Biography
Long before Slade Smiley became a resident of the OC and an original cast member of Bravo TV's "The Real Housewives of Orange County", Slade discovered he had a love for entertainment in his native town of Anchorage, Alaska. Slade joined a local performing choir at age 13 and furthered his interest in the arts by performing in musical productions and drama classes in high school and college with roles in Hello Dolly, West Side Story, The Music Man and more.
Slade didn't just reserve his talents for the stage, but also developed his athletic skills at an early age participating competitively in cross country skiing, track & field and cycling. As an accomplished cyclist, Slade had the privilege of training with the U.S. National Cycling Team at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as well as attending the 2003 Tour De France and competing professionally for over 10 years.
Slade's cycling training brought him to Southern California in 1993 at which time he launched a successful modeling and TV commercial career representing high profile brands such as Adidas, Gillette, Volkswagen, Gatorade & Milk and has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1995. In 2005 Slade and his then fiancé Jo De La Rosa were cast in the first season of Bravo TV's new series "The Real Housewives of Orange County", a reality inspired concept following the lives of the affluent living in the gated community of Coto DE Caza in Orange County. The show followed Slade & Jo's relationship, it highs and lows (including Slade's relationship with his two children Gavin & Grayson) for two seasons prior to the ending of their engagement. In 2008, Bravo TV continued to follow the former couple, who remained friends after their breakup with a spin-off series called "Date My Ex". In 2009, Slade reappeared again on Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Orange County as the love interest of Housewife and longtime friend Gretchen Christine Rossi. The Real Housewives of Orange County is currently airing Season 10, where Slade has begun performing at the famous Improv Comedy Clubs. Achieving record-breaking ratings, The show reaches an impressive 450 million viewers worldwide and can be seen in over 44 countries and represents a ½ billion-dollar franchise for NBC Universal. "Real Housewives" and specifically cast members Slade Smiley and Gretchen Christine Rossi have been featured on national television programs such as "E! News" "EXTRA" and "Access Hollywood", "Oprah" "Dr. Oz" and many more Publications including "People", "Us Weekly", "Life & Style", "OK" and more.
Aside from Slade Smiley's television and entertainment work, he also continues to put his degree in international business from California State University Long Beach to good use as the owner of Grayson Entertainment, LLC. Grayson Entertainment specializes in marketing, consulting, brand development and sponsor integration for such high profile brands such as HBL/Enjoy Hair Care Products, HBL Magazine, Gretchen Christine Collection Handbags & Cosmetics, Asombroso Tequila and Armstrong Interactive Inc., RIM (Blackberry) and Verizon Wireless.
Inspired by the health struggles of his youngest son Grayson who is courageously battling cancer, Slade dedicates his time to a number of charities including Make-A-Wish, Beckstrand Cancer Foundation and the Desert AIDS Project.
In the summer of 2012 Slade launched "Radio Slade", a weekday, afternoon drive time, pop culture and music oriented radio show on Southern California's Playlist 92.7fm.
Slade's latest project is acting in the upcoming mini-series "Texas Rising". This History Channel Produced series is scheduled to have its theatrical release in May of 2015.
