Give Them Their Flowers: The Top 20 Black Reality TV Icons We Will Always Root For

When it comes to reality TV, I, like my fave Issa Rae, enjoy rooting for everybody Black. While the reality genre of television has often highlighted talent of all races, it’s undeniable that some of the most iconic moments of multiple reality shows center on Black stars.

It’s also impossible to deny how many of the talented unscripted stars used their fame to spearhead acting, music, and entrepreneurial careers.

Some became so successful that few even remember seeing them on Bravo, VH1, etc, for several seasons.

In honor of Black History Month, I’ve crafted a list of some of the top Black reality TV icons who deserve their flowers today and every day! Also, please note that everyone on this list is iconic, and there’s no ranking system here!

If you thought I, a Black reality TV stan, would ever have a list of Black reality TV icons and NOT include Tiffany “New York” Pollard, I don’t know what to tell you. Since Miss HBIC began her stardom in Seasons 1 and 2 of Flavor of Love, giving us many catchy lines like “Beyonce?! You look like Luther Vandross, and the only response to the spit heard ‘round the world, Tiffany has continued killing it in the reality TV game.

After launching her own show, I Love New York, she created several more shows for VH1 and also starred in Season 17 of Celebrity Big Brother. With nearly two decades on reality TV, Tiffany has no plans to slow down, as she starred in Season 2 of College Hill: Celebrity Edition and House of Villains in 2023.

Many forget that Mo’Nique’s impressive career includes being a reality TV star. Thankfully, the North (it’s me, I’m the “North”) remembers she hosted the first season of VH1’s Charm School. During her time on the show, Mo’Nique spoke life into several Flavor of Love alumni and remains a meme queen on social media because of it (the “she is taking it” meme directly comes from Mo’s time on the show).

After Charm School, Mo’Nique won an Oscar for her role in Precious, hosted a talk show on BET, and has been candid about her treatment in Hollywood.

Tami Roman began her reality TV career on the first major reality show, MTV’s The Real World. Tami starred in Season 2 of the show, which took place in Los Angeles, Calif. She quickly became a scene stealer with memorable moments like wiring her jaw and having an abortion on air. The abortion was an unscripted television first.

Years after The Real World, Tami starred in Basketball Wives, stamping her as a reality TV icon. However, in Season 8 of the VH1 show, Tami decided to step away from reality TV to focus on her acting career, which has paid off. She often stays booked and busy with roles on The Miss Pat Show, Truth Be Told, and Vicious.

Cardi B is one of the A-listers you almost forget started her career in reality TV. However, her time on the show will remain in Love & Hip-Hop fans’ minds “foreva.” Cardi starred in Love & Hip-Hop: New York for two seasons before quitting to focus on her music career. Soon after her exit, the rapper released “Bodak Yellow,” her career flourished. She now has multiple Grammys, acting roles, and a fashion “it girl” reputation.

Now that Kandi Burruss has some extra time, she could teach a masterclass on how to get as many reality TV coins as possible. In 2009, the singer-songwriter joined Season 2 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and has remained a pillar in the Bravo universe ever since.

During Kandi’s 14 year-run on RHOA, she developed and produced multiple spinoffs for the network, including Kandi’s Wedding, Kandi and the Gang, and, my favorite, SWV & Xscape: Queens of R&B. Mrs. “Keep a Bag” Burruss-Tucker is also still active in music and is also acting and producing Broadway and YouTube shows in her spare time.

Karamo Brown is another Real World alum, making his television debut on The Real World: Philadelphia. After The Real World, Karamo went on to star in Netflix’s reboot of Queer Eye and is now the host of his daytime talk show, Karamo Show.

In 2009, Drag queen legend RuPaul gave us one of the best reality competitions ever to grace TV, RuPaul’s Drag Race. As the host and executive producer, RuPaul leads the show into 16, multiple spinoffs and 29 Emmy wins.

RuPaul’s Drag Race brought many iconic queens to the forefront, including Shea Coulee. The Indiana native starred in Season 9 of Drag Race and went on to win the competition in the All-Stars season. Shea’s career has continued rising, as she appeared in Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty show in 2020. Shea is also touring and working on her music career.

Carlos King has every right to call himself the “King of Reality TV.” The producer began working for The Oprah Winfrey Show before becoming one of the producers responsible for The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s earlier seasons. Carlos was an executive producer during RHOA’s best season, Season 6, which remains one of Bravo’s highest-ranked seasons.

After nine seasons on RHOA, he created and produced several reality shows for Oprah’s network, OWN, including the Love & Marriage franchise and Belle Collective. Carlos is also the host of his reality TV podcast, Reality With the King.

After a successful modeling career, Tyra Banks created a reality show about the behind-the-scenes process of becoming a runway star with America’s Next Top Model. For 24 “cycles,” Tyra took several model hopefuls through challenging yet controversial tasks people are still debating about today. Nonetheless, Tyra’s show was the first of its kind and was the first time a Black model starred and executive produced a reality show.

NeNe Leakes deserves all of her flowers for being one of the masterminds behind RHOA. The former real-life housewife approached Bravo about joining the show and has been credited with bringing together the first season’s cast. Although NeNe left RHOA in 2020, she remains one of the top Housewives in Bravo history and has countless one-liners to show. Bloooop!

Karen Huger, known as the “Grand Dame” of The Real Housewives of Potomac, is known for bringing the hilarious friend group together. Karen is also the only star of the Bravo show to receive her spinoff, Karen’s Grand Dame Reunion.

Carla Hall’s career has undoubtedly surpassed her time on reality TV. After appearing on Bravo’s Top Chef in Seasons 5 and 8, the “kooky” chef has continued starring on shows like The Chew (RIP!) and several of your favorite Food Network Championship shows, including her hosting gig on Worst Cooks in America.

Kenya Moore may have begun her entertainment fame as Miss U.S.A., but her time on The Real Housewives of Atlanta has made her a reality TV icon. On RHOA, Kenya became the villain fans love to hate and has been known as one of the ‘wives to save the show in Season 5, along with her frenemy, Porsha Williams. Through her reality TV fame, Kenya launched her beauty line, Kenya Moore Hair Care (I dare you not say it without singing!), and has a salon in Atlanta, Ga.

In the early 2000s, Flavor Flav became the self-proclaimed “Blackhelor” (Black Bachelor) with his iconic VH1 dating show, Flavor of Love, and reality TV was never quite the same. Flavor of Love came after Flav’s split from former model Bridget Nielsen, whom he met on the Surreal Life several years prior. After Flavor of Love, Flav became a TV personality, though nothing compares to the dating show that gave us Tiffany Pollard, Hoopz, and, of course, Goldie.

It’s hard to believe many of us wouldn’t know Fantasia Barrino’s beautiful voice had she not auditioned for Season 3 of American Idol. After winning the singing competition in 2004, Fantasia consistently released new music, with seven studio albums under her belt. She has also been on Broadway as Celie in The Color Purple and went on to star in the movie adaptation, which debuted in December 2023.

Jennifer Hudson’s career has soared since she was unfairly eliminated from Season 3 of American Idol. After her first movie role as Effie in Dreamgirls, Jennifer won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. In 2022, Jennifer became an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner, an honor only previously held by one other Black woman, Whoopi Goldberg.

Mariah Huq may have left reality TV behind, but she is responsible for creating Bravo’s Married to Medicine, becoming one of the only Black women to do so. Mariah starred in the show she created until 2020, though she confirmed on Carlos King’s Reality With the King in 2024 that she’s still the show’s executive producer.

Mona Scott-Young was a music manager for over a decade before she parlayed into reality TV. In 2010, she launched Love & Hip-Hop: New York on VH1; the rest is reality history. The MonaMi Entertainment CEO has multiple shows under the LHH umbrella, including Atlanta, Hollywood, and Miami. The MTV Movie & TV Awards also awarded her the “Reality TV Royalty” Award.

May these iconic reality stars continue to grace our televisions for years to come!