# Erika Jayne
**Erika Jayne** is the stage name of Erika Nay Chahoy (born 1971), an American singer, actress, author, and reality television personality known for dance-pop recordings that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club chart nine times and for her role on Bravo's *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills*, which she joined in 2015.[1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/erika-jayne-mn0000982215/biography)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Erika Nay Chahoy, 1971, Atlanta, Georgia[1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) |
| Chart record | Nine No. 1 singles on the US Billboard Dance Club chart, beginning with "Roller Coaster" in 2007[3](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-to-know-about-erika-jaynes-music-career-through-the-years) |
| Debut album | *Pretty Mess*, released August 25, 2009[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/pretty-mess-mw0000823037) |
| Reality TV | Main cast member of *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills* from 2015; the series is airing its 15th season[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/erika-jayne-mn0000982215/biography) • [5](https://www.bravotv.com/people/erika-girardi) |
| Broadway | Debut as Roxie Hart in *Chicago* at the Ambassador Theatre on January 6, 2020; final performance March 11, 2020, before the COVID-19 shutdown[1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) |
| Las Vegas residency | "Bet It All on Blonde" at the House of Blues, Mandalay Bay, launched in 2023 with Live Nation; documented in the 2024 Bravo series *Erika Jayne: Bet It All on Blonde*[6](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-does-erika-jayne-do-for-a-living-music-career-performing-details) |
| Current work | Performs as DJ Pretty Mess; opened for Kesha's Freedom Tour in August 2026[7](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/erika-jayne-closes-out-epic-career-chapter-after-kesha-tour-august-2026) |
## Early life and performing start
Jayne was raised by a single mother, Renee Chahoy, a classically trained pianist and piano teacher who introduced her to music.[3](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-to-know-about-erika-jaynes-music-career-through-the-years) She attended North Atlanta High School, where she appeared in productions of *A Chorus Line* as Val and *Pippin* as Fastrada.[1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne)
At 18 she moved to New York City to pursue performing, working as a model, in girl groups, and in commercials, and as a go-go dancer in the early 1990s before landing small roles in the first season of *Law & Order* and in films including *Alchemy* (1995) and *Lowball* (1996).[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/erika-jayne-mn0000982215/biography) • [1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) A move to Los Angeles in the mid-1990s preceded her music career; she has said she started a second act at age 35, telling *PEOPLE* in 2018 that "Erika Jayne was born out of rebellion. I like to break the rules."[3](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-to-know-about-erika-jaynes-music-career-through-the-years)
## Music career
Jayne's professional recording career began in 2007 with the single "Roller Coaster," which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.[5](https://www.bravotv.com/people/erika-girardi) Follow-up singles "Stars" and "Give You Everything" also topped the dance chart; with 33 radio adds in the first week for "Give You Everything," she was named Billboard Breakout Artist of the Week.[8](https://www.aceshowbiz.com/interviews/erika_jayne.html) Her debut album *Pretty Mess* followed in August 2009, produced and co-written with Eric Kupper and Peter Rafelson, whose prior credits include Madonna, Britney Spears, and [Cher](https://www.edgepedia.org/cher), and featuring [Sheila E.](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheila-e) on percussion for the track "Time to Realize."[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/pretty-mess-mw0000823037) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-12-19/erika-jayne-real-housewives-music)
Her No. 1 Dance Club hits eventually totaled nine, including "One Hot Pleasure" (2010), "Party People (Ignite the World)," "Painkillr," "Crazy," and "How Many F*cks."[5](https://www.bravotv.com/people/erika-girardi) • [1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) The Los Angeles Times counted seven of the nine as having topped the chart before she joined *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills* in 2015.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-12-19/erika-jayne-real-housewives-music) Later releases include "Get It Tonight" featuring [Flo Rida](https://www.edgepedia.org/flo-rida) (2013), "XXpen$ive" (2017), and, in 2024, the singles "Dominos" and "Bounce."[1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) • [10](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621255271) Her song "Drip" appeared in the Academy Award-winning film *Anora* in 2024.[6](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-does-erika-jayne-do-for-a-living-music-career-performing-details)
She toured with *The Pretty Mess Tour* across the United States in the fall of 2018, and in 2023 opened the Las Vegas residency "Bet It All on Blonde" at the [House of Blues](https://www.edgepedia.org/house-of-blues) in [Mandalay Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/mandalay-bay), produced with Live Nation.[1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) • [5](https://www.bravotv.com/people/erika-girardi) The run-up to the residency was documented in the two-part Bravo series *Erika Jayne: Bet It All on Blonde*, which aired in 2024.[6](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-does-erika-jayne-do-for-a-living-music-career-performing-details)
## Television and stage
Jayne became a main cast member of *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills* in 2015, introduced as the wife of lawyer Tom Girardi.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/erika-jayne-mn0000982215/biography) • [11](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/erika-jayne-interview-2025) Her other television work includes competing on season 24 of *Dancing With the Stars* (2017), *Lip Sync Battle* (2018), playing Farrah Dubose on CBS's *The Young and the Restless* (2016 to 2018), and competing on season 13 of *The Masked Singer* in 2025, where she performed as "Yorkie" and was eliminated in Week 9.[1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) • [12](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/erika-jayne-singing-career-update)
**Broadway.** She made her Broadway debut as [Roxie Hart](https://www.edgepedia.org/roxie-hart) in *Chicago* at the Ambassador Theatre on January 6, 2020.[13](https://playbill.com/article/see-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-erika-jayne-make-her-broadway-debut-in-chicago) Although scheduled through March 29, 2020, she played her final performance on March 11, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut Broadway down; Bravo counts her run at more than 80 performances.[1](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne) • [5](https://www.bravotv.com/people/erika-girardi)
She published a memoir, also titled *Pretty Mess*, which became a New York Times bestseller; the Los Angeles Times dates its publication to 2018, while Bravo's profile gives 2019.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-12-19/erika-jayne-real-housewives-music) • [5](https://www.bravotv.com/people/erika-girardi)
## Legal matters surrounding Tom Girardi
Jayne married Tom Girardi, a prominent plaintiffs' lawyer, after meeting him while she worked as a cocktail waitress at Chasen's in West Hollywood; the two have since divorced.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-12-19/erika-jayne-real-housewives-music) • [11](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/erika-jayne-interview-2025) Girardi was disbarred in California in 2022 over client thefts, and in 2025 a federal judge sentenced him to seven years and three months in prison after a jury found him guilty of four counts of wire fraud for embezzling tens of millions of dollars from his clients, with $2.3 million in restitution ordered.[14](https://apnews.com/article/4a236ae4c9d8ecfea19e39d07ba5f7ab)
The collapse of his firm, Girardi Keese, drew Jayne into civil litigation. In May 2026 she settled a $25-million bankruptcy lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court over claims connected to her ex-husband's defunct law firm, ending a long-running legal battle before trial.[15](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-22/housewives-star-erika-girardi-settles-25-million-civil-lawsuit?sfmc_id=65206f70720486302915b9a3&skey_id=38f65826eae99dc4a591e087122ee874baa61220f6e8da107173fbf73578d355)
## Recent career
Jayne has pivoted from performing her own songs to DJing under the name DJ Pretty Mess, playing events across the United States.[6](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-does-erika-jayne-do-for-a-living-music-career-performing-details) In August 2026 she opened for Kesha on several dates of Kesha's Freedom Tour, working alongside her longtime creative director Mikey Minden, who served as show director on the tour; she announced her final show of the run on August 30, 2026.[7](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/erika-jayne-closes-out-epic-career-chapter-after-kesha-tour-august-2026) She has said she wants to continue DJing and has discussed writing a second memoir covering the changes in her life since 2018.[7](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/erika-jayne-closes-out-epic-career-chapter-after-kesha-tour-august-2026)
## References
1. [Erika Jayne On Stage, New York Theatre Guide](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/erika-jayne)
2. [Erika Jayne Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/erika-jayne-mn0000982215/biography)
3. [What to Know About Erika Jayne's Music Career Through the Years, BravoTV.com](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-to-know-about-erika-jaynes-music-career-through-the-years)
4. [Pretty Mess album page, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/pretty-mess-mw0000823037)
5. [Erika Jayne, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, BravoTV.com](https://www.bravotv.com/people/erika-girardi)
6. [What Does Erika Jayne Do For a Living? Inside Her DJ Career & Life as a Pop Star, BravoTV.com](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/what-does-erika-jayne-do-for-a-living-music-career-performing-details)
7. [Erika Jayne Closes Out an Epic Chapter in Her Career, BravoTV.com](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/erika-jayne-closes-out-epic-career-chapter-after-kesha-tour-august-2026)
8. [Exclusive Interview: Erika Jayne on 'Pretty Mess' and Having Fun, AceShowbiz](https://www.aceshowbiz.com/interviews/erika_jayne.html)
9. [Erika Jayne of 'Real Housewives': An introduction to her music, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-12-19/erika-jayne-real-housewives-music)
10. [Erika Jayne, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621255271)
11. [Erika Jayne On Being A Popstar, Getting Meme-ified, Writing Erotica And How To Pick Yourself Up After Dark Times, British Vogue](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/erika-jayne-interview-2025)
12. [Erika Jayne Is Closing a Career Chapter and "Reflecting," BravoTV.com](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/erika-jayne-singing-career-update)
13. [See Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Erika Jayne Make Her Broadway Debut in Chicago, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/see-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-erika-jayne-make-her-broadway-debut-in-chicago)
14. [Former celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi gets 7 years in prison for stealing millions from clients, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/4a236ae4c9d8ecfea19e39d07ba5f7ab)
15. ['Housewives' star Erika Girardi settles $25-million civil lawsuit, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-22/housewives-star-erika-girardi-settles-25-million-civil-lawsuit?sfmc_id=65206f70720486302915b9a3&skey_id=38f65826eae99dc4a591e087122ee874baa61220f6e8da107173fbf73578d355)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Hu to Ji*
*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