# Brandi Glanville
**Brandi Glanville** (born 1972 in [Salinas, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/salinas-california)) is an American television personality, author, and former model best known for starring on Bravo's reality series *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills*, where she was one of the franchise's most outspoken cast members.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) • [2](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/brandi-glanville/) Her public profile began with a long modeling career and her 2001 marriage to actor [Eddie Cibrian](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-cibrian), grew out of the publicity surrounding their 2009 divorce, and expanded into books, a podcast, and further reality competition shows.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) • [3](https://www.bravotv.com/people/brandi-glanville/watch)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1972, Salinas, California[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) |
| Known for | *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills*, joined in 2011, series regular the following season[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) |
| Modeling career | More than 17 years in high fashion, runway, and print; worked for Giorgio Armani, Chanel, and Gucci[3](https://www.bravotv.com/people/brandi-glanville/watch) |
| Marriage | Married actor Eddie Cibrian in 2001; divorced after his 2009 affair with singer LeAnn Rimes[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) |
| Books | *Drinking and Tweeting: And Other Brandi Blunders* (2013), a New York Times bestseller, followed by *Drinking and Dating* (2014)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) • [4](https://www.popbytes.com/exclusive-interview-brandi-glanville-on-her-new-book-real-housewives-and-more/) • [5](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/brandi-glanville-writing-new-relationship-book-drinking-and-dating-201336/) |
| Podcast | *Brandi Glanville Unfiltered*, weekly, with co-host James Maas, on Straw Hut Media[6](https://www.strawhutmedia.com/brandi-glanville-unfiltered) |
| Health disclosures | Facial paralysis in 2024; she reported seeing 21 doctors and spending $200,000 seeking answers[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/real-housewife-brandi-glanville-shares-shock-diagnosis-for-facial-disfigurement) |
## Modeling career and marriage
Glanville spent more than 17 years working as a high fashion, runway, and print model, appearing in magazines including *Glamour* and *Cosmopolitan* and working for luxury design houses such as [Giorgio Armani](https://www.edgepedia.org/giorgio-armani), Chanel, and Gucci.[3](https://www.bravotv.com/people/brandi-glanville/watch) She remained relatively unknown to the public until she married actor Eddie Cibrian in 2001.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) The couple had two sons, Mason and Jake, and share custody of them.[3](https://www.bravotv.com/people/brandi-glanville/watch)
The marriage ended in 2009 after Cibrian's affair with singer [LeAnn Rimes](https://www.edgepedia.org/leann-rimes), whom he met while filming the Lifetime television movie *Northern Lights* (2009).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) The split drew heavy tabloid coverage, and Glanville later said the resulting media firestorm tried to paint her as a scorned wife.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/)
## The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Producers of *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills* called her in 2010, and she joined the show in 2011.[8](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/inside-bravo-reality-machine-brandi-181351077.html) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) Viewers responded to what TV Insider described as her carefree nature, and she became a series regular the following season.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) On a series built around rivalries and confrontations, she stood out for speaking her mind against her castmates, a reputation that made her one of the franchise's most controversial figures.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/)
Her best-documented on-show feud was with castmate [Lisa Vanderpump](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-vanderpump), whose friendship with her collapsed in public by March 2014. Glanville did not return as a full-time cast member in June 2015, though a retrospective analysis of the record concludes that the feud alone did not end her career, since her other projects continued afterward.[9](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/did-turning-against-lisa-vanderpump-ruin-brandi-glanvilles-reality-tv-career/) In a 2018 interview she called filming *RHOBH* easy compared with her later reality work, saying that at the time she took it all seriously.[10](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/brandi-glanville-rhobh-was-easier-than-other-reality-shows/)
## Books and other television
Her debut memoir, *Drinking and Tweeting: And Other Brandi Blunders*, written with Leslie Bruce and published in 2013, told her side of the divorce and became a New York Times bestseller.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/) • [4](https://www.popbytes.com/exclusive-interview-brandi-glanville-on-her-new-book-real-housewives-and-more/) A follow-up, *Drinking and Dating: P.S. Social Media Is Ruining Romance*, was published by HarperOne in 2014.[4](https://www.popbytes.com/exclusive-interview-brandi-glanville-on-her-new-book-real-housewives-and-more/) • [5](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/brandi-glanville-writing-new-relationship-book-drinking-and-dating-201336/)
[Reality television](https://www.edgepedia.org/reality-television) became her main line of work beyond Beverly Hills. Her credits include *Celebrity Big Brother*, *Famously Single*, *Celebrity Apprentice*, *My Kitchen Rules*, and *Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars Family Edition*.[10](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/brandi-glanville-rhobh-was-easier-than-other-reality-shows/) • [7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/real-housewife-brandi-glanville-shares-shock-diagnosis-for-facial-disfigurement) She also competed on *The Traitors* (2023) and *Special Forces: World's Toughest Test* (2023).[11](https://www.metacritic.com/person/brandi-glanville/) In 2015 she told Vice that she also ran a wine label and hosted a weekly podcast.[12](https://www.vice.com/en/article/ousted-real-housewife-brandi-glanville-opens-up-on-life-after-controversy/)
## Podcast and recent work
*Brandi Glanville Unfiltered*, distributed by Straw Hut Media, is her continuing platform: the show describes itself as uncensored access to celebrities with talk about pop culture, fashion, and celebrity gossip, and it updates weekly with her co-host James Maas.[6](https://www.strawhutmedia.com/brandi-glanville-unfiltered) • [13](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brandi-glanville-unfiltered/id735679006) In 2026 she made a brief appearance on the season 5 premiere of *Special Forces: World's Toughest Test*, leaving early in the episode.[14](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/special-forces-worlds-toughest-test-season-5-heartbreaking-premiere-exit-brandi-glanville)
Her name also appears in litigation against her former network. A January 2024 summons filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York by [Caroline Manzo](https://www.edgepedia.org/caroline-manzo) against Bravo Media and related companies names Brandi Lynn Glanville among the individuals referenced in the complaint, which stems from an incident during filming of *The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip* in Morocco in 2023.[15](https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/manzo-v-bravo-supreme-ny.pdf) • [16](https://jurassicsnark.com/2026/08/31/5-ways-brandi-glanville-single-dinoedly-ruined-her-housewives-career/)
## Health disclosures
Glanville has publicly documented a years-long medical ordeal centered on her face. She first published a photo of her facial disfigurement on X in December 2024, after experiencing facial paralysis that year, and she reported subsequently seeing 21 doctors and spending $200,000 seeking a diagnosis.[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/real-housewife-brandi-glanville-shares-shock-diagnosis-for-facial-disfigurement) She has described recurring facial swelling, speech impairment, and the loss of teeth, which left her reluctant to go out in public.[17](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2026-02-19/brandi-glanville-face-parasite-disfigurement-ruptured-breast-implant)
In February 2026 she underwent what she described as a life-saving explant surgery after a sonogram showed a slow leak in her left breast implant and a complete rupture of the right one, with material in the lymph nodes under both arms; she had received the implants in 2007.[18](https://www.thedailybeast.com/reality-star-brandi-glanville-gets-life-saving-surgery-after-shocking-implant-rupture/) Reporting covering her account connected the ruptured implant to her facial symptoms.[17](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2026-02-19/brandi-glanville-face-parasite-disfigurement-ruptured-breast-implant) In June 2026 she announced on her podcast that she had been diagnosed with a benign tumor in a lymph node in her face, which she hoped explained her lingering symptoms.[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/real-housewife-brandi-glanville-shares-shock-diagnosis-for-facial-disfigurement) In social media posts she has also listed diagnoses of resistant ESBL *Klebsiella* and *Enterobacter* bacteria with biofilm, coccidioidomycosis (valley fever), Demodex dermatitis, and mononucleosis, and described receiving antibiotic infusions for 18 hours a day.[19](https://www.thedailybeast.com/real-housewives-star-brandi-glanville-53-reveals-why-she-looks-like-death-right-now/) These accounts are her own descriptions of her diagnoses as reported by the outlets covering them.
## References
1. [Brandi Glanville – Personality, Model, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brandi-glanville/)
2. [Brandi Glanville News, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/brandi-glanville/)
3. [Watch Brandi Glanville Videos, Bravo](https://www.bravotv.com/people/brandi-glanville/watch)
4. [Exclusive Interview: Brandi Glanville on her new book, Real Housewives and more, PopBytes](https://www.popbytes.com/exclusive-interview-brandi-glanville-on-her-new-book-real-housewives-and-more/)
5. [Brandi Glanville New Relationship Book, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/brandi-glanville-writing-new-relationship-book-drinking-and-dating-201336/)
6. [Brandi Glanville Unfiltered, Straw Hut Media](https://www.strawhutmedia.com/brandi-glanville-unfiltered)
7. ['Real Housewife' Brandi Glanville Shares Shock Diagnosis for Facial Disfigurement, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/real-housewife-brandi-glanville-shares-shock-diagnosis-for-facial-disfigurement)
8. [Inside the Bravo reality machine: Brandi Glanville reveals 'manipulative relationship' with Andy Cohen, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/inside-bravo-reality-machine-brandi-181351077.html)
9. [Did Turning Against Lisa Vanderpump Ruin Brandi Glanville's Reality TV Career?, DocumentaryTube](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/did-turning-against-lisa-vanderpump-ruin-brandi-glanvilles-reality-tv-career/)
10. [Brandi Glanville: 'RHOBH' Was Easier Than Other Reality Shows, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/brandi-glanville-rhobh-was-easier-than-other-reality-shows/)
11. [Brandi Glanville, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/brandi-glanville/)
12. [Ousted Real Housewife Brandi Glanville Opens Up on Life After Controversy, Vice](https://www.vice.com/en/article/ousted-real-housewife-brandi-glanville-opens-up-on-life-after-controversy/)
13. [Brandi Glanville Unfiltered, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brandi-glanville-unfiltered/id735679006)
14. [Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Season 5 Featured The Most Heartbreaking Premiere Exit, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/special-forces-worlds-toughest-test-season-5-heartbreaking-premiere-exit-brandi-glanville)
15. [Manzo v. Bravo, summons, Supreme Court of the State of New York (January 26, 2024), Courthouse News](https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/manzo-v-bravo-supreme-ny.pdf)
16. [5 Ways Brandi Glanville Single-Dinoedly Ruined Her Housewives Career, Jurassic Snark](https://jurassicsnark.com/2026/08/31/5-ways-brandi-glanville-single-dinoedly-ruined-her-housewives-career/)
17. [Brandi Glanville says face parasite and disfigurement were caused by damaged breast implants, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2026-02-19/brandi-glanville-face-parasite-disfigurement-ruptured-breast-implant)
18. [Reality Star Gets Life-Saving Surgery After Shocking Implant Rupture, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/reality-star-brandi-glanville-gets-life-saving-surgery-after-shocking-implant-rupture/)
19. [Embattled Reality Star, 53, Reveals Why She Looks 'Like Death' Right Now, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/real-housewives-star-brandi-glanville-53-reveals-why-she-looks-like-death-right-now/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Reality television personalities and media celebrities › Docuseries and ensemble cast members › Shore and lifestyle ensemble cast › The Real Housewives cast members*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license