As much as every reality show needs a villain, it also needs a fan favorite. What’s the fun of watching just fighting? After all, viewers need someone to rally behind.
Selling Sunset found its new sweetheart in Vanessa Villela, yet another soap opera actress turned realtor ready to tackle the most luxurious properties in Malibu.
The reality series is back on Netflix on November 24, just in time for a Thanksgiving binge. All of your iconic faves are back at The Oppenheim Group: Chrishell Stause, Mary Fitzgerald, Heather Rae Young, Maya Vander, and Christine Quinn. And the houses and fashion are popping as ever.
Vanessa joins the cast with newcomer Emma Hernan to make for an easy-to-watch season full of gigantic houses and designer outfits. Vanessa sat down with Women’s Health to dish about the new season—and what’s next.
Here’s everything you need to know about Vanessa:
She was born and raised in Mexico City.
Vanessa, 43, grew up in Mexico City with her sister Jackie and her parents. Spanish is her first language. She and her sister were discovered by a talent scout at a kid’s birthday party when Vanessa was 4 years old.
“A father at the party was a producer of a children’s television show,” Vanessa told Women’s Health. “He told our mother ‘Your girls are lovely and we would love to have them in the show.’ We thought it sounded fun, and that’s how it all started.” Vanessa soon began acting in soap operas.
Vanessa acted in soap operas for years.
She starred in telenovelas like Una Maid en Manhattan, El Cuerpo del Deseo, and El Señor de los Cielos. But she always had a dream of breaking into the American market and lived in Miami and Los Angeles to pursue her acting career.
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“For all my fans who have followed my entire career from my days in Mexico, I thank you for being on this journey with me. I’ve been dreaming of busting into the American market. And I seek to represent the Latin community, empower people to live for each day, and hold the bar of your dreams!!!” she wrote on her Instagram in October.
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She dedicates her real estate career to her sister Jackie.
It was Vanessa’s sister, Jackie, who owned a home staging business and was a realtor in San Diego, who suggested a pivot into real estate.
“She would also tell me to get my license,” Vanessa said. “She said, ‘you love helping people and talking to people, you’ll be a natural.’”
In December 2018, Vanessa studied for her exam while filming a TV show in Mexico. After she took the test, she flew back to Miami to be with her sister. Just one day later, Jackie passed away due to a reaction to a medication.
“I was completely devastated,” Vanessa told Women’s Health. “My sister was my best friend and I fell apart without her.”
Vanessa turned to meditation for healing from grief.
After her sister’s death, Vanessa said she was in a deep depressive state. She began attending meditation classes in L.A. The combination of breathwork, kundalini, reiki, mindset coaching, and repeating mantras for 40 minutes in the morning and 11 minutes at night helped Vanessa slowly come back to herself.
“When you have a healthy mind, you have a healthy life,” Vanessa said.
She encourages anyone else coping with grief to get help. “I’m not going to lie, it never goes away, but it gets better with time,” she said. “Please look for help. Because it is so hard to do it on your own.”
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She worked at The Agency before joining The Oppenheim Group.
The Real Housewives Beverly Hills fans may be intrigued to know that Vanessa was originally working at The Agency, another luxury real estate company owned by none other than Mauricio Umansky, RHOBH OG Kyle Richard’s husband.
She said Jason and Brett Oppenheim brought her into their group because of her knowledge of Malibu real estate, an area The O Group was trying to break into.
Vanessa contracted COVID while filming the show.
Vanessa was sick with COVID in the middle of filming Selling Sunset.
“It stole five weeks of my life at the most important time,” she wrote on Instagram.
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Vanessa said that even four months later, she still deals with a hormonal imbalance, brain inflammation, and fatigue from the virus. But she’s working with her doctors and says her treatments have helped her get on the road to recovery.
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https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a38325347/vanessa-villela-selling-sunset/