Nicole Elizabeth “Snooki” Polizzi style

Nicole Elizabeth “Snooki” Polizzi (born November 23, 1987) is an American reality television personality who appeared on the MTV reality show Jersey Shore starting in 2009.

Polizzi was born in Santiago, Chile. She was adopted when she was six months old and was raised by Italian-American parents. Her father is a volunteer firefighter and auto-salvage supervisor and her mother is an office manager. Polizzi received her nickname, Snooki, in middle school when her friends named her after “Snookie”, a male character in Save the Last Dance, because she was the first of her friends to kiss a boy. She grew up and attended school in Marlboro, New York, where she was a cheerleader.

During high school, she suffered from an eating disorder, at one point weighing 80 pounds (36 kg). Polizzi attended community college after graduating from Marlboro High School, where she studied to become a veterinary technician. MTV first introduced Polizzi in Is She Really Going Out with Him?, a show that focused on women dating obnoxious or arrogant men. Polizzi and her boyfriend, Justin, appeared in episode 14, “Jerz Pud”.