née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Polizzi; born November 23, 1987), best known by her nickname Snooki, is an American reality television personality. She is best known for being a cast member of the
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
reality show ''
Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...
'' and starring in '' Snooki & Jwoww'' and '' Jersey Shore: Family Vacation''. Upon appearing on ''Jersey Shore'' in 2009, Snooki gained popularity, leading to numerous talk show appearances, web and television series participation and hosting, and a large social media following. She reportedly earned $150,000 per ''Jersey Shore'' episode by the last season. She also appeared as the guest hostess for '' WWE Raw'' in 2011 and competed at WrestleMania XXVII that same year.
Early and personal life
Snooki was born in
Santiago, Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...
. She was adopted when she was six months old and was raised by Italian-American parents, Andy and Helen Polizzi. Snooki has taken two DNA tests to determine her genetic background. In 2014, the first DNA test stated that she had European, Asian and Jewish ancestry. Five years later, in January 2019, she took another DNA test which stated that she is of Native Chilean and European descent. Snooki's father is a volunteer firefighter and auto-salvage supervisor, and her mother is an office manager. Snooki lives in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Snooki received her nickname, Snooki, in middle school, when her friends named her after "Snookie", a male character in '' Save the Last Dance'', because she was the first of her friends to kiss a boy. She grew up and attended school in Marlboro, New York, where she was a cheerleader. During high school, she suffered from an
eating disorder
An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating d ...
, at one point weighing . Snooki attended Brookdale Community College after graduating from Marlboro High School, where she studied to become a veterinary technician.
In March 2012, Snooki announced her engagement to Jionni LaValle. Snooki gave birth to the couple's first child, Lorenzo Dominic LaValle, on August 26, 2012. Snooki appeared on the front page of the March 2013 issue of '' Us Weekly'', claiming to have lost 42 pounds post pregnancy.
Her second child, Giovanna Marie LaValle, was born September 26, 2014, weighing in at 6lbs 7oz. On November 29, 2014, Snooki married Jionni LaValle.
In October 2016, Snooki announced she had had a breast augmentation to obtain a C cup.
On November 22, 2018, she announced via her
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
that she was expecting her third child. On December 13, 2018, she revealed, via YouTube, that she would be having another boy, who would be named Angelo. On May 30, 2019, Snooki gave birth to her third child, Angelo James LaValle.
On February 14, 2021, Snooki revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-isolating from the rest of her family, all of whom had tested negative.
Career
Reality television
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
first introduced Snooki in ''Is She Really Going Out with Him?'', a show that focused on women dating obnoxious or arrogant men. Snooki and her boyfriend, Justin, appeared in episode 14, "Jerz Pud".
Snooki became part of the reality TV series ''Jersey Shore'' after being scouted by the casting director, Josh Allouche, an employee of Doron Ofir Casting. ''The New York Times'' identified her as "the breakout member of the cast". According to ''The New York Times'', her actions on the show have caused her to be the target of public disdain while having a "strange appeal". One reported measure of her appeal was that she was one of the most popular celebrity Halloween costumes of 2010. At the height of the show's popularity, Snooki was reportedly earning $150,000 per episode.
While shooting in Seaside Heights, Snooki was punched in the face by New York City school gym teacher Brad Ferro. The punch, while shown in previews, was blacked out during showings of the episode. Videos of the punch went
viral
Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents).
Viral may also refer to:
Viral behavior, or virality
Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example:
* Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
on YouTube and were featured in many news media. After the punch was made public, Snooki's appearance fees increased from $2,000 per event to $10,000 per event.
In 2011, Snooki and her ''Jersey Shore'' costar, Jennifer Farley, signed a contract to star in a spin-off show, '' Snooki & Jwoww'', which premiered on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
Laverne & Shirley
''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' star ...
''. 495 Productions filmed the first season over the course of six weeks, at a former two-story firehouse located near Grove and Mercer Streets in
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark."Snooki confirms pregnancy, first thought was 'I've been drinking'" '' New York Post''. March 7, 2012 The show chronicled her days in pregnancy and early years in motherhood and ran for four seasons before concluding in February 2015.
In early 2016, Snooki starred with her husband on the f.y.i. series ''Nicole & Jionni's Shore Flip''. Since November 2015, Snooki has starred with Farley on the web series ''Snooki & Jwoww: Moms With Attitude'' produced by AwesomenessTV. The show wrapped its second season in late 2017. On January 28, 2016, it was announced that she would be a contestant on ''
The New Celebrity Apprentice
''The New Celebrity Apprentice'' (also known simply as ''The Apprentice'') was the eighth and final installment of the reality game show ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', thus making it the fifteenth and final installment of ''The Apprentice'' as a wh ...
''.
''Dancing with the Stars''
On September 4, 2013, it was announced on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' that Snooki would compete on the 17th season of ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
'', partnered with newcomer Sasha Farber. They were eliminated on October 28, 2013, coming in 8th place despite receiving good scores and comments from the judges.
''Dancing with the Stars'' performances (Average: 25.0):
Other television appearances
Snooki was a presenter at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. On July 27, 2010, the cast of ''Jersey Shore'' appeared at the New York Stock Exchange, and Snooki rang the opening bell. Snooki and the cast of ''Jersey Shore'' appeared at the 2010
MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
on September 12, 2010. Snooki also appeared on
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an As ...
's '' Cake Boss'' episode "Snookie, Super Anthony & a Ship" on November 8, 2010, in which she orders a cake for her mom. On November 7, 2010, Snooki appeared at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid, Spain. She was subsequently parodied in the ''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' episode "
It's a Jersey Thing
"It's a Jersey Thing" is the ninth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series ''South Park'', and the 204th episode of the series overall. It premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 13, 2010. In ...
Bobby Moynihan
Bobby Moynihan (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor, comedian and writer who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 until 2017. He also voiced Louie Duck on Disney's ''DuckTales'' from 2017 to 2021, Panda in ''We Bare Be ...
. She also hosted the MTV New Year's special ''MTV's Club New Year's Eve 2013'', with Jwoww and Jeff Dye, on December 31, 2012, from Times Square, to ring in 2013.
WWE
Snooki made an appearance on the March 14, 2011, episode of '' WWE Monday Night Raw'', where she had a segment with
John Morrison John Morrison or Morison may refer to:
In politics
* John Morrison (Manitoba politician) (1868–1930), politician in Manitoba, Canada
* John Morrison (Saskatchewan politician) (1872–1950), Canadian Member of Parliament
* John Morrison (intelli ...
, Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler. During the segment she slapped Vickie, starting a feud with the couple. Later at night she got into a brawl with LayCool, which led to the formation of a six-person Mixed Tag Team match at WrestleMania XXVII. Snooki made an appearance on the March 28, 2011, episode of '' WWE Monday Night Raw'' in a segment where Snooki introduces Trish Stratus to the Jersey Shore, were they started a street fight with LayCool in a bar. At Wrestlemania, Snooki and her partners Trish Stratus and John Morrison won the match. On December 12, 2011, on WWE RAW, she was awarded the WWE 2011 A-Lister of the Year Slammy Award which she accepted via satellite.
Other ventures
In January 2011, Snooki's book, ''A Shore Thing'', was released; it described her search for love on the boardwalk. Despite a promotional campaign that included appearances by Snooki on '' The View'', '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'', and the ''
Late Show with David Letterman
The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
'', the book was not a sales success. It sold approximately 9,000 copies within its first month of release, during which it accumulated 16 one-star customer reviews on Amazon.com. One publishing executive said the book sold poorly because "rather than a tell-all, it was disguised as a novel."
In April 2011, Snooki was paid $32,000 to speak at Rutgers University. Topics she spoke about included what being a celebrity is like and what she thinks is important in school, including the advice: "Study hard, but party harder". Some students complained the school's money would have been better used on speakers other than Snooki. Rutgers spokesman Steve Manas responded that the extension of the invitation to Snooki resulted from canvassing by students, who indicated whom they wanted to invite. Over 1,000 people attended Snooki's engagement.
On October 25, 2011, Snooki's second novel, ''Confessions of a Guidette'', was released with Gallery Books. The novel was marketed as a part- memoir, part- guide of how to "rock it Jersey-style.
Snooki's third novel, ''Gorilla Beach'', was released on May 15, 2012. It is a sequel to Snooki's first novel, ''A Shore Thing''.
In January 2012, Snooki's Team Snooki Boxing co-promoted a cooperative venture with Final Round Promotions, a boxing card at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, featuring Irish featherweight boxer
Patrick Hyland
Patrick Joseph Hyland (born 16 September 1983) is an Irish former professional boxer from Dublin. He competed at featherweight and super featherweight.
Professional career
Hyland turned professional in September 2004 in the City West Hotel, D ...
fighting and winning in the main event before a capacity crowd. Hyland's two brothers Eddie and Paul, also boxers, appeared in preliminary bouts. The event attracted considerable publicity in the boxing press.
Legal troubles
On July 30, 2010, Snooki was arrested in
Seaside Heights, New Jersey
Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,disturbing the peace
Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct.
Public ord ...
, disorderly conduct, and criminal annoyance of others. In a September 8
plea bargain
A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
in which the latter two charges were dropped, Judge Damian G. Murray sentenced her to a $500 fine and community service. In handing down the sentence, he characterized Snooki as "a
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...
wannabe". Her arrest was taped during production of season three of ''Jersey Shore''.
On May 31, 2011, in Florence, Italy, Snooki was briefly taken into custody by local police after the car she was driving collided with a parked traffic police car. According to Italian police, Snooki was cited and released. Two police officers sustained minor injuries.
In late 2011, Snooki sued SRG Ventures, a licensing company she had signed with a year earlier to bring out Snooki-branded merchandise such as watches, shoes, lingerie, and school supplies, for
breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...
. She alleged the company had failed to adequately seek such licensing opportunities. The company countersued, alleging she and her manager had undermined its efforts by negotiating directly with manufacturers and delaying their decisions.