Marisa Zanuck is the “it” girl of real estate in Beverly Hills, and now she
is one of the newest cast members to join The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Season 3. Marisa is a friend, wife, mother and a business woman. Get to know
more about Marisa as she talks career, family and what to expect
in this third season of RHOBH. She gives us a brief background of her life and career and
who she get’s along the most as she talks exclusively with iRealHousewives.
iRH: Hi Marisa, welcome to iRealHousewives. How are you?
MZ: I’m good, thanks!
iRH: I know you were born and raised in Beverly Hills . How was it for you to grow up
in such a famous zip?
MZ: Well for me it’s my home, I basically lived here all my life. I went to
iRH: I know you started as a receptionist and then an
assistant before becoming a real estate agent. What gave you that drive to
become successful?
MZ: Basically, I’ve always been very ambitious. Not growing
up with a lot of money and seeing what everyone else had, wanting to make a
great life for myself. It was very important to me. I’ve always been very ambitious
and I’m still to this day.
iRH: What lead you to become a real estate agent?
MZ: Basically I fell into it. After graduating high school,
I stated working as a receptionist, after learning so much about the business I
knew I could do this, so I worked my way up. I used to do the advertising of
the company and then I worked as an assistant at a really big broker in Beverly Hills . When I saw
it can make you big money and it was a good job for a future mother that’s why
I did it, it just happened. it was something that I happen to be good at and it
and decided to take on.
iRH: What do you enjoy the most about the real estate
business?
MZ: I love working a deal. When I’m in the middle of working
a deal, that’s when I’m the happiest. From finding the perfect house for
someone, making sure everyone is happy, from the buyer, to homeowner, to the
brokers involved, making sure everyone is happy can be hard so I like the
challenge.
iRH: The real estate market has been affected by the
economy. To what extent has this affected your business deals?
MZ: It has affected my job in a sense that normal people
like me to people from 1 million to the 4 million range has been affected. From
the mortgage, to stock markets, to the economy it does affect us. Fortunately
I’ve been working in the high end areas of Beverly Hills , which are 5 million dollar
homes and above so it hasn’t affected my job. There are deals always happening
but the rich people still have money so it doesn’t affect them like it affects
us.
iRH: How were you
approached to be part of a crazy show called “The Real Housewives of Beverly
Hills”?
MZ: (Laughs). It was pretty organic, I’ve been friends with
Kyle for a very long time and I thought it would be fun. You know I don’t know
what I’m in for; I don’t know if it’s going to be a good road or a scary road.
I’m kind of scared. I just hope it turns out well, you know what I mean? It’s a
little scary. I really don’t know what I’m really in for to be honest.
iRH: Were you a fan of the show before joining RHOBH?
MZ: Yes, I loved the show. I watch all the housewives shows.
iRH: Besides Kyle, were you friends with any of the other
girls?
MZ: I know Lisa from around town. I know Faye Resnick since
she’s Kyle’s friend. Basically I knew of the girls but I didn’t know them in a
personal level.
iRH: I know you have 2 beautiful children and a lovely
husband, will we get to see them on the show?
MZ: Yes definitely, the kids and my husband are involved.
iRH: Speaking of your husband, how did you meet your
husband?
MZ: I meet him when I was a receptionist at my very first
firm that I worked for. He would walk every day by my office to look at me. I
knew he liked me but he was very shy so it took him a whole year to talk to me.
iRH: How would you describe yourself on the show?
MZ: I’m definitely myself. I think at times it’s going to
get me in trouble because I say what I think and what I feel. I know some
people don’t like that but I really don’t care what they think to be honest. But
I’m not the type of person who hurts people or is malicious. I won’t throw
anyone under the table but I will say something when I think I should.
iRH: Who did you get along the best?
MZ: Of course Kyle. I love Kyle, I like Brandi a lot, and I
like Lisa and Camille. I’m new so I’m still getting to the girls. I filmed a
lot with Brandi, and I talk to Brandi outside the show, I like her a lot. I get
along with most of the girls to be honest.
iRH: Were you prepared on the amount of drama you were going
to witness before joining the show?
MZ: To be honest, I know I said I’ve watched the shows, and
was I’m a big fan of them but I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think it
was going to be the way it was, so I wasn’t prepared for it (laughs). But it’s
been fun and honestly all the girls really like each other, and get along.
iRH: Who is your favorite housewife from another city?
MZ: My favorite housewife from another city is Kim Zolciak
from RHOA
iRH: Who is your least favorite housewife from another city?
MZ: Teresa Guidice from RHONJ
iRH: I know you’ve stated that before and got a lot of heat
from the fans.
MZ: I know, I know. She might be a nice person like if you meet
her, but she comes across malicious and I’m not a fan of people like that.
iRH: Besides juggling a career and being a wife and a mother
your also a philanthropist. Is there a specific charity that you support?
MZ: I'm doing a charity event for my father in law. My
father in law recently passed away, I am hosting a benefit for him on December
13th with David Webb which he is big jeweler in Beverly Hills and all over the world. They
want me to host the event, and we are going to donate 15 percent of the
proceeds to his charity which is feeding the homeless. You can find more
information of the event at www.allsaintbh.com.
It’s a great cause, I love helping out and feeding the homeless especially
since we are in this economy and everyone is going through such a hard time.
iRH: I know you worked on a show for HGTV titled “Selling
LA”, are you going to continue to the show?
MZ: I did it for 2 seasons. It was basically a real estate
show. I’m not allowed to do both shows, fortunately I choose RHOBH. I think it
will give me more exposure and I thought it would be more fun.
iRH: Do you have any upcoming projects that you are
currently working on?
MZ: I do. I have some in the works but I’m not sure if I can
talk about them. It looks like I’ll be doing some hosting work for Extra TV.
That’s what I really want to do. I love doing that. And I have other stuff that
I’m working on but it’s still too early to say.
iRH: Anything you would like to say to your fans?
MZ: (laughs). I don’t have many because people don’t know me
yet. The producers keep telling me I’m their secret weapon. I get brought in
the show during episode 7, and then I’m there throughout the season. So you got
to watch out for me, I might make an appearance in the first episode.
iRH: So we have to wait that long to know more about you?
That sucks.
MZ: Yeah (laughs). What I will say is don’t take everything
in such a face value. There’s a reason we say what we say. There’s a lot you
don’t get to see that’s behind the scenes, You have to listen and pay attention
because what you see it’s not always the whole story.
iRH: During the trailer we saw a bit of you, are we going
to see a lot of you on the show?
MZ: They didn’t put very much of me on, but you will see a
lot of me. I’m really involved throughout the rest of the show.
iRH: I just hope you don’t get the Dana treatment and get a
limited role.
MZ: But she was annoying anyways. I think she felt insecure around the
other women, so she had to act like she had a whole lot of money. I’m the first
one to say I don’t have a lot of money. I’m a normal girl who lives in a normal
2 million dollar house. I’m not the richest girl in the cast but I fit in well
with the cast and I get along with the girls and I’m very happy about that.
iRH: Thank you for taking the time for this interview
sweetie, good luck!!
MZ: Thank you so much, had fun, have a great day.
Stay Connected with Marisa:
Twitter: @MarisaZanuck
Photo Credit: WetpaintTv
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