Teresa Giudice

Teresa Giudice is an American television personality and author who gained widespread recognition as an original cast member on the reality television series The Real Housewives of New Jersey starting in 2009. Known for her featured presence on the show, including a well-known 2009 incident where she flipped a dinner table during an argument with castmate Danielle Staub, she has remained a central figure on the series and became its last-remaining original cast member by its eighth season.

Born Teresa Gorga on May 18, 1972, in Paterson, New Jersey, she was raised in the Roman Catholic faith alongside her younger brother, Giuseppe "Joe" Gorga. Her parents, Giacinto and Antonia Campiglia Gorga, were Italian immigrants from Sala Consilina, Campania. Prior to her career in reality television, Giudice studied fashion marketing at Berkeley College in New Jersey and worked as an associate buyer for Macy's.

Throughout her television career, Giudice has published multiple books. She authored several New York Times bestselling cookbooks containing family recipes, including Skinny Italian (2010), Fabulicious (2011), and Fabulicious!: Fast & Fit (2012). Following a prison sentence, she co-authored the bestselling memoir Turning the Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again with K.C. Baker, and later published the bestseller Standing Strong in 2017. Outside of publishing, she created the Fabellini cocktail line and a haircare brand named after her daughter Milania, and in 2024 launched the podcast Turning The Tables By Teresa Giudice.

Beyond her primary show, Giudice has participated in several other television projects. In 2012, she competed on season five of The Celebrity Apprentice (also known as The Apprentice 12), placing fifth and raising $70,000 for The NephCure Foundation. She later appeared on The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in 2021, competed on season 31 of Dancing with the Stars in 2022, appeared in the television film Fuhgeddabout Christmas in 2022, and joined the cast of House of Villains in 2024.

Giudice's personal life and extensive legal issues have drawn substantial public attention. She married Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice in 1999, and the couple had four daughters before separating in 2019 and finalizing their divorce in 2020. After facing federal indictments for financial fraud, Giudice pleaded guilty to 41 fraud counts in 2014 and served 11 months of a 15-month prison sentence, releasing in December 2015. Following her release, she engaged in competitive bodybuilding. In August 2022, she married Luis "Louie" Ruelas in East Brunswick, New Jersey, a wedding featured in the 2023 special Teresa Gets Married.