7 Things You Didn’t Know About RHOA Star Phaedra Parks

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6. Super Educated

Parks has a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Wesleyan College. She graduated in 1993 and then attended University of Georgia’s School of Law where she received her Juris Doctor degree. Since then, she’s been a lawyer and a pretty darn good one! In 2006, Outstanding Atlanta nominated her for Attorney of the Year, and the feminist entertainment site Jezebel named her Attorney of Distinction.

A photo posted by PHAEDRA (@phaedraparks) on Oct 11, 2016 at 5:13am PDT

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5. Middle Class Upbringing

She was born on October 26, 1973 to Regina Bell and Henry Parks in Athens, Georgia. Growing up, both of her parents were pastors and educators. She has three siblings, Henri Jacques Parks, Keosha Bell, and Albert Bell. Her family was very old school, middle class. She’s still really close to her mom. They speak three or four times a day.

A photo posted by PHAEDRA (@phaedraparks) on Jun 21, 2015 at 7:41am PDT

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4. Author

The Atlanta-based lawyer wrote a book in 2013 called Secrets of a Southern Belle: How to Be Nice, Work Hard, Look Pretty, Have Fun, and Never Have an Off Moment. The book is filled with tips on how to be a lady in any situation, from tea parties to interactions friends and family to getting tailgated, she tells it like it is all while remaining polite.

A photo posted by PHAEDRA (@phaedraparks) on Mar 31, 2014 at 9:06am PDT

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3. The Phaedra Parks Foundation

Parks has her own nonprofit organization, The Phaedra Parks Foundation, which strives to build vibrant communities, and develop responsible young people and resilient families. “I created my foundation so that hopefully I could empower families, students, other women and help to rebuild communities. Because you know our communities are at risk and so as now. A newly single mother of two African American boys my biggest program was save our sons and that was really targeted towards meeting the needs of young men who have found themselves without a great mentor who are finding themselves in a position where they are not sure of how to Progress as a student, as a professional,” she told Essence Live.

Photo by MediaPunch/REX/Shutterstock

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2. Relationship with Apollo Nida

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star met her ex husband, Apollo Nida, back in 1996 on a highway during rush hour traffic. They began dating but then she found out how old he was and decided that he was too young, so they became friends instead. Although they fell out of touch when he went to prison in 2004, they got back in touch when he got out. In 2009 they were married and in 2010 they welcomed their first son, Ayden Adonis, into the world and then, in 2013, they had a second son, Dylan. The couple split up in 2014 after Nida was charged with bank fraud and identity theft. The couple was officially divorced in 2016.

A photo posted by PHAEDRA (@phaedraparks) on Jul 29, 2013 at 8:26am PDT

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1. Helping People

When Parks was growing up, she never had any intention of becoming an entertainment attorney. All she knew for sure was that she wanted to help people. When she became a lawyer, she realized that there were a lot of black men that no other attorneys wanted to help, so she found her niche – helping people that other attorneys didn’t think could be rehabilitated.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by REX