Five facts about queer model Racquel Chevremont as she joins Real Housewives of New York City cast
Racquel Chevremont (L) and her ex, artist Mickalene Thomas (R) pictured in 2018. They split in 2022. (Getty)
Hit Bravo series The Real Housewives of New York City (RHONY to its friends) is back for season 15, and we are already obsessed with new LGBTQ+ “housewife” Racquel Chevremont.
Chevremont is an art curator and model who is basically a real-life Bette Porter from The L Word.
She’s a queer, Black, and Latina New Yorker, and GLAAD have celebrated Chevremont’s introduction as “a significant milestone in Bravo’s commitment to inclusivity.”
Speaking to GLAAD at the RHONY season 15 premiere red carpet event, Chevremont praised Bravo for taking a risk and “really went there” with queer representation. “They did not shy away from anything,” she added.
She becomes the second queer housewife on Real Housewives of New York City, following in the footsteps of fellow cast member, American fashion designer and businesswoman Jenna Lyons, who is currently in a relationship with photographer Cass Bird.
But what do we know about Racquel Chevremont? Let’s dig up five fascinating facts about her.
1. She’s been modelling for over 30 years
Chevremont is a seasoned and talented model, who has fronted ad campaigns for Benetton, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Fila, L’Oréal, Nivea and International Elle magazine covers. She was discovered by photographer and model scout Steve Landis and signed for Elite models in 1993.
2. She’s a well-known art curator
Like fellow (but fictional) Black queer art director Bette Porter from hit sapphic series The L Word, played by Jennifer Beals, Racquel Chevremont is a major player in her city’s art scene.
She entered into the art world over 20 years ago; in 2003, she joined the acquisition committees of the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. As part of her long history in the arts, she co-founded and funded the State Street Salon, a Brooklyn-based hub for artists, curators and collectors in 2008.
She also curates the art awards program for the Tribeca Film Festival.
3. She came out quite late in life
“I’m what you’d call a later-in-life lesbian, and when I first came out, I lost a lot of people,” she told GLAAD in a recent interview.
“I believe that because of my age and my accomplishments, I didn’t care what anyone had to say. I didn’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone. I had spent my entire adult life in the fashion and art worlds, so while my personal life might have suffered, my professional life didn’t really skip a beat due to my queerness. I was lucky to be a part of two industries where queerness is embraced.”
4. She was in a long-term relationship with visual artist Mickalene Thomas
The NYC art world was shooketh when, in 2020, Racquel Chevremont and Mickalene Thomas split up. Dubbed the ‘Deux Femmes Noires’, the creative power couple wrapped up their professional relationship two years later, in 2022.
The talented duo first met in 2002, when Chevremont worked at The Studio Museum in Harlem and Thomas was the artist in residence. They started dating in 2011 after meeting up again in Paris. Both were married at the time.
5. She curated And Just Like That character Lisa’s art collection on the SATC spin-off
The apartment of Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) apartment on Sex And The City spin-off And Just Like That has been described as a “shrine to Black art,”
In one tense scene, guests are crowded around Wexley’s dining room table when the hostess’s mother-in-law begins taking shots at daughter-in-law’s art collection, which includes pieces by non other than Mickalene Thomas (whose artworrk “Racquel avec Les Trois Femmes Noires” is pictured above).
It’s no huge coincidence, as it turns out Raquel Chevremont actually put together Wexley’s art collection for the show, alongside writer and supervising producer Keli Goff.
RHONY airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
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