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By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Reality TV star Snooki got a bit of a shock on a recent episode of her hit series, “Snooki and JWoww” – turns out she has some South Asian blood in her.
Snooki – real name Nicole Elizabeth Polizzi – visited a genealogist in an episode that aired recently, and was told that her ancestral makeup included elements of East Asian, South Asian, Gypsy, Slovakian, Jewish, Iberian, Russian, and Native American. Nearly all of those were a surprise to her, since Snooki is originally from Chile.
Born there in 1987, Snooki was adopted and raised in New Jersey. She gained fame and notoriety as one of the stars on “Jersey Shore,” the controversial MTV reality show that aired from 2009-2012. The show made Snooki a nearly overnight celebrity, giving her the ability to command one of the highest salaries for a reality TV star ever: $150,000 per episode.
When the show ended in 2012, Snooki began “Snooki and JWoww,” which chronicles the post-“Jersey Shore” exploits of Snooki and her friend, Jennifer “JWoww” Farley. She is currently engaged to Jionni LaValle, who features on the show as well and is the father of her son, Lorenzo Dominic LaValle, who was born in August of 2012.
Snooki joins a growing list of celebrities who have some South Asian ancestry in them. In addition to the obvious direct Indian American celebrities, like Aziz Ansari and Mindy Kaling, there are those like hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj, who is one-quarter Indian on her father’s side.
A clip of “Snooki and JWoww” which shows Snooki’s trip to the genealogist, as well as her subsequent reaction, can be viewed below: