In March 2008, Bravo fans met Countess Luann de Lesseps for the very first time on the series premiere of The Real Housewives of New York City (RHONY). Then the wife of French Count Alexandre de Lesseps and rocking a capital A in “LuAnn,” the former nurse and Italian TV star from Connecticut was known for her obsession with class and elegance. One of her most notable scenes in the earliest scenes of the show was correcting her co-star, Bethenny Frankel, after introducing her to her driver by her first name. “It’s Mrs. de Lesseps,” she instructed.
If that Countess LuAnn could see Luann the cabaret star now, what would she say?
In a career pivot that has made her one of the most successful and iconic alumni of the Real Housewives franchise, de Lesseps has fully embraced the world of cabaret. She’s currently on a greatest hits tour, with multiple stops at theatres across Canada. Though she first showed off her love of music as early as RHONY Season 3, recording perhaps the most iconic Real Housewives song of all time, “Money Can’t Buy You Class,” her cabaret life represents a whole new level. She may be the same Lu that fans first met 17 years ago, but she’s been through many acts since then—including marriage, a mug shot and more.
Ahead of her stops in Vancouver (April 11) and Calgary (April 14), Xtra talked with Countess Luann about learning elegance, her upcoming check-in at Bravo’s Love Hotel and her secret to a lasting post-Housewives career.
You’re on tour right now—I’ll be seeing you in L.A. at the end of the month, but you have Canadian dates on the schedule first. How’s the tour been so far?
It’s been great. I toured first in London, Ireland and Scotland to packed houses, which was incredible. Tilda Swinton introduced me to the stage in London, which was mind-blowing. I met her last year. She came to my show and invited me to Scotland and then we became friends. I didn’t even know she was coming. She sent me flowers and said, “I’m gutted that I can’t come, darling.” And then she’s in my dressing room with her whole family. It was crazy. And then she goes on to introduce me to the stage of the Adelphi Theatre in London … it was just an incredible experience.
I’m loving this tour, because it really is greatest hits. Normally I do a video for “Feelin’ Jovani,” and this time around, I’m performing it. And “Viva La Diva,” which I haven’t really done in my shows! I’m hand-picking the songs that I really love, that I have stories for. And that’s what cabaret is all about. It’s a personal story.
You were also in Montreal recently, and I know both of your parents are French-Canadian. Does that make it a little bit extra special to be up in Canada?
Oh, for sure. I had a clairvoyant who said, “You know your father’s here with you on stage. You know that, right?” And I said, “Yes, I do know that,” because my father passed away over 20 years ago. So it’s very special for me to perform on Canadian soil.
While we’re talking about Canada, you were the first Real Housewife to guest-judge on Canada’s Drag Race. I loved your episode—Season 4, Episode 7. What was that experience like for you? Does anything stand out in your memory of it?
It was great. Those queens, they work so hard. I was so impressed that they make their own clothes, they have to learn the dances, do all the makeup. I mean, there’s so much that goes into Drag Race that I really give them kudos for all the work they do, for that one chance to win. I love my queens. I had a great time working with Brad Goreski and the team on the show.
In that episode, you gave a great critique to one of the competitors, Kiki Coe, when she dropped a hat during the Rusical. You talked about the time that you had been puked on, and you brushed it off with a joke and moved on. I thought that was such a great encapsulation of your approach to not only cabaret, but life. You just take the hit and keep moving.
Well, like the lyric in “Chic C’est La Vie”: “The little things can take you down/ So it’s best to brush them off.” You know, when I started “Money Can’t Buy You Class,” I met a producer, and he goes, “Well, what do you want to sing about?” I go, “I’m not quite sure, but I just wrote a book.” So I showed him Class with the Countess: How to Live with Elegance and Flair, and he just kept on flipping pages, going, “Elegance is learned, my friend.” So that’s how “Money Can’t Buy You Class” came along. He just kept on pulling lines out of my book. My book is kind of my life. It’s autobiographical meets tips and advice on how to live with elegance and flair.
Because I had to learn. My parents are Canadian. I’m one of seven children. You know, the Canadians have a lot of kids. I grew up in a small town. So I had to learn how to be elegant. And that’s why I talk about that in the book, and I talk about it in my music. I didn’t know a lot, and then life teaches you lessons. I like to grab on to those lessons. I like to talk about them. I include them in my music and my songs.
You’ve lived a lot of acts in your life, and the next act is Love Hotel, which is premiering on Bravo on April 27. What can fans expect going into this?
Well, listen, it’s the first dating show for the network. They called me up and they said, “Hey, we’re going to find you some guys, send you away for three weeks, and we’re going to pay you.” I’m like, “Yeah, baby! I’m in!” I’ve been single for a while—and we’re not going to make this about Tom, because it’s not—but I’ve been single for a while. So I was very excited about the prospect of having men thrown at me, because I do love that! Whether it’s Tom, Harry or a pirate, I do love my boys.
Shannon Beador is on it with Gizelle Bryant and Ashley Darby from Potomac. The drama’s more between us and the men than between the women, which is a nice change from Housewives drama. So I’m excited for the fans to see this different relationship that we have. We’ve got each other’s backs. I think people are going to love it. It’s a beautiful location, and the guys are really, I was stunned, they found us some really good guys. Good-looking, smart, successful.
It’s hard to find those these days.
Exactly.
This is your third return, post-Housewives, to the Bravo world. You did Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy, you did Luann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake and now this. How is it for you to make these smaller returns in specialized shows versus coming back to Housewives proper?
I did the Housewives for a long time. I gave people my life for many years, and now it’s really fun doing spinoffs that are not about my personal life … to the extent of the Housewives, where it’s like four months of filming and they’re in your life. Crappie Lake was so great. We got into the small town of Benton to help improve after COVID, and we did a lot of great work there. … They made their motel bigger, they’re making more money. They have a lot more tourists there now. I’m proud of the work that we did there. The Ultimate Girls Trips are always fun. I think they should send the Real Housewives of New York City OGs around the world. Next stop: Below Deck!
Real Housewives has evolved a lot since you first started. As one of the first to join the franchise, now as an alumna of it, what do you think about the state of Real Housewives in 2025?
I just think that, unless it’s a tight-knit group of Housewives which have old relationships, I think it’s harder for them to survive because people want to follow you. They want to follow your story, no matter how long it is. The franchises that do really well are where the friends are really connected and have a history together. I think it’s harder for the new franchises, because there’s really not that history. You can feel it, that they’re not really friends. So I think that’s where the problems occur. Changing up a whole new cast, I think, is kind of an interesting idea. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Like I said, the casts that will endure are the ones that really have true friendships, that go way back. And I think that’s why New York worked so well, because we did have these old friendships. We knew where all the skeletons were buried and we knew a lot about each other.
Speaking of a Housewife you’ve encountered in your time, you and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore got to know each other when you were on the first Ultimate Girls Trip together. I’m not sure if you’ve kept up at all with what’s been happening with her on Atlanta?
I’ve got so much going on in terms of new TV shows and cabaret and all that. I heard rumblings, but I don’t even really know the story. What happened with Kenya?
She had a situation with another Housewife that involved—
The photo?
The photos, yeah. [Editor’s note: After an argument with her fellow Housewife Brit Eady, Moore revealed sexually explicit images of Eady at an on-camera event. The incident resulted in Moore’s suspension from the show.] So her last episode just aired Sunday.
Right, right. So it didn’t pan out great for her, did it?
Unfortunately not. Which is a bummer, obviously, because she’s such a legend.
Yeah. “Gone with the Wind Fabulous.” I do think she’s great. I think that it’s very hard not to step in it these days, and, you know, I do think it was a little excessive. There’s always that moment where one has to consider: Is this a crossing-the-line moment or not?
You have parlayed your success on Real Housewives to such great things. I keep thinking about that clip of you at the Mighty Hoopla festival in London, where you’re walking out to a huge festival crowd. If you could show that clip to the Countess Luann who started on Housewives in the late 2000s, what do you think she would make of that? What would she say?
I would say, “Oh, my god, is that me? Is that really me?” I look at myself right now, when I came out to my London show with a packed house in the Adelphi Theatre. It’s epic. I’m just blown away by what I’ve been able to do with my cabaret. And, you know, I did it with my heart. If you live with your heart and you do things you love, it’s really hard to go wrong. I took a big chance doing cabaret when I did it on the show. My first show was filmed, so no pressure there! But, you know, It’s sink or swim.
I take chances. I try to live without fear, because fear is our biggest enemy. I talk about this in my cabaret show to my fans, because I want them to know that. Be fearless. Jump on the train when the doors open. Don’t be afraid to take a chance. People need to hear that, because there’s so much that goes into it. Like, “My god, should I do it? Should I not do it?” There’s a lot of hesitation. Listen, I got married to the Count after two weeks of knowing him. I fell madly in love, and I have two beautiful children from that marriage. And even though it didn’t work out, it did work out. Like they say, “Better to have loved than not have loved at all.”
Why do you think it’s relatively rare for Housewives to build careers after they leave Housewives at the level of something like yours in cabaret? What was your secret to making it work?
My passion has always been entertainment. I used to work for Italian television before I even met the Count. I was an Italian TV star in Milan. I think it’s putting yourself in a place where you actually love what you do. For me, I always wanted to be a model, and then I loved television. And now I love reality television. I didn’t know what reality was in 2007 when we started the show. We had no idea how popular it would become. We got paid $10,000 for the entire first season.
You know, how I started cabaret was when one of my best friends, who I’ve known for 30 years, said, “Lu, you love to sing for your friends. You love to tell jokes, and you love to entertain. You’re a cabaret performer.” And I was like, “Oh, okay!” Then I got married, and that didn’t work out great. I had many streets to cross before I got to the cabaret stage, but it was always in the back of my mind because I am an entertainer; that’s what I like to do. So sit down on the couch and let me take you for a ride.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why you can trust Xtra
