# Vicki Gunvalson

Victoria Gunvalson (born March 27, 1962) (née Steinmetz; formerly Wolfsmith) is an American reality television personality and businesswoman. She is best known as an original cast member of the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Orange County (RHOC), featuring in 16 of the 18 seasons since its 2006 premiere. She is the founder and CEO of Coto Insurance.

## Career

She is one of the original cast members of Bravo's reality television show The Real Housewives of Orange County. In January 2020, Gunvalson departed the franchise but she has made guest appearances in season 17 and in season 18. In June 2022, Gunvalson starred in the second season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, a spin-off featuring various women from The Real Housewives franchise, which premiered on Peacock. She is set to star in the fifth season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, which is set to premiere in 2024.
In 2020, she hosted a podcast titled Whoop It Up with Vicki. Gunvalson owns an insurance agency in Coto de Caza, California.

## Personal life

Gunvalson is one of five children. Her father owned a construction company, and her mother was a housewife. According to Bravo, when Gunvalson was 5 years old, she was diagnosed with an inner ear tumor called cholesteatoma. She underwent surgery which removed the tumor. She lost 50% of her hearing in her right ear after the surgery. By the time she was 25, she had undergone 5 more additional surgeries and completely lost hearing in her right ear. When she was 32, the tumor had grown back and wrapped around the facial nerve, pierced through her skull and started creeping up towards the right side of her brain. She underwent one last surgery which could have had facial nerve damage ramifications, she fully recovered but still has no hearing in her right ear.
She married her first husband Michael J. Wolfsmith at the age of 21 and they had two children, Michael Wolfsmith (b. 1986) and Briana Culberson (née Wolfsmith, b. 1987). At the age of 29, they divorced and she began a part-time job at her father's construction company.
In 1991, after her father's death from Alzheimer's disease, she joined the health insurance business. In 1994, she married Donn Gunvalson and founded Coto Insurance and Financial Services, after obtaining her insurance license in California. Vicki and Donn divorced in 2014.
During the tenth season of The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2015, Gunvalson dated Brooks Ayers. It was revealed that Ayers' claim that he had cancer, which was a story line throughout the season, was untrue, and that Gunvalson was conned. Ayers admitted that he had fabricated "documents to 'prove' to the world that I, in fact, have cancer."
Vicki was engaged to Steve Lodge, brother of Roger Lodge, from April 2019 until September of 2021.
In November 2021, Gunvalson revealed she had recently battled cancer.

## Filmography

Television roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006–2019, 2023–2024 | The Real Housewives of Orange County | Herself | 250 episodes; Main Cast: Seasons 1-13, Recurring: Season 14, Guest: Seasons 17–18 |
| 2009 | Dr. Phil | Herself | |
| 2010 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Herself | Celebrity Question Presenter; Episode: "The Real Housewives of Millionaire 2" |
| 2013 | Tamra's OC Wedding | Herself | Episodes: "Decisions Decisions" and "Tamra and Eddie's Wedding Kick Off" |
| 2015 | The Doctors | Herself | Episode: "The Doctors Exclusive: Honey Boo Boo's Health Intervention/Real Housewive Reconnects with Deceased Mother" |
| 2022–2024 | The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip | Herself | Main Cast: Seasons 2 & 5 |