'Real Housewives of Potomac': What You Need to Know

POTOMAC, MD — The countdown to what we assume will be a series of catfights, parties and faux reconciliations on “The Real Housewives of Potomac” is less than a month away.

The latest addition to Bravo TV’s Housewives franchise about privileged women premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17.

The network says the newest installment in the franchise “shines a spotlight on life in the upscale enclave with gated mansions, rolling hills, and exclusive country clubs. Viewers will be introduced to the wealthy African-American families who have broken racial barriers and now reside in the sophisticated community,” says Bravo in a news release.

Don’t know who the cast members are? We’ve got excerpts from their biographies, courtesy of the show’s website and the network’s Daily Dish site.

The show will follow socialite and single mom Gizelle Bryant, international model and TV personality Katie Rost, grand dame Karen Huger, social butterfly Charrisse Jackson-Jordan, publicist and single mom Robyn Dixon, as well as restaurateur Ashley Darby.

•Ashley Darby: The former pageant queen won the Miss District of Columbia title in 2011 and then competed in the 2012 Miss America pageant.

Her husband is Australian Michael Darby, the principal and co-founder ofMonument Realty in Washington, D.C. The pair met when Ashley interned at the real estate firm.

She is step-mother to his two grown children, and she hopes to have children herself.

In the meantime, Ashley owns and operates the restaurant she opened in October with her husband called Oz located in Arlington, Virginia. It offers a new take on cuisine from Down Under, such as skewers, pies, and sausage rolls.

•Katie Rost: Billed by the show as a model and TV personality born and raised in Potomac, part of an “affluent and philanthropic biracial family.” While her parents groomed her to be a doctor or lawyer, Rost instead went to New York to work as a model for Chanel, Macy’s, CoverGirl, and more. She made The Vogue 100 List of style icons in 2009.

Rost is a single mother of three who is said to be dating one of “Potomac’s most eligible bachelors, Andrew Martin, an investment executive.” A former beau was hip-hop legend Russell Simmons.

As a TV personality, Rost was one of the hosts of BET’s teen talk show Teen Summit and worked as a celebrity correspondent on Direct Access with Big Tigger in DC.

•Karen Huger: RHOP says Huger is the “grand dame of Potomac society,” and its etiquette maven. Married to Raymond Huger -- entrepreneur, former IBM executive and current president and CEO of tech companyParadigm Solutions International – she’s a mother of two.

This RHOP wife is often seen around town, supporting a charity, or having a night out with her castmates, says the show.

•Robyn Dixon: She married her University of Maryland college boyfriend, Terrapins basketball star Juan Dixon. He played for the Washington Wizards and three other NBA teams before becoming a coach at UMD.

The pair divorced in 2012, but still share a home with their two sons.

Robyn works as a publicist and event manager for the marketing and special events firm TAA PR, representing Shake Shack, The Ritz-Carlton and one of celebrity chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurants.

•Gizelle Bryant: The mother of three girls grew up in a prominent family before marrying her high-profile now-ex-husband, Jamal Bryant. He is known as the founder and pastor of the Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore and an unsuccessful Congressional candidate. The couple divorced in 2008.

Her father, Curtis Graves, was the first African-American to serve in the Texas House of Representatives since the late 1800s, and then worked at NASA for three decades.

Bryant is working on a makeup line for women of color that is scheduled to launch next year.

•Charrisse Jackson Jordan: The mother of two teenagers has been married to former NBA player Eddie Jordan for more than 18 years; he later served as head coach of the Washington Wizards before taking the head coaching post at Rutgers University.

A former teacher, non-profit organizations have been the focus of Jordan’s energy in recent years, including Knock Out Abuse, Men Against Breast Cancer, and N Street Village, which supports homeless women in Washington, D.C. For four years she was president of Behind the Bench, the National Basketball Wives Association.

Last year, Charrisse won the DC’s Dancing Stars competition for charity.

»Cast photo courtesy of Bravo