Tragic Details About Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi's Life

The following article contains mentions of eating disorders.

Readers of a certain age will know that there was a time when MTV's "Jersey Shore" absolutely dominated the world of not just reality television, but pop culture at large. And while the show has endured (and stayed messier than ever) thanks to follow-ups and spinoffs like "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation" and "Canada Shore," nothing quite compares to that original 2009 to 2012 run, which made household names out of the likes of DJ Pauly D, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, and, of course, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.

Snooki, who got her iconic nickname from the 2001 flick "Save the Last Dance," truly was everywhere at the height of her fame. In addition to being one of the most recognizable faces on "Jersey Shore," she and co-star Jennifer "JWoww" Farley got their very own spinoff show, and she even made guest appearances in fellow MTV shows like "Silent Library" and Rob Dyrdek's "Ridiculousness," not to mention completely unrelated productions like WWE's "WrestleMania" and The CW's "Supernatural." Snooki might be worth less than you think, but she's still had one of the most successful careers of the "Jersey Shore" cast.

While it's true that Snooki has had a stunning transformation over the course of her time in the public eye, her story hasn't been without hardship. From the unconventional circumstances surrounding her upbringing, to her struggles with her body image, to her more recent health scare, here are some of the most tragic details about Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi may have an Italian surname, but the MTV star was actually born in the Chilean capital of Santiago. When she was just six months old, she was adopted by her Italian-American parents, who raised her in Upstate New York. That's not particularly tragic in and of itself. After all, Snooki has nothing but wonderful things to say about her adoptive parents, and has absolutely no regrets about the environment she grew up in. However, what is rather sad is the reason Snooki's birth mother had to give her up in the first place.

In a July 2018 video posted to her personal YouTube channel, Snooki recalled that her adoptive parents were often hesitant to share details about why she was put up for adoption. It wasn't until the "Jersey Shore" star was in her early 20s that she finally got an answer out of her dad. "My birth parents had other siblings and they couldn't afford me, whomp," she said. Years later, though, Snooki learned that there was a lot more to the story she didn't know.

In a 2025 episode of "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation," Snooki got the opportunity to speak with her birth mother for the first time, albeit through an interpreter. And according to her mother, Snooki's birth father abandoned her once he learned she was pregnant, and she did not have the means to raise the future MTV star on her own (via Us Weekly). That, obviously, is where Mr. and Mrs. Polizzi came in. To that end, while her birth mother continued to express regret over the situation decades after the fact, Snooki told her that she could at least take comfort knowing that things worked out for the best.

Heartened by the reception to her previous video about being adopted, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi posted another rather personal video to YouTube in September 2018, this time talking about her past struggles with disordered eating. In the video, Snooki recalled being involved in gymnastics from a young age, subsequently using that skillset to transition into cheerleading. However, she also explained that she started experiencing issues with her body image around the age of 10, near the end of her gymnastics career. And while this largely subsided when she was in middle school, it came back with a vengeance when she got to high school — since thin was very much in at that point in time.

This compounded with her desire to have a successful cheerleading career, which led her to start regularly skipping meals. Snooki claims she was able to snap herself out of it after breaking down in tears following an embarrassing practice, then kick her habit of starving herself again after briefly relapsing as a young adult. "I'm over it now, thank God," she said. One of the biggest challenges Snooki faced on this journey was her short stature (she stands at well under five feet tall), which makes any change to her weight especially noticeable. But as she told E! News in early 2024, she's learned to roll with the punches and accept her body as she's gotten older. "As long as I'm happy and I'm enjoying life, I don't really care," she said.

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

One of the most famous moments from the beginnings of "Jersey Shore" that helped put the show on the map was also one of the most traumatic for Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi. It all went down in the fourth episode of the first season of "Jersey Shore," when a man at a bar helped himself to drinks meant for Snooki and her group. A verbal altercation followed, and ended when the man punched Snooki in the face. As you can see in the footage itself, things quickly descended into chaos from there, with other bar patrons swarming the man, who was soon taken away in handcuffs by police. Meanwhile, Snooki's friends helped her to her feet and led her away in order to tend to her injuries.

Snooki's assailant was identified as a 24-year-old high school teacher from New York, and charged with both assault and disorderly conduct. In December 2009, he issued a public apology to Snooki during an interview with the New York Post, claiming that he recalled "very little" from the night in question on account of being drunk. He eventually pleaded guilty to the assault charge, at which point he was sentenced to six months of probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine. He was also fired from his teaching job in early 2010.

While recounting that night during an appearance on fellow MTV star Steve-O's "Wild Ride!" podcast in 2023, Snooki explained that it wasn't an isolated incident, as the cameras that accompanied her and the rest of the "Jersey Shore" cast on their nights out tended to attract agitators. "We got into fights every single night," she said.

Even when doctors are able to catch and treat the disease early, being informed that you have cancer will never not be scary. And that's a tragic reality that Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi faced firsthand in February 2026, when she publicly revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage 1 adenocarcinoma, a form of cervical cancer.

"Obviously not the news I've been hoping for, but also not the worst news just because they caught it so early. Thank freaking God!" Snooki said on TikTok. The "Jersey Shore" star subsequently urged her fans to make sure they're seeing their gynecologist regularly, as being able to identify this sort of illness before it has a chance to spread is well worth the discomfort of a pap smear. "It's only stage 1 and it's curable. ... So, get your appointments done, b****es. I'm telling you. I'm telling you!" she continued, adding, "Because once you go to stage 2, then I think you have to do chemo. ... Nobody wants to do that. Scary."

On that note, while Snooki's doctor told her that treatments like chemotherapy and radiation are technically still on the table, since her cancer is only stage 1, she can potentially get rid of it by undergoing a hysterectomy instead. And that's the option she's very heavily leaning towards at the time of writing. "I'll still keep my ovaries, which is a good sign. But ... gotta get the cervix and the uterus out. And then possibly lymph nodes ... it all depends on the PET scan," she shared. And while Snooki maintains a calm demeanor throughout her announcement video, she also makes no secret of the fact that she's really learning about her condition on the fly.