Danielle Cabral Was On A Classic MTV Reality Show Long Before Joining RHONJ

When Danielle Cabral made her debut as a new member of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast during the Season 13 premiere, the pal of O.G. housewife Teresa Giudice was instantly a standout star. The cheetah-print baggage that the Jerseylicious business owner brought with her was a sibling feud and a story about wedding-planning drama involving a sister-in-law. (Sound familiar?)

But in an interview with SILive.com, Danielle revealed that what she hopes to bring to the (hopefully bolted-down) table on "RHONJ" isn't fermenting feelings of familial bitterness. "Jersey needed to get fun again and my family brings that all back," she said. "My children are hysterical and our family dynamic brings something refreshing and new to the series." Her crew of "RHONJ" guest stars includes her husband, Nate Cabral, and their two children, son Dominic and daughter Valentina, who showed off her impressive artistic skills not long after making her own Bravo debut — Danielle seriously might want to consider hiring the adorable tot to design some fabrics for her children's clothing boutique, Boujie Kidz.

Cabral's integration into the "RHONJ" cast was seamless, and it didn't take her long to craft a captivating storyline by stirring up a little trouble; she laid the foundation for a feud by not inviting Jackie Goldschneider to her mozzarella-making party. And if she left the impression that she's a seasoned reality pro from the get-go, it's because she is.

Back when she was still known by her maiden name, Danielle DiPietro, Danielle Cabral starred in the MTV docuseries "True Life." Her 2006 episode was titled "I'm a Staten Island Girl" and focused on the New York native's efforts to become an actor. She painted a far-from-rosy picture of her life in Staten Island and seemed to believe that her heavy accent was holding her back. "Girls are vicious on this island," Cabral said (via the New York Post). "If you don't know a girl, you don't like her."

In a 2011 interview with Emme Magazine, Cabral revealed that she auditioned for the "True Life" episode because she hoped that it might help her land acting gigs. She also showed early promise as a Real Housewife-in-training by throwing major shade at the two other girls who were featured on the same episode. "I was hoping to take the spot away from some airhead who would make [Staten Island girls] look bad," she said. "If you watched the show, one of the girls seemed to do a pretty good job at doing that all by herself! Well, actually both of them!"

Apparently, MTV viewers found Cabral's brash behavior and booming voice captivating — on her blog, Cabral claimed that no other "True Life" episode could surpass the ratings of "I'm a Staten Island Girl." However, when MTV checked back in with Cabral later, she was no longer a Staten Island girl.

Danielle Cabral told Emme Magazine that starring on "True Life" helped her score some modeling work and a few other MTV gigs, including an appearance in a follow-up episode, "True Life: Resolutions Made and Kept." Cabral eventually moved to Hollywood, where she found that the strong accent that kept her from getting acting work back home was actually beneficial in Los Angeles due to its rarity. She appeared in the 2008 reality TV-themed horror comedy "Reality Horror Night" — which was actually filmed in Staten Island — and a film in the same genre titled "Very Normal Activity." While working at a restaurant, she also got cast in multiple pilots, but none of them were ordered to series.

In 2012, Danielle landed another reality role on the HGTV series "Family Under Construction," according to her blog. She moved to New Jersey after marrying her husband and apparently fell in love with the culture there; in a video on her YouTube channel, she can be seen standing outside a store with a can in hand, begging shoppers for money to help her go to Atlantic City to see "Jersey Shore" star Pauly D.

But these days, Cabral's focus is now on being the best housewife that she can be, and she told OK! that she was satisfied with how her first season on "RHONJ" went. "I was never anybody that I wasn't," she said. "I always stay to myself and I'm very proud of that."