025 | |
| Born | Sonja Tremont (1963-11-25)November 25, 1963 (age 62) |
| Alma mater | Fashion Institute of Technology (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Television personality, fashion designer, socialite, stage actress. |
| Known for | The Real Housewives of New York City |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Sonja Morgan (néeTremont; born November 25, 1963) is an American television personality, socialite, entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is popularly known for her starring role on theBravo reality television seriesThe Real Housewives of New York City.
Sonja Tremont was born on 25 November 1963, inAlbany, New York, to parents Dennis Howard Tremont and Sandra Cooper (née Quell). Her grandfather and father ran a lumber company inAverill Park, New York.[2] She is of German, English, and Luxembourgish ancestry. Her ancestor Nicholas Tremont arrived in the United States sometime before 1880.
Morgan studied marketing at theFashion Institute of Technology.[3] Her fashion line,Sonja by Sonja Morgan, was launched in 2015 and is sold at theVanessa Noel store on East 64th Street and online. Morgan's line also retailed inCentury 21 stores prior to their bankruptcy filing in 2020 following theCOVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] In the 1980s and 1990s, Morgan worked as an interior director, event planner, and hostess for a series of high-end Manhattan restaurants.
In 2010, Morgan joined the cast of Bravo's hit reality television seriesThe Real Housewives of New York City during its third season. She stayed with the show until 2021, remaining a main cast member for eleven seasons. Widely regarded as a franchise fan favorite, she was voted "Best Comedienne" in the fan-chosenReal Housewives Awards for four consecutive years, from 2015 through 2018. In 2021, celebrity video messaging platformCameo disclosed that Morgan was among their top ten highest-earning celebrities the previous year.
In 2017, Morgan made heroff-Broadway debut in the playSex Tips for Straight Women by a Gay Man.[4][3] In 2021, she launched a regional tour of improv shows entitledSonja In Your City, playing sold-out shows in cities including New York, Boston, Baltimore, and Washington DC.[6] She is a frequent guest onAndy Cohen's late night chat show,Watch What Happens Live and she has made guest appearances on a number of other television series, includingDifficult People,Kocktails with Khloé, andWorst Cooks in America.[7] In 2023, she co-starred in aReal Housewives spin-off series with longtime castmateLuann de Lesseps, titledLuann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake, which premiered on July 9, 2023.[8] Morgan starred in the fourth season ofThe Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, a spin-off featuring various women fromThe Real Housewives franchise, which premiered in December 2023 on the NBC streaming servicePeacock.
A longtime philanthropist, Morgan has contributed to charities involving children, visual and performing arts, animal rights groups, andLGBTQ+ rights.[3] She hosts cabaret and burlesque events, calledSonja in the City, that help raise money for charity.[3] She received a Singular Sensation Award in 1990 at theSt. Regis Hotel for her work alongside Vanessa Noel andMira Sorvino.[3] In July 2013, she received aNew York State Senate Award for charity work.[3][9]
Morgan metJohn Adams Morgan, a member of the prominentMorgan family, in the 1990s while working as a hostess at an Italian restaurant onMadison Avenue.[10] They were married from 1998 until 2006.[11][12] The couple wed and spent much of their marriage residing on Caritas, a 3.5-acre private island at the tip ofWallack's Point inStamford, Connecticut.[13][14] They have one daughter, Quincy Adams Morgan.[10] Morgan's divorce left her in financial ruin. She filed forbankruptcy, paying off creditors for four years after.[15] She sold her house inRamatuelle for $5.7 million, and remortgaged her $3.3 million home in New York City.[15] Morgan also paid $6.95 million to Hannibal Pictures Incorporated after an abandoned movie project.[15] The American Home Mortgage Servicing received $600,000 from Morgan's estate and the deed to her $5.8 million home inTelluride, Colorado.[15]
As a public figure, Morgan has told stories of the many prominent men that she encountered as a young single woman in New York City. The list includes tennis playerJohn McEnroe, actorJack Nicholson, comedianRichard Lewis, musicianEric Clapton, andPrince Albert of Monaco, among others.[16]
On October 13, 2016,The Huffington Post mentioned Morgan in a report onallegations of sexual misconduct made by Lisa Boyne against U.S. PresidentDonald Trump.[17] Boyne said Morgan invited her to a dinner with Trump, modeling agentJohn Casablancas, and five or six models.[18] Boyne alleged that Trump made the models walk across the table, looked under their skirts, and described if they were wearing underwear. Morgan confirmedThe Huffington Post that a dinner took place with those participants, did not recall lewd behavior by Trump, and said: "But I have been known to dance on tables."[17]
In September 2020, Morgan spoke publicly about her experiences withcosmetic surgery, including her facelift with New York plastic surgeonAndrew Jacono.[19][20][21][22]
In May 2025, Morgan was banned from the restaurant Tucci in New York. The incident occurred over a dispute in which Morgan refused to pay her bill.[23]