EVERYONE'S FAVORITE SOUTHERN GALS ARE COMING BACK AND JOINED BY A NEW HOUSEWIFE ON THE SECOND SEASON OF BRAVO'S "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA"

Grammy-Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Kandi Burruss Heats Up The Cast

NEW YORK - March 9, 2009 - They're baaack! Bravo's ratings juggernaut "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" returns for a second season of drama and adds a new housewife into the mix - Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Kandi Burruss. Production has officially begun and will follow the busy lives of everyone's favorite southern gals as they juggle their careers, children and jam-packed social calendars.

Kandi Burruss is a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter who resides in Atlanta with her live-in fianc and six-year-old daughter Riley. She is a former member of the platinum-selling musical group "Xscape," and won a Grammy Award for her work on TLC's mega hit "No Scrubs." She has also written music for artists that include Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child and Alicia Keys. Burruss juggles her busy life as a single mom and hard working career woman, but also finds time to let loose on the Atlanta social scene, stepping out with members of the music industry's elite.

An up-close and personal look at life in Hotlanta, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" follows five glamorous southern belles as they balance motherhood, demanding careers and a fast-paced social calendar, and shows what life is like in the most exclusive areas of city. These driven and ambitious women prove that they're not just "housewives," but entrepreneurs, doting mothers and classy southern women. These ladies show the world what it takes to live large in some of the hottest zip codes in the south.

The returning "Real Housewives of Atlanta" are:

Kim Zolciak - Zolciak lives in an exclusive gated townhouse community in Duluth, GA with her two children, 12-year-old Brielle and eight-year-old Ariana. Zolciak is single, but happily dating with hopes to marry again in the near future. She also has her sights set on fame in the music business as a country singer. A staple on the Atlanta scene, she balances life as a single mom with a vivacious social life.

Lisa Wu Hartwell - Hartwell, a resident of a luxurious country club community in Duluth, GA, is a busy career woman who wears many hats - she owns her own real estate firm, Hartwell & Associates, a jewelry line called Wu Girls, a baby clothing line, Hart 2 Hart Baby, along with a budding acting, modeling and writing career. She's a devoted wife to her husband, NFL player Ed Hartwell, and mother of three children. When she's not running one of her many businesses or running after the kids, Hartwell is very active in Atlanta's social scene.

NeNe Leakes - Leakes is a fixture of Atlanta society. She resides in upscale Duluth with her husband Gregg, a successful real estate investor and business consultant, and their two sons, 18-year-old Brice and 10-year-old Brentt. Leakes donates her time to various foundations and is the founder of The Twisted Hearts Foundation, which brings awareness to the issue of domestic violence against women. Never one to sit still, the outspoken social butterfly also hopes to open a luxury boutique hotel in the near future.

Sheree Whitfield - Single socialite Whitfield, a resident in one of Atlanta's exclusive neighborhoods, manages her home life with a packed social calendar. She is a busy working mother to three children -Tierra, Kairo and Kaleigh. Whitfield prides herself on her fashion sense, and owned her own upscale clothing boutique - Bella Azul - for years before closing shop to focus on her next business venture, a clothing line called "She by Sheree." Whitfield is opening a new chapter in her life as a single mom while balancing her entrepreneurial spirit.

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" is produced by True Entertainment for Bravo. Steven Weinstock, Glenda Hersh, Matt Anderson, Lauren Eskelin and Marci Mule serve as Executive Producers.

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