What Do The Southern Charm Cast Do For A Living?

Southern Charm is already into its 10th season, which means most of the cast members are being paid well to continue to star in the series. The main cast allegedly get hefty paychecks, which is $25,000 per episode. However, starring in Southern Charm is not most of these cast members' main sources of income.

The show has certainly helped launch the careers of most, including Craig Conover, who became an established business owner with Sewing Down South. However, each season sees new cast members join the group and most have real careers. Here's a lowdown on what the cast does for work outside of starring on reality TV.

12 Shep Rose

First Appearance: Season 1

Watching Shep Rose since the very first season of Southern Charm, it's clear that the reality star comes from a wealthy family. In fact, viewers have called him out for spending his family's money, and although he once described himself as a "bon vivant" (someone who's the life of the party, and enjoys life's luxuries), he has made an impressive living on his own.

In 2017, while appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Shep shared that he had once worked in real estate. "I've worked in Dubai. I've sold real [estate]. I lived in Dubai and sold real estate. It was crazy." Shep is the owner of The Commodore, a bar and grill located in Charleston, and holds stakes in other restaurants in the area. He has his own clothing line called ShepGear, and is a published author. He released his book, Average Expectations: Lessons in Lowering the Bar, in 2021.

11 Craig Conover

First Appearance: Season 1

Craig Conover is an OG cast member who had dreams of becoming a lawyer when fans first met him. In 2017, the reality star passed the South Carolina bar exam and, in 2021, opened his own law firm.

However, Craig's true passions lie within his pillow business. His cast mates weren't impressed with the idea, including his former girlfriend Naomi Olindo, with the two giving fans one of reality TV's best moments ever: "You sit home and you sew and you pretend to do things," with Craig replying, "What's wrong with my sewing?"

Craig's Sewing Down South company has "grown exponentially" with the reality star stating that it's now an "eight-figure business." In 2021, he opened his first brick-and-mortar store in Charleston. And, when he's not working on pillows, Craig is busy being a restaurant owner. In December, Craig and Austen Kroll partnered together to open up By the Way, a cozy restaurant located in Charleston.

10 Austen Kroll

First Apperance: Season 4

Austen Kroll came onto Southern Charm in Season 4 and was determined to launch his beer company, Trop Hop Beer. Austen has focused on one flavor since his beer launch in 2021—a grapefruit and passion fruit IPA, but announced a new flavor in November—Peach. Although the IPA is sold exclusively in and around South Carolina, in August, the reality star announced on Instagram that shipping was available in certain states.

Besides keeping busy with his beer company, he and Craig opened their restaurant, By the Way, in December. The two also run a successful podcast called Pillows and Beer with Craig Conover and Austen Kroll.

9 Leva Bonparte

First Appearance: Season 1 (Guest)

Leva Bonaparte was already an established business owner when fans first met her as a guest on Season 1 of Southern Charm (she was later upgraded to a main cast member in Season 7). Leva reminds fans of Vanderpump Rules' Lisa Vanderpump in that she's built a restaurant empire in Charleston.

According to Bravo, Leva and her husband, Lamar Bonaparte, are partners in the Republic Development and Management Group, which oversees four restaurants and lounges in downtown Charleston:

• Republic Garden & Lounge, a nightclub that is where the spinoff Southern Hospitality takes place
• Bourbon N' Bubbles, an upscale restaurant and cocktail bar with an extensive bourbon and whiskey menu
• MESU, a restaurant that fuses Mexican and Asian cuisine
• Lamar's Sporting Club, a premium sports bar

8 Madison LeCroy

First Appearance: Season 2 (Guest)

Madison LeCroy came onto the Bravo show working as a hairdresser and owned her own Charleston beauty salon. However, she now works as an influencer and content creator thanks to her popularity on the show.

In April, Madison signed with UTA (United Talent Agency) to expand her career opportunities and businesses. She has worked exclusively for Amazon, Victoria's Secret, and Vici, and will surely see herself partnering with more major brands.

7 Venita Aspen

First Appearance: Season 7 (Friend)

When Venita Aspen was introduced to the series in Season 7, she shared that she was a full-time influencer. (Her over 140,000 Instagram followers proves it's been going well for her).

As her Bravo bio noted, "Venita is a force to be reckoned with. A jack-of- all-trades, newcomer Venita went to culinary school and is a full time model and influencer known around Charleston for her glamour, immaculate parties, and her head-to-toe perfect outfits."

Fans love Venita's sense of style, which is also very apparent in her Charleston home. Speaking to Realtor, the reality star described her design style as "electric, inviting, questionable at times, playful—just all the buzzwords of joy. Everything’s bright and bold in my house."

6 Taylor Ann Green

First Appearance: Season 7 (Friend)

Viewers will remember Taylor Ann Green working as an orthodontics assistant while dating Shep Rose, but essentially quitting her job to travel the world with him. However, when the two split, Taylor was pretty much left jobless.

During BravoCon 2022, Taylor implied that she didn't quit to travel with her ex, but "took a hiatus" and was looking for a "more lenient job." During the same interview, the reality star shared that she was working in sales and marketing and fans watched her working for the beverage company Day Chaser on Southern Charm.

However, Taylor now works in fashion and is the co-owner of lifestyle brand, Reset Athletic.

5 Rodrigo Reyes

First Appearance: Season 9

Rodrigo Reyes is somewhat of a new addition to the group of Charleston socialites, despite knowing the cast for some time. Rodrigo works as an interior designer, or should we say "interior décorateur" as his Instagram bio notes. The reality star also works as a floral designer.

According to his Instagram, Rodrigo uses his extensive interior design knowledge to decorate and design restaurants and homes in the Charleston area. In November, he worked with oyster bar 167 Raw to create "an ornament explosion."

4 Jarrett "JT" Thomas

First Appearance: Season 9

Jarrett "JT" Thomas stirred up controversy during his run on Southern Charm (JT resigned ahead of the Season 10 premiere), but his career is nevertheless, very impressive.

JT is a real estate professional who owns numerous luxury Charleston properties called The Inns. Creating the homes into Airbnbs, the collection also includes a rental space, which is regularly shown on Southern Charm. Fans of the show can even book one of these homes during their Charleston stay.

3 Molly O'Connell

First Appearance: Season 10

Molly O'Connell is one of the newest cast members to join Southern Charm in Season 10. Reality TV fans will most likely recognize her from Cycle 16 of America's Next Top Model, where she came in runner-up. Since then, Molly has had a prosperous career as a model, having walked numerous high fashion runways and posing for Vogue. However, she shared in Season 10 that her modeling career had slowed down after her weight began to fluctuate.