One of the newer faces on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is Crystal Kung Minkoff. She is the first Asian-American cast member to join the show. Crystal is also an entrepreneur who co-founded the beverage company, Real Coco. As of 2023, Crystal Kung Minkoff has a net worth of $30 million.
Early Life
Crystal was born on June 23, 1983. Crystal and her brother, Jeffrey, were brought up in Harbor City, California, by Homer Kung and Stephanie Holappa, first-generation Chinese immigrants. Allegedly Minkoff is a descendant of the philosopher Confucius. However, not much is known about her early years.
Crystal majored in biology and history at UCI and later studied culinary arts in LA. Her initial career choice was very different from that of her brother, who went to China and became a pop star.
Career Beginnings
She served as an Assistant Director for a few media projects in the early stages of her career. In 2008, Minkoff helped produce one of her most well-known films, The Forbidden Kingdom.
In 2011, she was hired to be the Assistant Director for the comedy-crime film Flypaper. In the same movie, she had a minor, unnamed role. Aside from her film pursuits, she also has side hustles.
Crystal created cooking lessons on classic Western dishes with an Asian touch and has dabbled in cocktail making. In 2012, Crystal co-founded Real Coco with her brother Jeffrey. They sell premium organic coconut beverages on their website and online platforms such as Amazon.
Reality TV
In 2021, Minkoff was invited to be a main cast member on the 11th season of RHOBH and appeared on the Bravo reality show with her husband, Rob Minkoff. Crystal was not originally a fan of reality TV but wanted to join the cast because she believes Asian-Americans need more representation on television.
Perhaps because of these beliefs, Minkoff had a feud with co-star Sutton Stracke. It all started when the two talked about racial stereotyping. Stracke ultimately regretted her stand on the subject.
Net Worth and Earnings
Crystal was paid $100,000 for her first season on RHOBH, that’s more than $4,100 per episode. Plus, her pay is only going to increase with her popularity on the show. She also sells sponsored posts on Instagram, a recent example is a picture promoting Hammitt leather handbags.
Crystal earns significant money from her business ventures. Real Coco alone has sold more than 10 million coconut water bottles. This doesn’t include the brand’s other products. The celebrity entrepreneur is worth an estimated $30 million.
Personal Life
Crystal Kung Minkoff is married to Rob Minkoff, a famous filmmaker known for directing The Lion King, The Haunted Mansion, and Stuart Little. Rob met Crystal Kung at a party in his office in 2003 and got married in 2007. Together they are raising two children, Max and Zoe and live in a $2.3 million property located in Bel Air, Los Angeles.
