LuAnn De Lesseps life and biography

LuAnn de Lesseps known as Countess LuAnn or The Countess is an American television personality, recording artist, and former fashion model best known for her appearances on the Bravo show The Real Housewives of New York City. Her courtesy title comes from her previous marriage to Frenchman Alexandre de Lesseps, a descendant of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the architect of the Suez Canal.

She was born LuAnn Nadeau and grew up with six siblings in the small town of Berlin, Connecticut, where her father owned a construction company. She has said her father is of Algonquian descent and that her mother is French Canadian. Having been instilled with a strong sense of values and understanding the importance of doing for others, her first career was as a practical nurse. Through a series of luck and happenstance, the nurse became a model in Milan and the model caught the attention of a TV magnet who turned her into an Italian television personality. The girl from small town Connecticut quickly fell in love with the Italian lifestyle and began to build a life there. After years of absorbing continental manners and style, LuAnn began a fairy-tale romance with Count Alexandre de Lesseps, a French Aristocrat of the Suez Canal dynasty, and married into high society. The Countess is a living example that elegance, taste, and chic can be acquired. It is this sophistication that she hopes to share with her fans.

The Countess has been featured in publications around the country and internationally including People Magazine, The New York Times, In Touch Weekly, Harpers Bazaar, The New York Post, USA Today, Woman's Day, New York Times Magazine, Life & Style Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Gotham and Hamptons Magazine. She has appeared on Larry King Live, The Joy Behar Show, CNN Show Business Tonight, Entertainment Tonight, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Extra, Good Day New York, KTLA Morning News, E! Entertainment, The Style Network's The Dish, PBS's Moment of Luxury and TV Guide's The Fashion Team. In February 2011, she made a guest appearance on Law & Order: SVU and she also made a cameo appearance on the popular USA Network series Royal Pains. She also recently made her cabaret debut at New York's Town Hall on the bill with Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera as part of the Jim Caruso Cast Party benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

A strong supporter of giving back to the community, Countess Luann brings her volunteer leadership and resources to the American Cancer Society, GLAAD, Hetrick Martin Institute, The Auditory/Oral School of Brooklyn, and ACE's Soho Partnership and was just photographed along with many major celebrities for California's NOH8 Campaign. Luann's book, Class With the Countess is available in paperback on Amazon.com. Her new dance single Chic C'est La Vie and her new Countess Luann iPhone app are both available on iTunes. Luann's advice column, What Would the Countess Do? appears every Monday on OK! Magazine.com. Be sure to watch Season Four of The Real Housewives of New York City!

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