Lisa Rinna:
Born This Way

A self-made star who lives for the spotlight,
Lisa Rinna shows no signs of slowing down.

Photographed by: Tina Tyrell

Styled by: Danyul Brown

Written by: Sarah Cristobal

The ever-determined Lisa Rinna, 60, is so focused that she won’t Zoom with the camera on. “I’m turning it off because I distract myself,” says the actress and former cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, clicking into audio mode after offering a quick on-screen hello. “It’s easier that way.” The topic du jour is natural diamond jewelry, and though she professes to “not be a big jewelry girl” her collection is sizable. Most of it comes from her husband, the actor Harry Hamlin, and she also inherited some pieces from her mother, Lois who passed away in 2021. Lisa Rinna places special emphasis on the gems that have been worn by three generations of women in her household, including her Gen Z model daughters, Delilah Belle, 25, and Amelia Gray, 22. These beloved jewels are not only heirlooms but also gleaming reminders of how far she and her family have come. 

Only Natural Diamonds: It’s funny that you don’t want to see yourself on camera given the nature of this shoot and others.  

Lisa Rinna: I’m an actor and I like to play characters. Doing regular photo shoots came along after I’d been on a reality show for eight years and I started to wear wigs and explore fashion. But you’re still limited in an arena like that so when I got to work with amazing people like Carine Roitfeld and Martin Parr [for CR Fashion Book], it was so iconic to be wearing amazing designers that I’ve always wanted to wear. I think I was born to express myself in those ways. It’s just so much fun.  

OND: I don’t mean to offend but I have never seen Real Housewives. 

Lisa Rinna: Good for you. You’re so lucky. 

OND: Do you have an enormous walk-in closet? Or a room full of wigs?  

Lisa Rinna: I have many spaces that are dedicated to that. I have a room that’s got lots of clothes and shoes like a walk-in closet, but it’s a whole room of stuff. I have a really amazing vintage collection that I have been acquiring for the last 32 years.  

OND: What are some of your favorite pieces?   

Lisa Rinna: I have an amazing [Azzedine] Alaïa dress from 1994. I’ve got pieces from the Tom Ford Gucci era that are worth quite a lot. I have great pieces from the major designers who were designing at those houses back in the day.  

I love to make people go, ‘Oh my God, look what she’s done now.’

OND: Are those pieces you bought in real time?

Lisa Rinna: Harry bought me the Alaïa dress. I’d always loved fashion, but I couldn’t afford it. So when I met him and he bought me that dress, it was like he unleashed the fashion monster. Then I thought, OK, I’m going to spend the next 30 years making sure I make enough money so I can buy these clothes because I love them so much.

OND: Has Harry bought you jewelry over the years?

Lisa Rinna: He has. The diamonds that he’s given me were in his family. They’re connected to his mom or his grandmother. When my mom, Lois, died [in 2021] she left her diamonds to the girls. All my jewelry is sentimental.

OND: How would you describe some of those pieces?

Lisa Rinna: One of my favorite pieces that Harry bought me early on was a diamond cross from Tiffany & Co. My wedding ring is a beautiful cushion diamond from his grandmother that he set in an antique Philip Press ring. Then I have this ring that is so stunning. Harry and I were walking up Madison Avenue in New York one day and looked in the window of Fred Leighton. There was this amazing ring with two big cushioned diamonds, a big square setting, and the diamonds were set next to it. Anyway, long story short, he made that style, put these diamonds in it from his mother and grandmother, and surprised me with this ring. To this day it is one of the most gorgeous diamond rings. You don’t see me wearing it a lot because it’s huge and I’m careful with it.

OND: You don’t want to blind people with it.

Lisa Rinna: Yeah, it’s big and I love it, but I can’t do yoga in it so I bring it out on special occasions. Harry is romantic in that way. I like it when he’s really thought about it. That’s when it means the most. For our 25th wedding anniversary, I got this really beautiful eternity diamond band that is sort of squishy so the diamonds move around.  

OND: Do you wear them all together?   

Lisa Rinna: Yes, and when I do, it’s really spectacular. Truly nobody has anything quite like this.

OND: Any other diamond jewelry moments that stand out for you?

Lisa Rinna: Whenever you get an engagement ring, it’s a pretty big deal. I always wear mine, but most of the women that I know don’t wear their wedding rings. I’m one of the only ones. I wear my diamonds all the time. I never feel quite like myself unless I have them all on—three on one finger.

I wear my diamonds all the time. I never feel quite like myself unless I have them all on.

OND: What pieces did your mom leave to your daughters?   

Lisa Rinna: Her engagement ring—it had two diamonds put together—she gave it to the girls so they could each have one of the diamonds. I thought that was sweet. She had little rings that she loved and a little diamond tennis bracelet that Delilah wanted, so she gave them to Delilah. She had a Rolex that Delilah wanted. Amelia wanted some other things. Toward the end, my mom was like, “You guys pick what you want.” It’s meaningful to have those pieces.

OND: How do you help your girls to navigate fame on their terms? 

Lisa Rinna: I’m not in there on a day-to-day basis, but I see everything. I’m on all the emails. We’re always talking. It’s all about communication. Also, they grew up in this business. They’re not totally green. And because I am in the business and Harry’s in the business, we talk to them about it. I think it just feels like a safe environment for them. I couldn’t talk to my parents about this business. Even if I did, they didn’t understand it.

OND: What advice have you given them? 

Lisa Rinna: We’re just very honest—it’s about making money. It has nothing to do with who you are, especially the modeling. You’re either right or you’re not. It’s very hard not to take that personally and yet we have a lot of conversations about not taking it personally. 

We also talk a lot about kindness and gratitude because if you’re not kind to everyone, if you’re an asshole, and if you’re not grateful for what you have, you’re not going to make it.

OND: What was it like working with Delilah on the upcoming Lifetime movie, Mommy Meanest? 

Lisa Rinna: Well, Mommy Meanest is really great. It’s based on the true story of a woman who cyberbullied her own daughter. I wanted to, you know, do something outside the box. So Lifetime brought this to me and I thought, well, it’s pretty fascinating. I was a little bit scared by it because my character, Madelyn, is not the most likable but it was a really good challenge. We shot it in 15 days. It was great that Delilah was in the movie, but we only worked together one day. She got to see me as this character.

OND: Did she have any commentary on your performance?

Lisa Rinna: I think she appreciated it. I think she watched it and thought, Wow, you know, that’s my mom doing her thing. I could tell that she had a moment of that. And for me to see her playing a 17-year-old high school girl with other kids was really fun. It was fun to see each other in these roles that are not necessarily who we are.

OND: Both you and your girls have done some wild fashion shoots. Can you shock each other at this point?

Lisa Rinna: I get more excited about the things that they get to do. It takes a lot to shock me, but I think I shock them.

OND: What surprises you?

Lisa Rinna: I’m pretty jaded. I feel very comfortable out of my comfort zone. If it shocks people, great. I love to shock people. I love to make people go, ‘Oh my God, look what she’s done now.’

OND: You seem like a total extrovert. 

Lisa Rinna: I am an extrovert. But if you saw me at home, I’m a bit of an introvert. I know it’s hard to believe, but I don’t go out all the time and I can be a bit of a recluse. I feel very comfortable expressing myself in magazines and whatnot. I’ve always been determined in that way. It’s innate and I think the girls get that from me. 

OND: How is your beauty line, Rinna Beauty, coming along?

Lisa Rinna: We launched it in 2020 during the pandemic when everyone was wearing masks. So the timing was not ideal, but it worked out somehow. We did it because I’ve had big lips for so many years and  I have always wanted to do something with the lips. I came out with three lip kits. I’ve always been very entrepreneurial. I had a clothing line on QVC for eight years. I always see the value in that type of endorsement and branding.

OND: Let’s end on a jewelry note. Are there any pieces of jewelry that you would like to add to your collection?

Lisa Rinna: It would be fabulous to have one of the Bvlgari snake necklaces or one of those big Cartier diamond rings with the Panther. I think a big old 25-karat Cartier diamond ring would be pretty cool, too. My friend actually has an emerald-cut Cartier 25-karat diamond ring that I would like to steal from him. I covet what’s in his vault.

OND: Wait, who is this special friend?  

Lisa Rinna: Jerrod Blandino is his name. He co-owned Too Faced Cosmetics and sold it to Estée Lauder [in 2016]. He’s had brooches and other pieces custom-made that took two years to complete, which is pretty special. He once showed Erika Jayne and me one of his custom necklaces. He opened the box, and both of us saw it and ran down the hall. That was our reaction. 

OND: Do you have any jewelry icons besides Jerrod?

Lisa Rinna: Well, Elizabeth Taylor and the Duchess of Windsor. 

OND: You kind of have an Elizabeth Taylor essence. Has anyone ever mentioned that to you?

Lisa Rinna: Wow, thanks. That’s a compliment. No, no one has. But I can see now why you would say that. She was really ballsy. I like how she presented herself to the world.