From left: Taylor Armstrong, Camille Grammer, Lisa VanderPump, Kyle Richards, Kim Richards, Adrienne Maloof
Adam Olszewski/Bravo
The first woman introduced, Lisa VanderPump, lives in a palatial home with a pool, tiny pooches, her husband and a permanent houseguest named Cedric. "It really is like a fantasyland," she says. "There's everything you need here."
Her neighbor, Adrienne Maloof, is married to a plastic surgeon but helps run the Maloof family business, which includes the Palms Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and an NBA team, among other ventures. "My father instilled in us a work ethic that it's wonderful to have money, but you have to work for it," she said. "We've been hard workers our whole life."
Taylor Armstrong is Adrienne's good friend and a client of her venture capitalist and investment banker husband. "Beautiful women are a dime a dozen around here," she laments, "especially 20-year-old beautiful women. Later, she admits she fears her husband is "going to leave me for a 20-year-old."
Camille Grammer, now going through a divorce with her TV star husband Kelsey Grammer, is a dancer and mother of two who employs four nannies. "Just because somebody hires nannies, doesn't mean they're not there for their children," she says. "I'm here all the time for my children."
She's not the only Housewife with celebrity connections. Paris Hilton's aunts are also on the show: Kim Richards is a former child star, who gave up her career to raise four children. Her sister, Kyle Richards, is also a mom of four – and another former child star.
"Kim is a very co-dependent person ... I promised my mom when she was dying that I'd look after my sister Kim," Kyle says. "Sometimes, I think I cannot keep this promise to my mom. I just can't do this any more with her."
