Phaedra Creonta Parks (born October 26, 1973) is an American television personality, attorney, businesswoman, author, actress and mortician. She is best known for appearing on

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

's ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen season ...

'' from 2010 until 2017. Prior to this, she was an established attorney, fronting her own legal firm, ''The Parks Group''. In 2022, she starred on the second season of ''

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip ''The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip'' (acronym ''RHUGT'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Peacock on November 16, 2021. The series follows several women from ''The Real Housewives'' franchise as they vacation toge ...

'' on

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

, and in 2023, joined the cast for the upcoming tenth season of ''

Married to Medicine ''Married to Medicine'' (also known as ''Married to Medicine: Atlanta'') is an American reality television series and franchise that premiered on Bravo on March 24, 2013. The series chronicles the personal and professional lives of several women ...

''.

Early life

Parks was born in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where ''RHOA'' co-star

NeNe Leakes Linnethia Monique "NeNe" Leakes (; née Johnson; born December 13, 1967) is an American television personality, actress, presenter, businesswoman, author, and fashion designer. Born in Queens, New York and raised in Athens, Georgia, she is best ...

also lived, and attended the same high school as Leakes. She is one of four children to pastor parents Regina Bell and Henry Parks. Before undertaking a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, she attended the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(LSE) and

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. History The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Geo ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours.

Career

Parks first appeared on ''

'' in 2010. She was already an established attorney, with her own legal practice, The Parks Group. Throughout her career, she had represented multiple public figures such as

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

. In 2006, she was awarded 'Attorney of the Year' and has served on Georgia's Law School Alumni Council, the Grammy Recording Board, UGA Law School Board, and G-Capp. She has served as a legal analyst on shows like

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

regarding the

Michael Jackson trial ''People v. Jackson'' (full title: ''1133603: The People of the State of California v. Michael Joe Jackson'') was a 2005 criminal trial held in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, California. The American singer-songwriter Mic ...

. Parks has also acted as a television producer for BET's ''The Tiny and Toya Show''. Her appearance on ''

'' 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. 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. In a 2011 episode of ''RHOA'', Parks announced her plan to become a mortician. Parks was ultimately fired ahead of the show's tenth season following a damaging rumour she circulated about fellow ''RHOA'' cast member

Kandi Burruss Kandi Lenice Burruss Tucker (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American producer, television personality, singer, songwriter and actress. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the female vocal group Xs ...

and her husband, Todd Tucker concerning

Porsha Williams Porsha Dyanne Guobadia (née Williams, formerly Stewart, born June 22, 1981) is an American television personality, actress, and author. She starred on the television series ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' from 2012 until 2021, when she depar ...

and Shamea Morton. Following her departure from ''RHOA'',

tentatively announced a new unscripted series focussed on Parks alone titled, ''Rich People's Problems''. 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''. In 2020, Parks and then-boyfriend, Medina Islam, appeared on the season two premiere of '' Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition'' She made her acting debut in ''Covenant'', an eight-episode anthology series on Allblk, in October 2021. She played Bernice Whitfield, the family matriarch. In 2021, it was announced that Parks would be appearing on the second season of ''

'', the franchise's 'mash-up' series produced by

featuring multiple well-known housewives from the franchise. In 2022, alongside Parks' ''RHUGT'' main cast appearance, she additionally starred in a recurring guest role in ''

The Real Housewives of Dubai ''The Real Housewives of Dubai'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on June 1, 2022. Developed as the twelfth installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, highlighting the personal and professional lives of sev ...

's'' first season, as a friend of housewife Caroline Brooks.

Shereé Whitfield ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen seaso ...

stated that Parks filmed for Season 14 of ''RHOA'' at her fashion show, however scenes featuring Parks were never aired. Rumours regarding Parks' return to ''RHOA'' in a full-time capacity have begun to swirl following executive producer

Andy Cohen Andrew Joseph Cohen (born June 2, 1968) is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer. Cohen is the host and executive producer of Bravo's late night talk show, '' Watch What Happens Live!'' He also has a pop culture ...

stating he would love to have her back, following her 2017 firing. Reportedly, her appearances on ''RHUGT'', ''RHOA'' and ''RHODXB'' are to test whether her Bravo comeback appeals to audiences.

has stated she would leave ''RHOA'' if Parks returns. In January 2023, it was announced that Parks would return for the fourth season of ''

'', set to film in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

later that month. Parks has signed onto the upcoming tenth season of ''

'', replacing Dr. Contessa Metcalfe and Anila Sajja.

Personal life

Between 2009 and 2017, Parks was married to Apollo Nida. Nida was convicted of conspiracy to commit

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

, and

bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many ins ...

, but Parks has maintained she had no knowledge of his criminal activity. With Nida, she has two children: Ayden (born 2010) and Dylan (born 2013). She dated Medina Islam before breaking up in 2021. She is dating an unnamed doctor in the Atlanta area.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Phaedra African-American lawyers African-American women lawyers African-American television personalities Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers The Real Housewives of Atlanta People from Athens, Georgia People from Atlanta Living people Wesleyan College alumni University of Georgia alumni 1973 births