LOS ANGELES — For nearly 15 years, the four daughters of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kyle Richards have been passengers to their mother's journey on the reality TV superhighway.

Viewers have vicariously attended their birthday parties, watched their tear-filled departures for college and seen them navigate shifting extended family dynamics — all documented in the name of entertainment. In turn, they've made Richards a mainstay of one of Bravo's most successful franchises, with a reputation for sharing an honest portrait of the life she shared with husband Mauricio Umansky.

Now, the three oldest children — Farrah Brittany, Richards' daughter with ex Guraish Aldjufrie, and Alexia and Sophia Umansky — have stepped into the spotlight in their own right with Netflix's "Buying Beverly Hills."

The luxury real estate series follows the professional and personal exploits of employees at the Agency brokerage, which was started by Mauricio Umansky in 2011. And much of the action focuses on their evolving roles in the family business: Farrah the veteran, Alexia the up-and-comer and Sophia the intern.

But a bigger storyline was unfolding across both "Real Housewives" and "Buying Beverly Hills."

When Richards and Umansky's separation after 27 years of marriage first made headlines last summer, it rocked the "Housewives" fandom, and the scant details about their breakup fueled countless theories, including rumors of infidelity. Production on the recent 13th season of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" had already wrapped when the news broke — cameras picked up again to capture some of the fallout — and "Buying Beverly Hills" was in the middle of shooting its second season.

In an interview with The Times, the trio of sisters delved into moving from side players in their mother's reality TV stardom to front-and-center cast members and opened up about watching the disintegration of their parent's marriage play out across two reality shows.

Q: For more than a decade, you've been peripheral players in your mom's reality TV stardom. With "Buying Beverly Hills," the three of you are coming front and center. What factors did you consider when deciding to have your lives documented in this capacity?

Farrah: I was the most on the periphery, compared to my sisters. I moved out of the house at 17, and when I came back for college, I didn't live at home. I kind of just popped in and out for fun. So when we were approached or told about the Netflix opportunity, my main concern was just really, was this really going to be a mainly real estate-focused show? ... I was already relatively established by that point, so I just wanted to make sure this was going to be a positive effect on my career. And I was a little reserved, but I figured, at the end of the day, it's in mostly my control what I say and what I do.

Alexia: It was kind of just thrown at me. When we heard that the Netflix show was even an idea, I don't think Farrah and I had any idea that we were going to be so involved until our dad randomly told us after it was picked up. Obviously, we have the choice to go with it or not — that's kind of when I was like, "It's already been around for so long, everything's kind of led me to this path and I'm ready for it. I'm comfortable with cameras around and, honestly, it could be fun." I was really nervous in the beginning. I remember calling my dad and being like, "I don't know anything. You should not put me on television for real estate. I don't know anything." And he's like, "That's the best part. That's so real." And when he said that, I was just "OK, I guess that's what we're in for."

...continued

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.