Posted Wednesday, November 1, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his subscriber-only AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Actress Eva Marcille broke onto the pop culture scene in 2005 during the relatively early days of reality TV, winning the third season of "America's Next Top Model."
Twelve years later, she is doubling down on the world of reality, landing on the cast of VH1's "Scared Famous" and becoming a recurring character on the upcoming season of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," returning Sunday, November 5.
The long-time Los Angeles resident and mother of a three-year-old daughter is dating former Atlanta mayoral candidate and attorney Michael Sterling and decided recently to move to Atlanta for good.
"I was afraid coming to Atlanta, I wouldn't find the liberal pocket. Lo and behold, I've found that there are plenty," she said in an interview today. And hanging with Sterling has immersed her quickly into Atlanta attending debates, forums and neighborhood meetings.
The shrimp-and-grits-loving gal chose East Atlanta as her home. "It's very United Nations," Marcille said. "The schools are very cool. I love the area. And what I love most are the big, huge Craftsman homes. I'm in a quintessential Southern home with two fans on my front porch and a gorgeous backyard that spans five hours long. I love it!"
She enjoyed her experience on "Scared Famous," which has aired two episodes so far. Ten mostly VH1-affiliated reality stars spent a couple of weeks in a haunted Savannah mansion vying for $100,000 for their charity.
"It's a riot," she said. "It's such a fun show to do. It didn't require anything except to just be yourself and try not to be eaten by goblins. Who doesn't like to be scared?"
Marcille thinks the house was haunted for sure, even though the producers clearly did amp things up as well. She did freak out during the first episode when she thought a spirit pulled her hair. "Sky got hurt every single day," she said, referencing another cast member. And Erica Mena started spontaneously bleeding.
Veteran reality star Tiffany "New York" Pollard ("I Love New York," "Flavor of Love") was the spirit whisperer. "Her clairvoyance did not mix with people who were already scared," Marcille said. "She took it to a whole new level connecting with those spirits. They were her friends!"
Marcille's chosen charity is Inclusion Clubhouse, which helps parents who have kids with special needs.
She said she was able to get on "Real Housewives" through her friend NeNe Leakes. "I had expressed my desire to move to Atlanta and was trying to get my footing. She brought me under her wing and introduced me to some of the girls on 'Housewives.' "
Marcille said she never really felt pressure to "get a peach," meaning she wasn't maneuvering to get a full-time gig "or be a certain way." She said she felt quickly accepted by the cast members.
She is not sure which episode she will first appear in and has no idea how she much airtime she will ultimately get. (She is not in the first episode of the season.)
Sometimes, recurring characters have gotten a lot of airtime (think Marlo Hampton or Dwight Eubanks) and other times, not so much (Demetria McKinney, where are you?)
ON TV
"Scared Famous," 9 p.m. Mondays, VH1
"Real Housewives of Atlanta," 8 p.m. Sundays, Bravo
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