Garcelle Beauvais reveals a woman once thought she was biracial sons’ nanny
The proud Haitian actress joins other television personalities to discuss race in America on BRAVO TV special
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Garcelle Beauvais, opened up about one of her personal experiences with racism.
She recently revealed that once she was a stranger called her the nanny to her own children. Beauvais is of West Indian descent and her children are biracial, sharing both Haitian and white-American blood.
READ MORE: Bravo announces special ‘Race in America: A Movement Not a Moment’
The actress joined other Bravo TV stars for an intimate and candid conversation about race on a special program produced by the network. The show is entitled Race in America: A Movement Not a Moment.
“I had someone think that I was my kids’ nanny,” recalled the former model.
Though she does not look like it, Beauvais is the mother of three, two of her children (the twins) are of mixed race.
She recalls that the woman, who thought she was the nanny, first approached her speaking to her in Spanish. She replied to her, “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Spanish.”
The stranger advised her, “You’d make more money if you spoke Spanish.”
At first, she remembers, that she assumed the stranger knew she was an actor and was trying to help her in her career. However, she soon realized that wasn’t the case.
“When she realized one of my boys came up to me… and he said, ‘Mommy,’ she completely turned bright red and ran off because she realized they were actually my kids. So, you see it[racism] in all different ways, almost on a daily basis,” said Beauvais.
Beauvais is widely known for her role as Francesca ‘Fancy’ Monroe on The Jamie Foxx Show.
Still, her stardom does not prevent racially charged microaggressions.
The 90-minute special brought together Beauvais, Real Housewives of Atlanta‘s Kandi Burruss, Todd Tucker, Real Housewives of Potomac‘s Gizelle Bryant, Married to Medicine LA‘s Dr. Britten Cole, Top Chef‘s Gregory Gourdet, Married to Medicine Atlanta‘s Toya Bush-Harris and Dr. Eugene Harris, Real Housewives of New York‘s Leah McSweeney, Married to Medicine Atlanta’s Dr. Simone Whitmore, Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Porsha Williams and Real Housewives of Orange County’s Braunwyn Windham-Burke.
READ MORE: ‘Real Housewives’ star Garcelle Beauvais reveals she dated Will Smith right in front of his ex-wife
The show is hosted by E!’s Nina Parker from executive producers Leslie D. Farrell and Dorothy Toran and Burruss also served as a producer.
Race in America: A Movement Not a Moment created space for these Bravo stars to sit in conversation about racial inequalities, the Black Lives Matter movement, allies, privilege, voting, and much more, People reported.
The limited television special aired Aug. 9. Many expressed their own encounters with racism and some, such as RHOP’s Gizelle Bryant, shared experiencing situations similar to Beauvais.
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