The Truth About Selling Sunset's Emma Hernan
Netflix's realty reality hit, "Selling Sunset" had its Season 4 premiere November 24, 2021 (via IMDb) and along with some new million-dollar listings, came a few new cast members.
The Los Angeles-based reality show follows real estate brokerage firm The Oppenheim Group as their agents attempt to sell multi-million dollar listings to overly particular clients, all while navigating their own dramatic personal lives. A few of the series' regulars include Chrishell Stause, Christine Quinn, Heather Rae El Moussa, Mary Fitzgerald, and Amanza Smith (via House Beautiful). While the show has been called out for being overly-produced, Fitzgerald swears that what audiences see is what really happened. In a 2021 interview with Glamour, she confirms, "It's honestly all real. All of us are licensed real estate agents and what you see is us doing the same jobs whether we are on or off camera ... absolutely nothing is staged."
The past 3 Seasons of the Netflix hit have dealt with drama between HBIC Quinn and new agent Strause, but it appears that for Season 4 the spotlight is finally off this iconic feud and onto newcomer Emma Hernan.
Emma Hernan has been working for the Oppenheim Group since 2018
While Emma Hernan might be new to reality TV, the former model and CEO had been in the real estate industry for years before joining the cast of "Selling Sunset" (via Harper's Bazaar). In 2017, after buying her first property from Oppenheim Group co-founder, Jason Oppenheim, Hernan was inspired to get her own real estate license.
"Because we were going around looking at homes and I was picking everything up really fast. [Jason] was like, 'You have to get your license,'" Hernan told The Hollywood Reporter. In 2018, Hernan did just that and was hired as The Oppenheim Group's newest real estate agent. Since joining the company, Hernan made BFFs with co-workers Chrishell Strause and Mary Fitzgerald, telling People, "I think I would probably say I'm closest with Mary [Fitzgerald] and Chrishell [Stause], but that's nothing against anyone else," she says. "I just happened to know them prior to even getting super involved in real estate."
So why did the stunning blonde wait 4 Seasons before getting in front of the camera? The simple answer is: she was busy.
Emma Hernan owns a plant-based food company
In a 2021 interview with People, Emma Hernan revealed why she waited until Season 4 to join the cast of "Selling Sunset." "I was more focused on other things," Hernan stated. "I was investing really heavily in different startups and taking meetings, and I was in Boston starting my food company. And then I got more involved in actually selling, buying, taking clients. So Jason was like, 'You have to come on the show.'"
Hernan's food company is plant-based frozen food brand Emma Leigh & Co. While it may seem like a huge leap from slinging million-dollar mansions, Hernan states that her two businesses actually help feed (no pun intended) one another. "Being in the food industry is a huge part of my story and also transitioning into real estate," Hernan said in a 2021 People interview. "A lot of the ties that I made from that — and from being a woman CEO and a woman entrepreneur — mean I've met other CEOs who are now purchasing homes."
Hernan wants this confidence she's cultivated through her businesses to inspire young fans who watch the show. "I want to show them that you can really accomplish anything" (via People).
A noble mission statement that Hernan will hopefully accomplish, if not this season, then in Season 5, which Netflix has officially confirmed (via Cosmopolitan).