Snooki

Personal life

Polizzi was born in Santiago, Chile. She was adopted when she was six months old and was raised by Italian-American parents. Polizzi's father is a volunteer firefighter and auto-salvage supervisor, and her mother is an office manager. Polizzi lives in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Polizzi received her nickname, Snooki, in middle school, when her friends named her after "Snookie", a male character in Save the Last Dance, because she was the first of her friends to kiss a boy. She grew up and attended school in Marlboro, New York, where she was a cheerleader. During high school, she suffered from an eating disorder, at one point weighing 80 pounds (36 kg). Polizzi attended community college after graduating from Marlboro High School, where she studied to become a veterinary technician.

In March 2012, Polizzi announced her engagement to Jionni LaValle. Polizzi gave birth to the couple's first child, Lorenzo Dominic LaValle, on August 26, 2012.

Polizzi appeared on the front page of the March 2013 issue of Us Weekly, claiming to have lost 42 pounds post pregnancy.

Her second child, Giovanna Marie LaValle, was born September 26, 2014, weighing in at 6lbs 7oz.

On November 29, 2014, Polizzi married Jionni LaValle.

In October 2016, Polizzi announced she had had a breast augmentation to obtain a C cup.

Reality television

MTV first introduced Polizzi in Is She Really Going Out with Him?, a show that focused on women dating obnoxious or arrogant men. Polizzi and her boyfriend, Justin, appeared in episode 14, "Jerz Pud".

Polizzi became part of the reality TV series Jersey Shore after being scouted by the casting director, Josh Allouche, an employee of Doron Ofir Casting. The New York Times identified her as "the breakout member of the cast". According to The New York Times, her actions on the show have caused her to be the target of public disdain while having a "strange appeal". One reported measure of her appeal was that she was one of the most popular celebrity Halloween costumes of 2010. Polizzi's popularity on the first season of Jersey Shore, which earned her $5,000 per episode, now earns her $30,000 per episode.

While shooting in Seaside Heights, Polizzi was punched in the face by New York City school gym teacher Brad Ferro. The punch, while shown in previews, was blacked out during showings of the episode. Videos of the punch went viral on YouTube and were featured in many news media. After the punch was made public, Polizzi's appearance fees increased from $2,000 per event to $10,000 per event.

In 2011, Polizzi and her Jersey Shore costar, Jennifer Farley, signed a contract to star in a spin-off show, Snooki & Jwoww, which premiered on MTV in June 2012. The first season followed Polizzi and Farley moving in together, and they describe their show like a modern-day Laverne & Shirley. 495 Productions filmed the first season over the course of six weeks, at a former two-story firehouse located near Grove and Mercer Streets in Jersey City, New Jersey. The second season relocated to the stars' actual permanent residences and began airing on January 8, 2013. This season had an expanded one-hour episode format. The March 2012 confirmation of Polizzi's pregnancy raised speculation as to how the creative direction of her spin-off would be affected, as she would be unable to engage in the "hard-partying, booze-swilling" antics that had previously garnered high ratings for MTV.

Other television appearances

Polizzi was a presenter at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. On July 27, 2010, the cast of Jersey Shore appeared at the New York Stock Exchange, and Polizzi rang the opening bell. Polizzi and the cast of Jersey Shore appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. Polizzi also appeared on TLC's Cake Boss episode "Snookie, Super Anthony & a Ship" on November 8, 2010, in which she orders a cake for her mom. On November 7, 2010, Polizzi appeared at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid, Spain. She was subsequently parodied in the South Park episode "It's a Jersey Thing", and is frequently parodied on Saturday Night Live by actor Bobby Moynihan. She also hosted the New Year's Eve special MTV's Club New Year's Eve 2013, with Jwoww and Jeff Dye, on December 31, 2012 from Times Square, to ring in 2013.

On September 4, 2013, it was announced on Good Morning America that Snooki would participate on the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with newcomer Sasha Farber. They were eliminated on October 28, 2013, coming in 8th place despite receiving good scores and comments from the judges. On January 28, 2016, it was announced that she is participating as a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice (also known as The Apprentice 15 and The Celebrity Apprentice 8).

Dancing with the Stars performances (Average: 25.0):

WWE (2011)

Polizzi made an appearance on the March 14, 2011 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, where he had a segment with John Morrison, Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler, during the snooki segment slapping Vickie starting a feud with the couple, later at night she got into a brawl with LayCool, which led to the formation of a six-person Mixed Tag Team match at WrestleMania XXVII. Snooki made an appearance on the March 28, 2011 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw in a segment where Snooki introduces Trish Stratus to the Jersey Shore, were they started a street fight with LayCool in a bar. At Wrestlemania, Snooki and her partners Trish Stratus and John Morrison won the match. On December 12, 2011 on WWE RAW, she was awarded the WWE 2011 A-Lister of the Year Slammy Award which she accepted via satellite.

In wrestling

Other ventures

In January 2011, Polizzi's book, A Shore Thing, was released; it described her search for love on the boardwalk. Despite a promotional campaign that included appearances by Polizzi on The View, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and the Late Show with David Letterman, the book was not a sales success. It sold approximately 9,000 copies within its first month of release, during which it accumulated 16 one-star customer reviews on Amazon.com. One publishing executive said the book sold poorly because "rather than a tell-all, it was disguised as a novel."

In April 2011, Polizzi was paid $32,000 to speak at Rutgers University. Topics she spoke about included what being a celebrity is like and what she thinks is important in school, including the advice: "Study hard, but party harder". Some students complained the school's money would have been better used on speakers other than Polizzi. Rutgers spokesman Steve Manas responded that the extension of the invitation to Polizzi resulted from canvassing by students, who indicated whom they wanted to invite. Over 1,000 people attended Polizzi's engagement.

On October 25, 2011, Polizzi's second novel, Confessions of a Guidette, was released with Gallery Books. The novel was marketed as a part-memoir, part-guide of how to "rock it Jersey-style."

Polizzi's third novel, Gorilla Beach, was released on May 15, 2012. It is a sequel to Polizzi's first novel, A Shore Thing.

In January 2012, Polizzi's Team Snooki Boxing co-promoted a cooperative venture with Final Round Promotions, a boxing card at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, featuring Irish featherweight boxer Patrick Hyland fighting and winning in the main event before a capacity crowd. Hyland's two brothers Eddie and Paul, also boxers, appeared in preliminary bouts. The event attracted considerable publicity in the boxing press.

In February 2013, Polizzi sold her customized 2011 Cadillac Escalade EXT on eBay for $77,510, earning her $15,000 more than what a standard 2011 Escalade EXT with similar mileage would cost. The pickup truck was customized with hot-pink grilles, wheels, and badges, wrapped in black vinyl lizard skin, and leopard-print floor mats.

Legal troubles

On July 30, 2010, Polizzi was arrested in Seaside Heights, New Jersey for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and criminal annoyance of others. In a September 8 plea bargain in which the latter two charges were dropped, Judge Damian G. Murray sentenced her to a $500 fine and community service. In handing down the sentence, he characterized Polizzi as "a Lindsay Lohan wannabe". Her arrest was taped during production of season three of Jersey Shore.

On May 31, 2011 in Florence, Italy, Polizzi was briefly taken into custody by local police after the car she was driving collided with a parked traffic police car. According to Italian police, Polizzi was cited and released. Two police officers sustained minor injuries.

In late 2011, Polizzi sued SRG Ventures, a licensing company she had signed with a year earlier to bring out Snooki-branded merchandise such as watches, shoes, lingerie, and school supplies, for breach of contract. She alleged the company had failed to adequately seek such licensing opportunities. The company countersued, alleging she and her manager had undermined its efforts by negotiating directly with manufacturers and delaying their decisions.