The supermodel learned how to be ‘real’ in Chicago — and now everybody’s watching.
She was born in Poland, reared in west suburban Lombard and now divides her time between luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami. But whether she’s making waves as an activist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or as one of Bravo’s “Real Housewives,” supermodel Joanna Krupa’s trademark is her Chicago point of view.
“I’ve noticed from my fans that they like me to be real,” says Krupa. “They like me to be honest and truthful.”
And being real means she is both joyously unfiltered and just fine with being disliked — if people don’t get her, that’s their problem. It’s also one of the reasons her career has skyrocketed since she moved from Chicago to L.A. 13 years ago, starting out as a swimsuit model, then becoming a cover girl for magazines including GQ and Shape, and finally launching a reality television career with her 2009 appearance on “Dancing with the Stars.”
This week, she debuted on the cast of the “Real Housewives of Miami,” where she has lived part time ever since she met her fiancé five years ago, and her tell-it-like-it-is approach is already setting her apart. Previews show her stirring things up all season — from heated arguments with other cast members (face it: the catfights are the reason the “Housewives” are such delicious viewing) to confronting her fiancé, Mynt nightclub owner Romain Zago, about rumors of his infidelity.
Subjecting her personal life to the cameras was a calculated risk.
“Who wouldn’t want to do the show?” she asks. “It’s one of the top franchises out there. I also wanted to show the real side of me. I’m like everybody else — I don’t wake up in the morning and look the way I do on a magazine cover. I want people to see that.”
You could say that Krupa’s self-assuredness was cultivated during her formative years in Chicago. Her parents moved here when she was 5, and at first they lived in a Polish neighborhood at Belmont and Milwaukee.
“I had to grow up fast, taking care of my little sister while my parents worked seven days a week, 12-15 hours a day,” she says. “That’s why I speak my mind and I’m fearless.”
That fearlessness is evident from the opening credits (“I’m a model, but not always a model citizen,” she teases). Krupa takes on Miami society dames, letting them know whenever she gets the chance that there’s a new girl in town. During the course of the season, “You’ll see how a lot of the old Miami [women] think they ruled Miami, and then they have new girls stepping in their territory.”
And truly, nothing was off limits for the cameras.
“When I signed up for the show, I decided that I had no doubt in my mind I wanted the whole world to know what I’m going through,” she says. “So many things happened in the months we were shooting. Some moments were tough, but you know, that’s life. And I’m glad people will be able to live that with me.”
Krupa says her closest friend on the show is another new character, Lisa Hochstein (the wife of a prominent Miami plastic surgeon known as the “boob god”), and admits she has enemies on the show — though she doesn’t want to name names.
“Some girls I like more than others,” she says carefully, “some I had situations with that hopefully we can work out.”
Despite the network’s many promos that hint toward relationship trouble, Krupa and her fiancé, who wrapped up filming in May, are still together.
“We haven’t set a wedding date yet,” she says. “We’ve been together for five years and I feel like we’re married. But we have the same issues as everybody else. We have our ups and downs, but [a wedding] is definitely in our future.”
Also in her future: Krupa’s third campaign for PETA, which debuts in October. Krupa has a soft spot for animals — she has four dogs and is fostering an abandoned 8-year-old Yorkie — and activism is what she considers her life’s work. While she can’t talk about the campaign yet, she promises it’ll get tongues wagging.
“It has a huge comedic side to it,” she says. “We’ll see how people respond to it. Hopefully we’ll get some positive feedback.”
And even if it doesn’t, she’ll be just fine.
Watch “The Real Housewives of Miama” Thursdays at 8 p.m. on Bravo
CHICAGO VERSUS MIAMI
‘It’s such a quick and easy trip,” says Krupa. “I have some Chicago friends who any time they find an excuse to come out, they come to Miami — especially during the winter season.”
ON FACES
“In Miami you see a lot of plastic, a lot of women you’re like, ‘Wow, what have you done to yourself?’ In Chicago, they’re more subtle with it.” (Winner: Chicago!)
ON FAVORITE PLACES
In Miami: the Bal Harbour Shops, Nobu restaurant and the poolside cabanas at the SLS Hotel. In Chicago: shopping on Michigan Avenue and visiting relatives in Wooddale, Bensenville and Itasca. (Winner: Miami)
ON FASHION
“Women in Miami just flaunt it; they just go for it. In Chicago, if they shouldn’t wear something, they don’t.” (Winner: Chicago!)
