Rita Jenrette Biography
Rita Jenrette whose full name is Rita Sue Carpenter is an American actress, celebrity, television journalist, and real estate executive well known for the interview about her marriage to U.S. Representative John Jenrette following his conviction in the Abscam scandal. She also gave an interview to The New York Times about working on restoring the Casino dell’Aurora of the Villa Ludovisi and making it open to the public.
Rita Jenrette Age
Sue Jenrette Carpenter was born on November 25th, 1949 in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Therefore, as of 2022, she is 73 years old.
Rita Jenrette Height
Jenrette stands at a height of 1.71 m, and her weight is about 65 kg.
Rita Jenrette Family
Jenrette has not disclosed her family members, parents, and siblings. Mostly because she does not necessarily find this information useful to the public. We will keep you posted should this information be available.
Rita Jenrette Husband
Jenrette got married to Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi of Piombino on May 27, 2009. Boncompagni was born in 1941 but unfortunately died in 2018. To commemorate the marriage, her husband Ludovisi commissioned the recreation of a fragrance originally devised for one of his princely ancestors. They lived in his 16th-century family home in Rome, the Villa Aurora, or sometimes Casino Ludovisi while renovated. Previously, on September 10, 1976, she married freshman Democratic whip John Jenrette of South Carolina, 18 months after meeting on Capitol Hill.
Her first husband John was convicted for bribe-taking during the Abscam investigation in October 1980. Rita appeared on the Phil Donahue Show calling in live and testifying in her husband’s defense. Thereafter, Rita alerted authorities that she had found$25,000 in her husband’s closet saying it was Abscam’s money. Jenrette also gave an interview to Playboy magazine in the April 1981 issue accompanied by a nude pictorial. The article revealed that she and John had sex on the steps of the United States Capitol during the break in an all-night House session. Causing a hoopla, Jenrette claimed they were happily married at the time the Playboy pictorial was photographed. In January 1981, John and Jenrette were divorced shortly after the Abscam scandal.
Rita Jenrette Career
Jenrette was the director of research for the Republican Party of Texas in 1973 and was a visiting lecturer at the Taft Political Institute at Trinity University. Later in 1975, Rita was an Opposition Research Director of the Republican National Committee under Mary Louise Smith. She also worked as a research associate at the office of technology assessment under the co-chairmanship of Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey and Edward M. Kennedy in 1977. Additionally, Rita co-authored a report with Ray Hoehle on the Food for Peace Program that was presented to the Presidential Commission on World Food Hunger. The next year in 1978, she was picked by the Washington Post Sunday Magazine as one of the four dynamic young women of Washington D.C.
Moreover, Jenrette has written two published books, My Capitol Secrets in 1981 and Conglomerate in 1986 detailing her experiences as a Congressional spouse. Subsequently, she bagged the Drama Logue Critics Award for her performance in the Philadelphia story in 1982. Rita has as well appeared in various movies and TV series in the mid- 1980s and became an on-air journalist on Fox Tv’s A Current Affair in 1989. Her real estate career kicked off in 1994 and in 1996, Crain’s New York Business described her as a Power Broker New York Style. Rita also sued Simon Properties for $6 million for failing to pay her commission on the $800 million sales of the General Motors Building to Donald Trump in 1999 after losing her claim at trial. In 2003, Jenrette completed an Executive Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Filmography
Appearing as an actress in various movies and TV series in the mid-1980s, she has featured in the following films:
- The Edge of Night (1981)
- Fantasy Island (1982)
- Zombie Island Massacre (1984)
- The Malibu Bikini Shop (1986)
- End of the Line (1987)
- Dream On (1992)
- The Philadelphia Story (1982)
- A Girl’s Guide to Chaos (1987)
Rita Jenrette’s Net Worth
Jenrette’s estimated net worth is $3 million. Her primary source is her job as an actress, television journalist, and real estate executive.
Rita Jenrette’s Social Media Accounts
Jenrette is active on social media and she posts personal and work-related stuff from time to time. She has over 2000 followers on Instagram, 1500 on Facebook, and 2300 on Twitter.