Juliette "Juju" Castaneda ( nickname Juju C.;

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Juliet C.; born March 21, 1981) is an American media personality, author, actress and businesswoman. She rose to prominence as a main cast member of the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

reality television series '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'' and she subsequently appeared as a supporting cast member on its

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

show, '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami''. Castaneda released her debut novel, ''Secrets of a Jewel'', in January 2017.

Career

In 2012, Castaneda was reportedly approached by

Mona Scott-Young Mona Scott-Young ( Scott; born February 15, 1967) is an American television producer and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of the multi-media entertainment company Monami Productions, best known for producing the VH1 reality television franchise ''Lo ...

to appear as a cast member on the third season of

's reality television series '' Love & Hip Hop: New York'', but she turned it down. In April 2014, Castaneda was featured on rapper

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

's track "Devil" and the song was later included in the extended play, '' 1st of the Month Vol. 3''. She made her New York Fashion Week debut in the fall of 2014, walking for

Mark McNairy Mark McNairy (born March 8, 1961, in North Carolina) is an American fashion designer.

. In December 2016, Castaneda joined the supporting cast of the seventh season of ''Love & Hip Hop: New York'' after previously making an uncredited cameo in

season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

. This season chronicled the launch of her debut novel ''Secrets of a Jewel''. She was later promoted to the main cast for the eighth and

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

seasons of the show, which explored her adapting ''Secrets of a Jewel'' into a play, and her business ventures with fellow cast members

Safaree Safaree Lloyd Samuels (born July 4, 1981) is a Jamaican-American rapper. Samuels started his musical career in the group the Hoodstars in the early 2000s alongside American rapper Nicki Minaj. Samuels is also known as a solo artist. In 2016, he j ...

and

Jonathan Fernandez Jonathan Fernandez is an American writer and producer. He wrote the film ''Rob The Mob'' starring Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy Garcia, Ray Romano, and directed by Raymond DeFellitta based on the true-life story of Thomas Uva and Rose Mar ...

. Castaneda returned to the show as a supporting cast member for the tenth season. Additionally, Castaneda made several appearances on the first season of '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami'' as a friend of

Amara La Negra Diana Danelys De Los Santos (born October 4, 1990), known professionally as Amara La Negra, is an American singer, actress, dancer, author, and television host. De los Santos is an Afro-Latina of Dominican descent, and is most known for her rol ...

. In 2019, Castaneda made her transition into acting after being cast in the

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film ''Don't Shoot the Messenger''. She also made a minor appearance in the crime comedy '' I Got the Hook-Up 2''.

Personal life

Castaneda was born in Brooklyn, New York City. She was raised in Miami, Florida after her family relocated there shortly after her birth. Her parents are both Afro-Cuban immigrants who moved to the United States in 1980. She has an older brother, José Ernesto, and a sister, Jacquelyn, who is currently her manager. At the age of 16, Castaneda moved to Orlando and later worked as a security screener at

Orlando International Airport Orlando International Airport is a major public airport located 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Downtown Orlando, Florida. In 2021, it handled 19,618,838 passengers, making it the busiest airport in the state and seventh busiest airport i ...

. Castaneda attended Barry University, obtaining both a bachelor's degree in business and a master's degree in public administration. She is also a licensed

real estate broker A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

in Florida and the proprietor of a

hair care Hair care is an overall term for hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair which grows from the human scalp, and to a lesser extent facial, pubic and other body hair. Hair care routines differ according to an individual's culture and the physic ...

and wig company, Candy Jewels Hair. Castaneda is a fluent speaker of Spanish and English. She is a vegetarian. After meeting rapper

in 2002, the two began dating in 2007. The couple became engaged in 2013, but they later called off their engagement in 2017.

Activism

Castaneda is known for being outspoken about her

Afro-Latina Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Afro-Hispanics ( es, Afrohispano, links=no), Afro-Latinos or Black Hispanics, or Black Latinos are classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. ...

identity; she has been a proponent for addressing colorism and eurocentrism within the Latin community. She spoke out in support of

, who was criticised by another cast member for sporting an afro on the set of '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami''. In 2018, she stated: In 2016, Castaneda established My Precious Jewels, a nonprofit organization to help adolescent girls with self-confidence and

self-acceptance Self-acceptance is acceptance of self. Definition Self-acceptance can be defined as: * the awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses, * the realistic (yet subjective) appraisal of one's talents, capabilities, and general worth, and, * feelings ...

. In March 2019, she raised $200,000 to donate to an orphanage in Cuba.

Filmography

Film

Television

Bibliography

* ''Secrets of a Jewel'' (January 31, 2017)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castaneda, Juju 1981 births 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Actresses from New York City American film actresses American people of Caribbean descent American people of Cuban descent American women in business American women novelists American women television personalities Barry University alumni Businesspeople from Brooklyn Hispanic and Latino American actresses Hispanic and Latino American women in the arts Hispanic and Latino American novelists Living people Participants in American reality television series Pseudonymous women writers Television personalities from New York City Writers from Brooklyn 21st-century pseudonymous writers