Real Daughter Of Orange County: Exclusive Interview With Kara Keough

Coto de Caza, Kara Keough, OC Energy Drink, Playboy, Real Housewives Of Orange County

When people find out that I live in Coto de Caza, they automatically say, "Oh, so you have money."

We actually have no say over how we’re portrayed or what ends up on TV. If we don’t want something extremely personal in our lives to be aired, we don’t let the cameras see.

Kara Keough , USA

Date Posted: 03/13/08

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The Real Housewives of Orange County is a Bravo reality television series that follows the lavish lifestyles of the women who live inside the gates of the exclusive Coto de Caza community. While the world watches Coto's divas primp and party, the next generation of Orange County is busy coming of age. Kara Keough is a real daughter of Orange County. (Her mom Jeana Keough was November, 1980's Playboy Playmate and formerly married to a pitcher for the Oakland A's) Kara says what you see is what you get, but there's still much more than meets the eye.

I got into Cal for the spring semester and just took my first college midterm yesterday. It’s so different here than in Orange County. People at school don’t really recognize me from The Real Housewives of Orange County, but at home or in Los Angeles, people will interrupt my dinner to ask if they can have their picture taken with me.

That’s so funny to me. I could understand it if they recognized me for being an actor and because they admired my talent, but to want a picture just because they see me being myself on reality TV? It’s weird in that respect.

Then again, I’m a very open person, and if someone wants to listen, I’ll tell them about my whole life. I lived in Japan for a year when I was a baby and my dad was playing baseball there, but other than that, Coto is the only life I’ve known.

Life Behind The Gates

The show paints it as a very exclusive, sheltered life, but my two best friends don’t live, quote-unquote, “inside the gates.” My boyfriend doesn’t live “inside the gates.” He lives inside some gates, but not those gates. (laughs) I don’t feel disconnected from people outside Coto or from the rest of America.

When I say I live in Coto de Caza, people do automatically say, “Oh, so you have money.” That’s not necessarily true. It’s a beautiful place to live and a great place to raise a family, but it’s not this crazy Newport type of lifestyle. It’s a lot more family-oriented.

Desperate Housewives?

Some people compare our lives to Desperate Housewives, but we’re not that dramatic. Sure, the housewives of Coto are catty like the characters on Desperate Housewives, but I think women in general are catty.