Kimberleigh Marie "Kim" Zolciak-Biermann (néeZolciak; born May 19, 1978)[1][2] is an American television personality and singer. She is best known as an original cast member of the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Atlanta, starring in 5 and recurring in 1 of the 15 seasons since its 2008 premiere. Her spin-off series Don't Be Tardy (originally Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding) aired 8 seasons from 2012–2020.
In 2015, Zolciak was one of the contestants on season 21 of the dancing competition series Dancing with the Stars, she withdrew from the competition on September 15, 2015, finishing in 11th place.
At age 17,[3] Zolciak had an affair with a Windsor Locks police sergeant who had interviewed her as a material witness in a criminal investigation, initially resulting in the officer's firing.[6] The termination was later changed to a 45-day suspension without pay.[7][8] She attended East Catholic High School in Manchester, Connecticut, leaving after her freshman year. She studied nursing at the University of Connecticut.[3] At 21, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where her parents had moved, and eventually settled in the suburb of Johns Creek.[3]
Career
Entertainment
Zolciak-Biermann first appeared on the reality television series The Real Housewives of Atlanta, airing on Bravo, on October 7, 2008, when she was 30. Between seasons four and five, Zolciak and her then fiancé were the subject of a spinoff show, Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding, chronicling Zolciak's wedding preparations. Zolciak left Real Housewives in the middle of the fifth season, with her final episode airing December 9, 2012.[9]Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding, later renamed to Don't Be Tardy..., is in its eighth season as of 2020. Zolciak-Biermann returned to Real Housewives for its tenth season in a recurring capacity.
Zolciak-Biermann was scheduled to star in a new reality show on Bravo with fellow The Real Housewives cast member, NeNe Leakes, called NeNe and Kim: The Road to Riches.[10] However, the network later decided not to move forward with the show.[11]
In 2023, Zolciak was revealed as one of the cast members to be joining The Surreal Life on MTV for the show's eighth season, which premiered on July 23, 2024.[15]
Musical career
In 2008, Zolciak began work on a country music album. She released a debut single, the dance track "Tardy for the Party", in 2009, followed by a remixEP the following year.
On March 12, 2013, Zolciak's Real Housewives of Atlanta castmate Kandi Burruss and her collaborating songwriter/producer Rodney "Don Vito" Richard filed suit against Zolciak for profits earned from "Tardy for the Party". In the documents filed, Burruss' attorney, RHOA castmate Phaedra Parks, alleges her clients wrote the song for Zolciak and that Zolciak released and sold the single "without [the] plaintiffs' authorization, license or consent." Burruss was also seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent future sales of the song and the "destruction of all copies of the infringing single and any other product of defendant's that infringe plaintiffs' copyrights", punitive damages, attorney's fees, and a jury trial.[16]
Business
In May 2016, Zolciak-Biermann launched a line of skin-care products called Kashmere Kollection.[17][18] Zolciak has also released a fragrance called Kashmere.[19]
Personal life
Zolciak has a daughter from a previous relationship, Brielle Karenna (born 1997).[20] She married Daniel Toce in 2001 and that same year, they had a daughter named Ariana Lenee.[20] The couple divorced in 2003.
Zolciak has publicly stated that she is bisexual and that she and DJTracy Young were in a romantic relationship.[21]
In May 2010, Zolciak met Atlanta Falconsfootball player Kroy Biermann at the charity event Dancing with Atlanta Stars. Their meeting was later shown on season three of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. The couple wed at their Roswell, Georgia, home[22] on November 11, 2011.[23] They have four children together: Kroy Jagger "KJ" (born 2011),[24] Kash Kade (born 2012),[25] and twins Kaia Rose and Kane Ren (born 2013).[26]
In March 2013, Biermann filed to adopt Zolciak's daughters.[27] In July 2013, the adoption became final and the girls subsequently changed their last names to become Brielle Biermann and Ariana Biermann.[28]
In May 2023, Biermann filed for divorce from Zolciak after eleven years of marriage, citing their date of separation as April 30. However, in July 2023, it was confirmed that Zolciak and Biermann had withdrawn their divorce filing.[29] In August 2023, Kroy Biermann refiled for divorce from Zolciak.
^Marks, Paul (August 12, 1999). "Police Sergeant Agrees To Retire". Hartford Courant. Connecticut. Archived from the original on December 18, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
