Nigerian-American Omarosa Manigault-Newman has resigned from her role as Director of Communication for the Office of Public Liaison under the President Donald Trump administration.
Many of us might remember her as the smart-mouthed participant in the 2004 ‘The Apprentice,’ starring business mogul and current American president, Donald Trump.
After coming in second place on the show, she became the only Apprentice to be re-invited to participate in the subsequent series, ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’
Omarosa, in December 2016, was announced as one of the nine members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team.
Here are 7 interesting things you should know about this high achiever.
1. Her father was murdered when she was 7 years old
When Omarosa was seven years old, her father was tragically murdered. Even more tragic was the fact that her brother was also murdered in 2011 by one of his ex-girlfriends.
2. She has a degree in broadcast journalism
In 1996, Omarosa got her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Central State University in Ohio. She has also received biblical studies training at Payne Theological Seminary.
3. Omarosa has worked with two American administrations as a political aide
In the 1990s, Manigault worked in the office of Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration. At the time, she was just 23. On January 3, 2017, it was reported that Manigault would join Trump’s White House staff, focusing on public engagement. Her specific title was made public the next day as Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison.
4. ‘TV Guide’ included her in their 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest TV Villains of All Time
Stemming from her controversial, blindsiding, alienating, and acrimonious tactics of gameplay on The Apprentice (particularly in its boardroom segments), she soon became the “woman America loved to hate.” She was ranked 45th in TV Guide’s ‘The 60 Nastiest TV Villains of All Time.’
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5. She is also an actress
Omarosa has had several roles as an actress, but she is more widely known for appearing in Soul Sistahs (2006), Knock ’em Dead (2014), and We Are Family (2017).
6. Omarosa dated the late American actor, Michael Clarke Duncan
On August 13, 2010, Manigault confirmed that she was dating actor Michael Clarke Duncan, whom she had met in the produce section of a Whole Foods supermarket. In July 2012, she found Duncan in cardiac arrest and performed CPR. Manigault was able to resuscitate him. He never fully recovered from the heart attack and died on September 3, 2012, after having spent two months in the hospital.
7. She is presently married to her second husband, who is a pastor.
In 2000, Manigault married Aaron Stallworth and changed her last name to Manigault-Stallworth. They separated in 2005 and divorced later that year. After the death of Michael Duncan, she married John Allen Newman on April 8, 2017, at Trump’s Washington, DC, hotel, in the Presidential Ballroom of the Old Post Office Pavilion. Newman is the senior pastor of The Sanctuary at Mt. Calvary, a church in Jacksonville, Florida.