This New 'RHOA' Is No Stranger to TV

We still don't know much about Season 7 of Real Housewives of Atlanta , except that it probably won't make it onto the air until sometime in early 2015. But along with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, RHOA is in the early stages of production on their new season and in addition to the entire cast returning, they have hired two new Housewives , including Claudia Jordan, who Us Weekly reports will be a supporting housewife. Jordan is a radio and television host who's already an experienced reality personality. She's appeared on Deal or No Deal, and multiple seasons of The Celebrity Apprentice, which proves she's used to dealing with irrational personalities, sure to be a useful skill on RHOA. (Seriously, Donald Trump and Peter have surprisingly similar mannerisms.)

Like costar Kenya Moore, Jordan started out as a young beauty queen, winning Miss Rhode Island USA (though she never took the national title like Kenya did — so you can count on Kenya to bring that up at least once per episode). She's played herself in several other television appearances and had her own radio show called, naturally, "The Claudia Jordan Show." Currently, Jordan works at the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, the same radio station that Porsha Stewart works for. Since both Porsha and Kenya are returning, Porsha needs all the allies she can get — but Jordan has been defending Kenya (and snapping Instagrams with Kandi). If Jordan is a new Housewife, she's not wasting any time jumpstarting controversy.

While Jordon seems charming, smart, and is extraordinarily pretty, casting someone who's already Hollywood-ready does feel like a big change for the show, which has decided to start hiring people who were already on-camera personalities before being Housewives. Atlanta is a media hub, so it's not that surprising that models, moguls, or actors would be based there, but it's changing the identity of the Real Housewives franchise.

RHOA used to follow relatively normal, suburban women and found the humor and, yes, the drama in their everyday lives. Now that these women have become bona fide celebrities, not only have some, like NeNe and Kim, built their own mini entertainment empires, but the casting is starting to attract more established personalities. We've also seen that on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, who are now adding former soap stars Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson to the cast. Obviously in the past 10 years that the Real Housewives series have been on the air, things have shifted, especially as the different franchises found their voice. Putting Kandi Burress and Cynthia Baliey on the RHOA cast gave it an industry edge, which will now be continued by Jordan and McKinney.

Image: Claudia Jordan/Instagram; Giphy