There are two new additions to the new season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Lisa Rinna, 56, successfully campaigned to get bestie Sutton Stracke added to the show in the wake of Lisa Vanderpump‘s departure. But none of the ladies saw coming the casting of actress Garcelle Beauvais, 52. She literally showed up on set at Kyle Richards‘ house on Aug. 29, ready to start filming.
“The RHOBH ladies were completely shocked to find out Garcelle Beauvais joined the show. They were notified about 5 minutes before everyone else was and Garcelle is filming today her first scenes with all of the ladies at Kyle Richards’ house. This will be the first time all of the ladies are filming together. Kyle and the ladies were shocked to see Garcelle moments later at her door earlier today. Production really wanted to add another celebrity name to the cast all along,” a source close to the show tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY.
“With Lisa Vanderpump gone, her salary is essentially being split into two for Garcelle and Sutton. Garcelle is so excited the cat is out of the bag about her joining the cast as it was a big secret. Everything just came together for her. Both Sutton and Garcelle are their own people and aren’t replacing Lisa, they are just being added as additional cast members like everyone else. In the ladies’ eyes, Lisa Vanderpump is long gone and a thing of the past,” our insider adds.
Garcelle will be making history as the first African-American full-time cast member on RHOBH and it’s her first foray into reality TV. “Garcelle is thrilled to be joining the show. She is exciting to reconnect with her fans in a new way and this is such a great platform for an epic comeback, and Bravo felt that too. She’s been in an on/off long distance relationship, she absolutely loves being a mom, and her life is enriched and happy,” a second source tells us EXCLUSIVELY.
Garcelle shot to fame on The Jamie Foxx Show, which ran from 1996-2001 and the two are still close friends. She’s still a working actress, currently seen on Freeform’s Sirens. “She has a lot to share and talk about! She’s pretty low-key and she’s looking forward to a new opportunity, especially one that is out of her comfort zone. She’s excited to see how she’ll adapt. There are some nerves, mostly excitement though. Jamie doesn’t have an opinion either way, he’s very much doing his own thing and has a ton going on,” the second insider explains. Garcelle has at least one RHOBH alum who is excited to see her on the show, as Camille Grammer, 50, tweeted out “Garcelle is lovely. I think she will make a wonderful addition to the cast. She is classy and sweet” upon hearing the news.