S5, Episode 2: Dolores Catania

Dolores Catania is a "Bravo Housewife of New Jersey" and philanthropist.

She was invited to participate in the franchise from its inception in 2009, but elected to appear only in a reoccurring capacity until she finally joined the cast as a regular in 2016.

Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey, one of five children to the Chief of Police Lawrence and his waitress wife Valerie, Dolores had a very nontraditional road to fame.  She has been a waitress, a shampoo girl, a surgical assistant but it was working in the prison system that made her passionate about helping the less fortunate, especially families suffering in unfair circumstances.

As co-parent to two adult children, Dolores and her ex-husband Frank have delighted audiences with their unconventional loving relationship as friends despite divorcing decades ago.  They hope to model this for other former couples who are raising children together.  In 2018, Dolores was voted fan favorite “miss congeniality” across the entire Real Housewives franchise.

Outside of Housewives, Dolores has been celebrated for her charitable work, particularly with women’s shelters and animal rescue organizations.  In 2020 she was given the ambassador of hope award by Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn for bringing awareness to women’s health issues.  She wants to be remembered as “the housewife who cared.”