KIMBERLEE “KIM D” DePAOLA

Kimberlee DePaola, known in the reality television world as "Kim D", was born on April 20th to Dorothy and Augustus DePaola in Paterson, NJ. She grew up in the small town of Elmwood Park. In second grade she attended St. Leo's School where one of the nuns called her an "article". To this day she is still trying to figure out what she meant by that...

Kim always had a passion for fashion. At the young age of fifteen on her summer break, she began working at a coat factory, where she modeled the inventory as well as answered the phones. After that she worked as a salesgirl at multiple boutiques, where she changed the visual displays. Clients would always throw her tips in exchange for her expert advice.

At the age of twenty-three Kim opened "Kimberlee's Boutique" (Kimberlee spelled with an "lee" because she never wanted to be like everyone else). Soon after she was married and had her son, Christopher. After Chris was born, she moved Kimberlee's into her house and sold the clothes from there. Business boomed and she had many clients, some friends and a lot of referrals. She was doing what she loved.

The fall after Chris graduated high school, Kim expanded her personal shopping business and opened up POSCHE. Soon after, two familiar faces walked in to shop: Jacqueline Laurita and Danielle Staub. Season 2 of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" had just begun filming and producers were looking for a new face to shoot some scenes with the ladies. Kim caught their attention with her quick wit and "tell it like it is" persona. They started filming the girls' shopping excursions to the store and not long after, the infamous POSCHE Fashion Show, which incidentally to this day is one of the highest rated episodes in RHONJ history.

Kim filmed for the next three consecutive seasons of the show sporadically. Her personal life at the time was very stressful, and in turn it was difficult for her to put aside the time for the camera. In the Fall of 2012, shortly before the Season 4 Posche Fashion Show finale aired, Bravo reached out to Kim to be the special guest on the Reunion. After her appearance, "Kim D" trended worldwide on Twitter and a few months later she got her first formal contract with "The Real Housewives of New Jersey". She was officially a "Friend of the Housewives".

In Winter 2013, Kim launched her luxury cuff bracelet line called "Cuffs by Kim D", sold exclusively at POSCHE and other small boutiques in the northeast. Last fall, she created a special edition "Paw" cuff, in which 10% of all proceeds go to her favorite charity, ALL HUMANE ANIMAL RESCUE. Kim most recently appeared on Season 5 of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" on Bravo. She was the recipient of one of the 1st ever "Real Housewives" Bravo TV Awards for "Best Supporting Agitator".