Farrah Abraham (born May 31, 1991) is an American television personality and businesswoman. Raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Abraham received public attention after being cast in the MTV reality television series 16 and Pregnant in 2009, which documented the pregnancies and first months of motherhood for several young women. Later that year, she was cast in the spin-off series Teen Mom, and appeared in each of its four seasons until its conclusion in 2012; later returning for its reboot in 2015.
2008–2012: Career beginnings with 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom
In 2008, Abraham, then 17, was selected to appear on the MTV show, 16 and Pregnant, a reality series that aimed to document the lives of pregnant teenagers across the United States.[9][2] News of her pregnancy caused issues between her and her mother, Debra Danielsen, with Danielsen calling her daughter a whore and preventing her from obtaining an abortion; being pregnant, Abraham was forced to discontinue her cheerleading.[10][9] Furthermore, during filming, Derek Underwood, the father of her child, died in a car accident.[11] Abraham gave birth to the couple's daughter, Sophia Laurent Abraham, on February 23, 2009.[12][13] Abraham's episode of 16 and Pregnant aired on June 17, 2009.
Later that year she was cast in the spin-off series Teen Mom; it followed Abraham, in addition to Maci Bookout, Catelynn Lowell and Amber Portwood, who also appeared on episodes of 16 and Pregnant, during their first years of motherhood.[14] The series premiere was broadcast on December 8, 2009.[15] Abraham and her mother are seen to have a rocky relationship throughout Teen Mom, with Danielsen being charged with assault in an Iowa court for hitting her in January 2010.[16] Abraham started seeing a therapist to discuss the rocky relationship with her family, because she couldn't cope with her mother's actions as well as dealing with her emotions regarding Sophia's father Derek Underwood and his death. Farrah eventually proved to Derek's family through a paternity test that Derek was in fact Sophia's father and then was faced with a lawsuit filed by Derek's mother for grandparents' visitation rights, despite no previous contact with Sophia.
In 2011, she began attending the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida, where she got an associate degree in culinary arts and management. She later launched the "Mom & Me" pasta sauce line.[17]
2012–2014: Other ventures, adult film, and television appearances
On August 1, 2012, Abraham ventured into the music industry with the release of her debut studio album My Teenage Dream Ended.[18] It received overwhelmingly negative reviews from contemporary music critics, but has since been reappraised as avant-garde outsider art.[19][20] Abraham released a memoir of the same title on August 14.[21] After airing four seasons, the series finale of Teen Mom aired on August 29, 2012.[22]
In 2013, Abraham appeared in the pornographic video Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom, with male porn star James Deen, that was distributed by Vivid Video as being a homemade sex video that "leaked", though Abrham later confirmed that the "leak" was just a marketing gimmick.[23] In April, Abraham was then invited on Dr. Phil to discuss the tape with her parents.[24]
In January 2014, Abraham was cast for the fourth season of Couples Therapy. However, Brian Dawe claimed that he was hired by Abraham to appear as her on-screen boyfriend and ultimately did not appear on the program alongside her.[25] Abraham consequently became the only cast member in series history to continue therapy without a partner, and was refocused on repairing her relationship with her mother.[26]
In February, Abraham appeared in a second porn video with Deen, Farrah 2: Backdoor and More.[23] Farrah reportedly earned $1 million selling her first sex tape with James Deen.[27] Later that month, Abraham appeared in the TV special Being Farrah, a continuation of Teen Mom; Bookout, Lowell, and Portwood were featured in the specials Being Maci, Being Catelynn, and Being Amber, respectively.[28] Their successes prompted MTV to consider reviving the series without Abraham, who the other women were concerned was an inappropriate influence on their children.[29]
In March 2014, Abraham returned to the music industry with the release of the song "Blowin'" and the simultaneous premiere of its accompanying music video. She stated that she treats music as a "hobby, not my career move."[30] In August 2014, she signed a contract with Palazio's Gentleman's Club in Austin, Texas, for $544,000 for a residency until New Year's Eve.[citation needed]
2015–2018: Teen Mom OG, business ventures, and continued television success
In January 2015, MTV confirmed Abraham would return for the Teen Mom spin-off, Teen Mom OG.[31] The series premiered on March 23, 2015.
In August, Abraham participated in the sixteenth series of the British television series Celebrity Big Brother, representing Team USA. On September 18, she became the fifth housemate to be evicted. She was not in the top four highest-voted housemates, and her fellow housemate, Austin Armacost, chose to evict her. She had spent 23 days in the house.[32]
On September 22, 2015, she appeared as a panelist on the Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side after-show and got into a heated argument with fellow panelist, Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace. The show was taken off air 10 minutes early after a physical altercation between Abraham and Horgan-Wallace ensued. Abraham and Janice Dickinson were given police cautions by Hertfordshire Police.[33]
In May 2016, Abraham founded and opened her frozen yogurt shop, FroCo Fresh & Frozen, in Lakeway, Texas.[34] In September, she opened both the Sophia Laurent Children's Boutique, named after daughter, and the furniture store, Furnished by Farrah.[35] All three businesses closed in 2018.[36]
In October 2017, during the filming of the seventh season of Teen Mom OG, Farrah was given an ultimatum by executive producer Morgan J. Freeman to choose between working in the adult entertainment industry or the show after she appeared in live webcam videos hosted by pornographic streaming platform CamSoda. She ultimately chose to terminate her contract with Teen Mom OG.[38] She was later replaced by Bristol Palin and Cheyenne Floyd.
In December 2018, a year after she was fired from Teen Mom OG, Abraham returned to the network to partake in the dating reality series Ex on the Beach for its second season.[39]
In February 2018, Abraham filed a lawsuit against MTV's parent company, Viacom, seeking $5 million alleging she was "sex-shamed" and discriminated against because she did not conform to gender stereotypes.[41] The lawsuit was settled the following month.[42]
On June 13, 2018, at around 1:20 a.m., the Beverly Hills Police Department were dispatched to the Beverly Hills Hotel responding to a call regarding a disturbance inside of the hotel restaurant. A male security guard working for the hotel alleged Abraham struck him in the face after he asked her to leave. Abraham was then arrested for misdemeanor battery and trespassing.[43][44] In August, she pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of resisting. She was subsequently sentenced to two years probation and five days of community service, and 12 hours of anger management classes.[45]
In August, promoter Damon Feldman announced Abraham's participation in the "Celebrity Boxing Showdown for Bullying" charity event, where she would box television personality Nicole Alexander.[46] In November, Abraham dropped out of the event after claiming Feldman's camp was in breach of contract.[47] In January 2019, People Magazine reported Feldman was suing Abraham for $12,000.[48]
In April 2021, Abraham filed a report to the Palm Beach Police Department alleging she was drugged and raped by politician and then Windsor, California Dominic Foppoli while visiting Palm Beach, Florida in March. Abraham explained she had been at a wine tasting event with Foppoli and had no other memory of the night. Palm Beach detectives suspended their investigation in January 2022 due to "insufficient evidence," citing Abraham's lack of memory.[49] Three hours after Foppoli was questioned about the allegations, he resigned as mayor.[50] In December 2022, Abraham filed a lawsuit in the Sonoma County Superior Court against Foppoli.[51] California Attorney General Rob Bonta declined to pursue criminal charges against Foppoli in 2024, and Abraham then filed a civil lawsuit set for trial in 2026.[52][53]
In January 2022, Abraham was arrested after it was reported that she assaulted a nightclub security guard.[54] In October 2023, she was sentenced to 18 months probation with mandatory supervision and 40 hours of community service for the incident.[55]
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