Biography
Who is Erika Jayne?
Early life and background
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 10, 1969, she was raised by her mother, Renee Chahoy. Her father left when she was only nine months old. Growing up in the South, she attended North Atlanta High School before deciding to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
At the age of 18, she left home and relocated to New York City to seek new experiences. While living in New York, she met her first husband, Thomas Zizzo, who worked as a club DJ. The two married at St. Patrick's Cathedral in December 1991 and welcomed a son, Thomas Zizzo Jr., before divorcing in 1996. Following the end of her first marriage, she moved to Los Angeles to chase her dream of becoming a professional singer.
Acting and reality television career
Her early acting career included uncredited roles on the NBC legal drama Law & Order in the pilot episode and the episode titled The Violence of Summer. She also appeared in independent films such as Alchemy in 1995 and Lowball in 1996. In 2015, she joined the cast of Bravo's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for its sixth season, significantly increasing her public profile.
Beyond reality television, she has taken on several other performance roles. In 2017, she competed on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars with partner Gleb Savchenko. She also guest starred on the soap opera The Young and the Restless starting in 2016, where she played the character Farrah Dubose. In 2019, she was cast as Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago, a role she performed at the Ambassador Theater in 2020 and again in 2025.
Music and performance projects
She began her musical career under the name Erika Jayne, a moniker suggested by music producer Peter Rafelson. Her debut single, Roller Coaster, was released on January 1, 2007, and reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Her first album, titled Pretty Mess, followed in 2009.
Her live performance career includes her first headlining concert tour in 2018, which visited 13 cities across the United States. In 2023, she launched a Las Vegas residency titled Bet It All on Blonde at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. She documented this residency in a two-part Bravo documentary released in 2024. Also, she competed on The Masked Singer in 2025 as the character Yorkie and was announced as an opening act for Kesha's Freedom Tour in 2026.
Marriage and legal issues
In January 2000, she married Los Angeles personal-injury attorney Thomas Girardi. The pair met in 1998 while she worked as a cocktail waitress at Chasen's, a local restaurant. In November 2020, she announced her separation from him and filed for divorce.
Following the divorce filing, the couple became the subject of a lawsuit alleging the embezzlement of funds meant for victims of the 2018 Lion Air plane crash. Media coverage intensified regarding their financial affairs, with a documentary titled The Housewife and the Hustler released on Hulu in 2021. While a civil fraud lawsuit in 2022 determined that plaintiffs could not prove she had knowledge of the alleged fraud, her former husband was later found guilty of wire fraud in 2024.
Birthday and age
Erika Jayne was born on July 10, 1969, which makes Erika 57 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. Erika shares the date with 37 other famous people.
Explore more
