Erika Jayne

Erika Girardi (née Chahoy; born July 10, 1971),[1] known professionally as Erika Jayne, is an American singer, television personality and actress.[2]

Erika Jayne
photo of Erika Jayne
Jayne pictured at a Kenzo Event during Paris Fashion Week 2023
Born
Erika Chahoy

(1971-07-10) July 10, 1971
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Other namesErika Girardi
Occupation(s)Singer, television personality, actress
Years active1990–present
TelevisionThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Spouses
Thomas Zizzo
​
​
(m. 1991; div. 1996)​
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2000; sep. 2020)​
    Children1
    Musical career
    Genres
    Instrument(s)Vocals
    Labels
    • EJ
    • RM
    • Pretty Mess
    Websiteerikajayne.com

    Early life

    Erika Girardi was born in Atlanta, Georgia,[3] on July 10, 1971, to single mother Renee Chahoy.[4] Her parents broke up before her first birthday. She graduated from North Atlanta High School. At 18, she moved to New York City.[5]

    Career

    Acting and reality television

    Her first two on-screen appearances were non-speaking roles as Suzanne Morton in the episodes "Prescription for Death" and "The Violence of Summer" in NBC's legal drama series Law & Order.[6] She also had roles in independent films Alchemy (1995) and Lowball (1996).[7][8]

    In 2015, she joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for the show's sixth season.[9]

    In December 2016, she guest starred on The Young and the Restless with her former Real Housewives cast member Eileen Davidson, who plays Ashley Abbott on the show.

    Music

    According to her autobiography Pretty Mess, music producer Peter Rafelson came up with the idea of changing her name to "Erika Jayne".[10] Jayne's first single, "Roller Coaster" was released on January 1, 2007. The song placed at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Jayne's debut album Pretty Mess, was released in the United States on August 11, 2009. She released several standalone singles from 2010 to 2018, including number one singles "Painkillr" and "How Many Fucks."

    Throughout her music career, Jayne has performed at several gay nightclubs and LGBT pride events, including LA Pride. In 2018, she embarked on her first headlining concert tour, Erika Jayne Presents: The Pretty Mess Tour, visiting 13 cities across the United States. In April 2023, she announced Bet It All on Blonde, a Las Vegas concert residency at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.[11]

    While living in New York, she met Thomas Zizzo,[12] who was working as a DJ at a club in Manhattan. The couple married in December 1991 at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Soon thereafter she gave birth to a son, Thomas Zizzo Jr. After the couple divorced in 1996, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming a singer.[13]

    In January 2000, she married Thomas Girardi, an attorney in Downtown Los Angeles whom she met in 1998.[14] In November 2020, she announced her separation from Girardi and filed for divorce.[15] One month after the divorce announcement, the couple were named in a lawsuit for allegedly embezzling funds meant for families of the victims of the fatal 2018 Lion Air plane crash.[16][17] Media outlets reported that the divorce could be a "sham" to hide assets.[18] In December 2020, a Chicago-based law firm asked a federal judge to order Jayne to stop selling designer clothing online amid an effort to recover $2 million in missing money owed to people.[19]

    On December 17, 2020, a Los Angeles Times article alleged that Girardi "stole millions of dollars from vulnerable clients," and improperly funneled more than $20 million of victims' compensation to EJ Global, a company set up to finance Jayne’s entertainment and singing career.[20] Two days later, Jayne released an Instagram post revealing text messages and photos of Tom Girardi's alleged mistress, a Californian judge.[21] A documentary about the couple's highly publicized legal troubles titled The Housewife and the Hustler was released on Hulu on June 14, 2021.[22] On August 31, 2022, she scored a legal win in a $5 million dollar fraud lawsuit, where the court found there was no evidence of 'wrong doing' confirmed in New York Post's Page Six article[23] which later on the Los Angeles Times also had confirmed.[24]

    Discography

    Studio albums
    Title Album details
    Pretty Mess

    Singles
    Year Single Peaks Album
    US
    Dance
    Club
    [25]    		 US
    Dance/
    Elec.
    [26]    		 US
    Global
    Dance
    [27]
    2007 "Roller Coaster" 1 — — Pretty Mess
    "Stars" 1 — 33
    2009 "Give You Everything" 1 — 16
    2010 "Pretty Mess" 1 — 19
    "One Hot Pleasure" 1 — 24 Non-album singles
    2011 "Party People (Ignite the World)" 1 — 25
    2013 "Get It Tonight" (featuring Flo Rida) — 20 —
    2014 "Painkillr" 50 25 —
    "You Make Me Wanna Dance" — — —
    2015 "Crazy" (featuring Maino) 1 — —
    2016 "How Many Fucks" 1 — —
    2017 "Xxpensive" — — —
    2018 "Cars" — — —
    "—" denotes a title that did not appear on the respective chart.
    Billboard's Global Dance Tracks ranking was discontinued in 2013.

    References
    1. "Erika Jayne". BBC. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
    2. Agard, Chancellor (December 15, 2015). "Newest Beverly Hills Housewives Erika Girardi Teases Run-In with Bethenny Frankel: She 'Kind of Let Me Have It'". People. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
    3. Collar, Matt. "Erika Jayne Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
    4. "Erika Girardi Hopes Her Relationship with Her Mom Is Something People 'Will Be Able to Relate To'". Bravo. March 8, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
    5. "Erika Girardi on Painful Past — and Realizing She Was in a 'Wealthy Coma' After Marriage". people.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
    6. "Erika Jayne's 'Pretty Mess': 7 Revelations From 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Star's Memoir". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
    7. "Low Ball (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
    8. "Alchemy (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
    9. "A conversation with 'Real Housewives' star Erika Girardi, our latest reality TV obsession". Los Angeles Times. March 9, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
    10. "Erika Jayne's 'Pretty Mess': 7 Revelations From 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Star's Memoir Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
    11. "Erika Jayne Announces Las Vegas Residency". Paper Magazine. April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
    12. Cardoza, Riley (May 5, 2020). "Erika Jayne Shares Rare Pic of Son Tommy: 'People Say We Look Alike'". Us Weekly. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
    13. "Erika Girardi Biography". Bravo. Bravo TV. 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
    14. "RHOBH: A Look Into Erika Jayne's 'Unconventional' Marriage With Thomas Girardi". ScreenRant. November 13, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
    15. Sobol, Beth; Williams, Amanda (November 3, 2020). "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi Break Up After 21 Years Together". E! Online. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
    16. "Judge freezes assets of famed L.A. lawyer Tom Girardi, citing millions unpaid to clients". Los Angeles Times. December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
    17. Tom Girardi sued by Indonesia's Lion air crash families over claims US lawyer embezzled millions of their settlement funds ABC News, June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
    18. Yasharoff, Hannah. "Erika Jayne, Tom Girardi accused of 'sham' divorce announcement to hide from embezzlement lawsuit". USA Today. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
    19. Seidel, Jon (December 18, 2020). "Chicago law firm wants contempt order enforced against Erika Jayne of 'Real Housewives'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
    20. "The legal titan and the 'Real Housewife': The rise and fall of Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne". Los Angeles Times. December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
    21. Bennett, Jessica (December 19, 2020). "Erika Jayne claims California judge is Tom Girardi's alleged mistress". Page Six. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
    22. "Erika and Tom Girardi's Legal Troubles Examined in The Housewife and the Hustler: Biggest Moments". People. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
    23. "Erika Jayne scores win in $5M fraud lawsuit, court finds no evidence of 'wrongdoing'". August 31, 2022.
    24. "'Real Housewives' star Erika Jayne wins Tom Girardi fraud lawsuit". Los Angeles Times. September 2022.
    25. "Erika Jayne Dance Club Songs Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
    26. "Erika Jayne Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
    27. "Chart Search | Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
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