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A Look Inside Gizelle's Bryant's Growing Entrepreneurial Empire
What does The Real Housewives of Potomac cast member do in her spare time? Well, her talents are too varied for just one industry.
Gizelle Bryant can do it all: philanthropic passions, gossipy podcasts, beauty products, and more.
Fans have watched as the mother-of-three has gone through a split from pastor Jamal Bryant and handled plenty of friendship highs and lows with fellow cast members. But when she's not engaging in shadefests with longtime “frenemy” Karen Huger on The Real Housewives of Potomac, we've also seen her spend her time pursuing creative and entrepreneurial pursuits.
After graduating with a marketing degree from Hampton University, a historically Black college in Virginia, Gizelle has had her hand in several projects. In fact,according to her official bio on Bravo, she "keeps herself busy with multiple philanthropy projects and entrepreneurial ventures. She generates funds to revitalize various major cities in order to help those in need or in transition," noting Gizelle “sees every obstacle as an opportunity.”
Let’s take a closer look at what this Renaissance woman has been up with her business ventures in the past several years.
Gizelle Bryant’s Reasonably Shady Podcast with Robyn Dixon
In 2021, two forces of nature — Gizelle and RHOP castmate Robyn Dixon — came together to launch this frank and funny podcast that provides an inside peek into their real-life friendship.
“Gizelle and I talk on the phone almost every day, and we talk about everything under the sun,” Robyn recently told Essence. “So it was kind of like, ‘Wow, it would be fun to give our followers a little inside access to our conversations.’ So the podcast really is conversations that we have on the phone every day.”
After almost 150 episodes and over 7 million downloads, Reasonably Shady on the BlackEffect Podcast Network shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, it was nominated for a 2022 NAACP Image Award and continues to top the Apple Podcast listings.
From dating to marriage, glam to motherhood, nothing is off the table when Robyn and Gizelle dish.
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“And to be honest with you, it’s actually been a joy for us,” Gizelle told Essence.
Gizelle Bryant’s beauty and shapewear businesses
Making her official foray into skincare in 2017, Gizelle ran EveryHue Beauty until pandemic-induced supply chain issues forced her to shut down in December 2020.
The affordable line was centered around makeup geared to women of color and began with the core products of tinted moisturizers in 12 different shades, a foundation brush, and a blending sponge before expanding to include pressed powder, primer, and blush.
While fans were eager to try out all the products, it was the tinted moisturizer that caught fire, in shades "from the darkest you could possibly think of, all the way to the lightest," she told The Cut in 2017.
“I've always had trouble as a Black woman finding a tone and shade that matched my skin tone," Bryant added. "I've always had to buy two or three shades to try to find a match."
In June 2019, Gizelle extended her shade-match concept to shapewear by launching the Sliminizer line, available in 10 different skin tones.
Co-founded with lingerie designer to the stars Kate Liegey (who worked for Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger), Gizelle described their inclusive company philosophy as: "Sliminizer is a product for every woman who wants to look and feel her best."
Gizelle Bryant's book, My Word
Not one to rest on her laurels, in 2019, Gizelle's debut novel hit bookstores. The fictional account of a young woman who gave up her dreams to support her husband’s calling as a megachurch pastor may sound familiar.
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The reality star-turned-author revealed to Bravo’s Daily Dish that My Word was "loosely based” on her real life with Jamal Bryant.
“I have lived a very interesting life. I am now in a space where I want to share tidbits of my story in a fictitious way on my terms,” she said.
The public is gobbling up those juicy tidbits: The book has hundreds of glowing 5-star reviews on Amazon.com and received the African American Literary Award for Best Fiction.
Gizelle Bryant’s philanthropic endeavors
Gizelle, the daughter of the late Texas politician Curtis Graves, knows the value of giving back to one's community.
Gizelle has helped with environmental advocacy and the redevelopment of Birmingham, Alabama, working on behalf of the EPA to clean up a Superfund site that had left an area of the city full of toxic soil and other hazards.
Gizelle also worked with the Birmingham city council to fundraise for a number of local charities, The Baltimore Sun reported in 2016. That same year, the mayor, William Bell, awarded Gizelle the Community Engagement Award.
Gizelle’s dessert business
Does Gizelle ever sleep? Before signing on to star on The Real Housewives of Potomac, she did a stint baking treats for her good friend and former Top Chef contestant, Timothy Dean.
“So he had a restaurant in Baltimore and it’s actually a funny story, he invited me to come to eat. I ate, and when it came time for dessert, he served me some cupcakes. I ate them, and I’m like, 'Dude this is from a box,'" she recalled to the Daily Dish.
Her confections were sold at his now-closed restaurant, Timothy Dean Burger, in Washington D.C., under the brand name Sweet Gizelle.
What is Gizelle up to next? You’ll have to tune into RHOP Season 8 on Sundays at 8/7c to find out.
New episodes can also be streamed on Mondays on Peacock, BravoTV.com, and in the Bravo app.
