Lisa Rinna (born July 11, 1963) is an American actress, television personality, author, and model. She portrayed Billie Reed on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives and Taylor McBride on Fox's television drama Melrose Place. Between 2014 and 2022, Rinna starred on Bravo's reality television series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Other television credits include being a contestant on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice, ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and Peacock's The Traitors, as well as guest-starring roles on Entourage, Hannah Montana, Veronica Mars, Community, The Middle, and American Horror Stories. Rinna made her Broadway debut in Chicago as Roxie Hart in June 2007.
She was the host of Soapnet's talk show Soap Talk (2002–2006), for which she earned four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Talk Show Host. Rinna has written four books: the self-help and lifestyle book Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life Ever (2009); the novel Starlit (2010); the sexual health guide The Big, Fun, Sexy Sex Book (2012); and the memoir You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It (2026). Her other ventures include a fashion line for QVC named The Lisa Rinna Collection, the cosmetics collection Rinna Beauty, and the beverage company Rinna Wines.
Lisa Deanna Rinna Hamlin was born July 11, 1963, in Newport Beach, California, to Lois Irene (née DeAndrade) and Frank Rinna. She is of Portuguese and Italian descent. Before Lisa's birth, her mother was brutally attacked by American serial killer David Carpenter, with whom she had worked. Lois was saved by a military police officer, who followed Carpenter's car after it went in a prohibited area. When Lisa was seven, her older half-sister Laurene died. During that same year, her family relocated to Medford, Oregon, when her father was transferred there for job-related reasons, and she spent the remainder of her childhood there. Rinna graduated from North Medford High School in 1981.
1984–1999: Career beginnings and early work in soap opera
After graduating from high school, Rinna moved to San Francisco to pursue a career as a model. She started her career by appearing in commercials and believed she obtained her SAG card "doing a Mervyn's commercial". At age 21, Rinna appeared in the music video for John Parr's single "Naughty Naughty," as the passenger in Parr's car. Rinna later made her television debut appearing as the girlfriend of Jason Bateman's character in several episodes of The Hogan Family in 1990.
Rinna achieved her breakthrough in 1992, after she landed the role of Billie Reed in the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives. Her portrayal of Billie earned her the award for Outstanding Female Newcomer at the 1994 Soap Opera Digest Awards. In 1995, she and Robert Kelker-Kelly won the award for Hottest Soap Couple at the 1995 Soap Opera Digest Awards. She departed from Days the same year. She transitioned into primetime television in 1996, portraying Taylor McBride on the Aaron Spelling-produced soap opera Melrose Place until 1998.
In 1998, Rinna, while six months pregnant with her first daughter, posed nude for the Playboy magazine pictorial "Melrose Mom," (its title paid tribute to her role in Melrose Place) for the September issue. She later recounted the instructions given to her by Playboy photographer Deborah Anderson: "'I do not want you long and sinewy and angular and muscular. I want you soft...' This was really hard for me because being 35 years old and posing for Playboy, you want to amp it up."
Through the late 1990s, Rinna appeared in a series of television films, including Lifetime's Sex, Lies & Obsession opposite her husband Harry Hamlin, based on Hamlin's real life sex addiction and alcoholism.
2000–2013: Continued work in television and hosting
In 2000, Rinna starred in the Lifetime film, Another Woman's Husband, which boasted one of the highest ratings for a movie on Lifetime since 1999. In 2001, Rinna played the role of Veronica Simpson in the comedy film Good Advice, which starred Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards.
From 2002 to 2006, Rinna co-hosted the Soapnet flagship daily lifestyle talk show Soap Talk alongside Ty Treadway; the show went to receive four consecutive Daytime Emmy Award nominations for their work. In 2003, Rinna began hosting Lifetime's home makeover program Merge (2003–2005), as well as hosted The 18th Annual Soap Opera Digest Awards with Soap Talk co-host Ty Treadway.
In 2004, Rinna guest-starred on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules and the CW drama Veronica Mars, playing the recurring role of Lynn Echolls on the latter. In 2006, Rinna competed in the second season of Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Louis van Amstel. She was eliminated in round seven based on audience voting, despite having higher marks from the judges than fellow celebrity dancer Jerry Rice. She was a regular guest co-host on Live with Regis and Kelly. In 2007, she portrayed Drama's ex-girlfriend Donna Devaney on HBO's Entourage, in the episode "Malibooty."
Throughout the summer of 2007, Rinna starred as Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago alongside her husband, who played the role of Billy Flynn. She also hosted Oxygen's Tease, a reality competition series for hairstylists. From 2007 to 2009, she was the host of TV Guide Network's awards season red carpet coverage, replacing Joan Rivers.
In 2008, she guest starred in Disney Channel's musical comedy television series Hannah Montana, in the role of Mr. Dontzig's cousin, Francesca. That same year, she released a series of workout videos called Dance Body Beautiful. In December, TV Guide reported that Rinna and Hamlin had signed a deal to create a reality television series based on their family life. The series, titled Harry Loves Lisa, premiered on TV Land on October 6, 2010, and ran for 6 episodes.
In 2009, Rinna campaigned for her reprisal of Taylor McBride on the CW's revival Melrose Place, however, the series was cancelled after only one season. In May 2009, she posed again for Playboy and once again was also its cover model. She also graced the covers of CVLUX, Living Well, Soap Opera Magazine and Soap Opera Digest.
In 2011, Rinna competed in the fourth season of the reality competition series The Celebrity Apprentice; she was eliminated after being the project manager on the second task, writing and performing a children's book. In May, she guest starred on Nickelodeon's musical sitcom Big Time Rush as James Maslow's character's mother, Brooke Diamond.
Rinna and her husband Harry Hamlin jointly owned the Belle Gray clothing boutique in Sherman Oaks, California in 2011. They closed the store in 2012 because, both had grown too busy with their respective acting careers to manage it.
In 2012, Rinna appeared in an infomercial for abdominal muscle toner "The Flex Belt" alongside Adrianne Curry, Denise Richards and Janet Evans. She has appeared in a television commercial for Taco Bell and an infomercial for Winsor Pilates. In 2012 to benefit the charity Dress for Success, she modeled an adult incontinence brief made by Depend under a tight-fitting evening gown. According to reports, Depend paid her $2 million to be their celebrity spokesperson.