Coco Austin

**Nicole Natalie Austin Marrow** (born March 17, 1979) commonly known as **Coco Austin** is an American television personality, actress and model. She has been married to rapper Ice-T since 2002.

## Early life

Nicole Natalie Austin was born in March 17, 1979 in Tarzana, California, and raised in nearby Palos Verdes. She has Serbian ancestry through maternal grandparents born in Serbia. She has a younger sister, Kristy Williams, and three younger brothers. As a small child, her brother mispronounced her name, saying "Cole Cole" or "Co-co" instead of Nicole, and her family began calling her that. The family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when she was ten. She grew up as a tomboy, riding all-terrain vehicles and playing football. She also began dancing during her childhood in jazz, tap and ballet.

## Career

At 18, Austin began specializing in swimsuit, lingerie and body modeling for calendars, catalogs and videos. In 1997, she appeared on her first magazine cover for _Swimwear Illustrated_. She won the 1998 Miss Ujena contest in Mexico. In 2001, she began working events and parties at the Playboy Mansion. She appeared in low-budget R-rated films, including _Southwest Babes_ (2001), _Desert Rose_ (2002), and _The Dirty Monks_ (2004).

Austin has made guest appearances on TV shows and specials including _Hip-Hop Wives_, the _Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav_, _RuPaul's Drag Race 5_ ("Draggle Rock"), _The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson_, _The Dr. Oz Show_ and _Law & Order: Special Victims Unit_.

She was featured in a layout in the March 2008 issue of _Playboy_ magazine and had a role in the film _Thira_ (a.k.a. _Santorini Blue_, which co-starred her husband, rapper-actor Ice-T). She appeared on NBC's game show _Celebrity Family Feud_ on June 24, 2008, where she and Ice-T competed against Joan Rivers and Melissa Rivers and donated their winnings to charity.

Austin played the lead role of Bo Peep in the Las Vegas revue _Peepshow_ from December 2012 to September 1, 2013, replacing Holly Madison.

Austin and Ice-T starred in the reality television series _Ice Loves Coco_, which premiered June 12, 2011, on E! It ran for three seasons, ending in February 2014. After its cancelation, tabloids reported that Austin and Ice-T were preparing to launch another reality series under Ryan Seacrest's production company. She also made an appearance in rapper Lil' Kim's music video for her single "Go Awff" in 2019.

## Personal life

Austin was married to Mike Williams from 1999 to 2001.

Austin and rapper and actor Ice-T married in January 2002. They renewed their vows in Hollywood on June 4, 2011. In 2006, they made their home in a penthouse apartment they owned in North Bergen, New Jersey. In 2012, they began building a five-bedroom house in Edgewater, New Jersey, which was expected to be completed by the end of that year; they actually moved into the house during 2018 and 2019. On November 28, 2015, Austin gave birth to her daughter, Chanel Nicole Marrow.

## Infobox (model)

- **name**: Coco Austin
- **image**: Nicole "Coco" Austin at the Tribeca Film Festival.jpg
- **caption**: Austin in 2009
- **birth name**: Nicole Natalie Austin
- **birth place**: Tarzana, California, U.S.
- **other names**: Coco, Coco Marie, Coco-T, Coco Marie Austin
- **years active**: 1997–present
- **occupation**: TV personality, actress, model, dancer
- **children**: 1