Shaunie O’Neal is an American TV personality. She is also a TV producer well-known in the reality TV space. Her ex-husband Shaquille O’neal is an NBA superstar, and their relationship was the talk of the town. Her net worth was estimated to be $35 million; this is not surprising as she has always been a serial entrepreneur. Throughout their marriage, Shaunie worked to gather her net worth in various industries doing everything from shows to investments.
Early Years
Shaunie was born Va’Shaundya Karlette Nelson in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1974. When she reached the age of ten, her family moved to Los Angeles, where she lived most of her adult years. She has a younger brother and an older sister as siblings. She attended the University of Southern California and earned a bachelor’s degree.
Career
O’Neal got a job at Fox Entertainment, where she worked as a film marketer. She worked there for a long time before meeting Shaquille O’Neal. The duo began dating, and this catapulted Shaunie into the spotlight. She started getting more prominent in the media, giving her an avenue to do more in the entertainment industry.
After getting married to Shaquille, Shaunie joined a reality show called ‘Basketball Wives,’ and she was one of the executive producers. The show aired on VH1 and included the wives of other basketball players. She joined the reality show years after divorcing her husband, with whom she has four children. She worked with other women, like Evelyn Lozada, Tami Roman, and so on, to bring the show to life. They all deal with their families; the spotlight, as well as their private lives on reality TV, gives the audience a scoop on their personal lives.
From 2010 to 2013, Shaunie was the executive producer for ‘Basketball Wives and its LA spin-off ‘Basketball Wives LA.’ After the success of the previous show, she joined another VH1 show, Baller Wives, and she had to manage her time working on all these shows together. Shaunie started the spin-off LA version of Basketball Wives, which went on for five seasons. Later, in 2017, she became an executive producer for Baller Wives. Besides, she has her own TV program, Shaunie’s Home Court, which she created after her successful producing career on VH1.
She starred in the ‘The Love Shaq’ in 2009 and was also the executive producer. Shaunie has appeared on Wendy’s show numerous times as well as ‘The Real’ and ‘Hell’s Kitchen.’ Also, the documentary ‘Dumb It Down’ which was released in 2014, starred Neal as a participant. She has a long history of working in television shows, whether in reality or not.
Shaunie launched her shoe line after leaving the reality shows she was in. She already had a career in film marketing, so she used this to venture into entrepreneurship by starting her own business.
Personal Facts
Prior to meeting Shaq, Shaunnie’s previous relationship produced a son named Myles. He was born in 1997. On December 26, 2002, Shaunie and Shaq married in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hills Hotel. During the marriage, the couple was often in the news as claims of infidelity rocked their relationship. They were always at the forefront of tabloids. They had four children together; Shareef O’Neal, born in 2000, followed in his father’s footsteps playing professional basketball at LSU. Amirah is the couple’s second child, and she was born in 2001. In 2003, Shaunie and Shaq welcomed their third child together named Shaqir. The last child was born in 2006 and was named Me’arah.
Shaunie isn’t the only one who had a child before their relationship. Shaq also has a daughter with Arnetta Yardbourgh, his ex-girlfriend, and he named her Tahirah. After five years as a married couple, Shaunie and Shaq separated. They got back to get her after a while, but in 2009, Shaunie filed for divorce. She cited irreconcilable differences when filing for divorce. Their divorce was finalized in 2011, and they both started dating again. In July of 2021, Shaunie brought her new boyfriend, Keion Henderson, a pastor and singer, into the limelight and showed the world.
It was reported in July 2009 that Shaunie was involved in a ghastly accident, and she spent a long time recovering. She stayed out of the media the entire time.
In June 2022, Shaunie got married to Keion Henderson in Anguilla. Her friends and family graced the occasion to support her and her new husband.
Philanthropy
During the Christmas Eve Mission program organized for the homeless in Los Angeles, Shaunie joined the group to help the people on the streets. She created a program for women entrepreneurs with challenges and difficult backgrounds to encourage them to dream higher. She called the show ‘Let’s Talk About It.’ She was recognized for being an advocate for matters concerning women and children.
In 2011, she partnered with Brandy to organize a red carpet event for shopping at the Louis Vuitton based in Rodeo Drive. The revenue generated from this program went to the nonprofit organization Shaunie started for the impoverished children. Lots of celebrities graced the event, making it a success. Shaunie attended the gala event organized for Habitat for Humanity in 2012; the event took place in Los Angeles.