Best known for her controversial stints in several reality shows, most notable of which was in
The Real World Las Vegas ,
Trishelle Cannatella was born on November 4, 1979, in Cut Off, Louisiana. Of primarily French descent, she describes herself as a “mama's girl.” Her mother raised her to be a devout Christian, going to church around three to four times a week. She had a very tumultuous experience in high school, hitting it off with unsavory cliques, which tempted her to do drugs. During her senior year, though, she started gravitating towards better, more grounded groups, which pulled her away from her drug habits. At 18, she went ahead to major in broadcast journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi.
During her stint in The Real World Las Vegas, Cannatella worked in the hotel and clubs. She had sexual relationship with a housemate which caused a pregnancy scare. Later on, she would complain about the way the show's editing portrayed her as just a promiscuous and alcoholic party girl.
In 2004, Cannatella was cast in VH1 reality show
The Surreal Life season 2, touted as the best season yet. The show features celebrities who are said to be past their primes and puts them in a Hollywood Hills mansion for two weeks. As if this were not enough, unforgiving cameras also follow their every move. While Cannatella's reputation on the reality television circuit precedes her, she did live up to her less than saintly image. Yet even though she is widely perceived as a wild child, fans apparently found something endearing about her. During a special segment called Dirty Laundry, talk show host Sally Jesse Raphael confronted her about her alcoholism and basically called her a slut. She also had a minor tiff with former Baywatch star
Traci Bingham but they patched things up in the end.
(Photo courtesy of VH1)