The majority of people lead modest, unassuming lives, but you can’t help but run into people with egos that are bigger than life. One such individual was Angela Raiola.
I’m not sure how many of you remember Angela, but to me, she will always be “Big Ang” on Mob Wives on VH1. “.
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Sadly, the flamboyant celebrity passed away at the young age of 55, following a grueling cancer battle.
Angela shared a heartbreaking truth in her final interview, conducted before her death in 2016, and she urged others to avoid making the same grave error she did.
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After making her reality television debut in 2012, Angela “Big Ang” Raiola won the audience over with her raspy voice and brazen demeanor.
Her distinctive personality and outsized personality helped her become the show’s star during her three years on “Mob Wives.”.
We were going to laugh when we saw “Big Ang.”.
Whoever she was, Angela was also a very sweet person who was good at recognizing everyone around her, according to those who knew her. When Angela passed away on February 18, 2016, the world lost more than just a beloved reality star; she also devastated her sons and grandchildren.
But who was the woman behind all the make-up and plastic surgeries, how did the “Mob Wives” star with the huge lips, a striking figure, and husky voice manage to become one of America’s most popular reality television personalities?
connections to the mafia in New York City.
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Angela Joyce Raiola was born on June 30, 1960. She was also Salvatore “Sally Dogs” Lombardi’s niece. He was one of the “capos,” or captains, of the notorious Genovese crime family, one of the “Five Families,” which rules the mafia in New York City.
Four brothers and two sisters made up the large family she grew up in.
For her involvement in a drug ring operating out of Brooklyn, Angela was detained in 2001. She was caught giving undercover police agents cocaine. Raiola, who was 41 at the time, received drugs from the group to distribute “street-level.”. She was a friend of the drug ring’s boss, according to federal agents.
The leader received a sentence of almost 13 years in prison, and Raiola was charged with six felonies in May 2001. In 2003, the reality star entered a guilty plea and received a three-year probationary period.
“People enquire about my motivations.
I was a single mother who had to pay $3,000 in rent to support my family.
To get paid, I did it. I wouldn’t and haven’t done it again since. I’ve made my mistake, Angela said.
Raiola was also required to wear a monitor and be under house arrest for four months. That was a severe punishment, especially for someone like “Big Ang”.
“Every day, my girlfriends and family visited. That also helped me feel less cramped. Being confined to one place, however, was torture for someone like me who enjoys being out and about and needs to be close to the action.
Angela discussed her way of life in her book Bigger Is Better, and she also offered some guidance to those who were placed under house arrest.
Her advice included getting a tattoo to commemorate the occasion, getting a personal trainer, hosting sleepovers, and bringing the party to you.
Even though Angela Raiola occasionally acknowledged her fondness for dashing gangsters, she remained law-abiding when she rose to fame in “Mob Wives”.
In 2012, Raiola, a Staten Island resident, rose to fame as a cast member on “Mob Wives”‘ second season. She appeared on the program until its conclusion in 2016 and became a huge star right away.
The Staten Island neighborhood of New York City was the setting for the series, which was broadcast on VH1. The concept was created by producer Jennifer “Jenn” Graziano and all of them had ties to the Mafia.
The first season’s debut drew positive reviews from critics, who were largely impressed. Ken Tucker, a TV critic on Entertainment Weekly, wrote:.
I didn’t have high expectations for Mob Wives because I’ve seen at least a few episodes of every Real Housewives franchise series and I get a little queasy when I watch them. But there’s a crude allure to this floridly funny, vicariously vicious reality show. ”.
Not all of the critics were impressed.
The New York Daily News said, “Tired concept, is so bad it should sleep with fishes.”.
But regardless of how viewers felt about the program as a whole, Angela “Big Ang” Raiola left a lasting impression and emerged as the most likeable of the mob wives. She was regarded by many as the women on the show who was the most loving, sweet, and grounded.
She also received her own spin-offs in 2012 and 2013 called “Big Ang” and “Miami Monkey,” respectively, due to her popularity.
cosmetic surgery.
Nobody might be surprised to learn that Angela was a big fan of plastic surgery. After giving birth to her first child in 1985, she underwent her first procedure.
Because of her intense body insecurity, Angela felt like she had to take action.
My boobs were dead after giving birth. Just prunes, they reached my waist. I had them redone in 1995 following my initial operation. Saline implants were added after the sponges were removed. I’ve always had a big chest because I had a double 36 double D when I was just 14 years old, she claimed.
Many people believed she underwent excessive amounts of cosmetic surgery while she was in the spotlight. And near the end of her life, the vivacious Mob Wife admitted that she was obsessed with plastic surgery and that she enjoyed changing her appearance frequently.
Big Ang claimed, “I had a tummy tuck, liposuction, my lips injected, and my breasts done three times. “I had my breasts done for the first time 27 years ago, and they had sponges in them. That took place in 1985”.
death that was tragic.
Angela first experienced neck pain in the beginning of 2015. She was checked into a hospital on Staten Island because she sensed something wasn’t right.
Sadly, the surgeons had to remove a tumor from her throat that was the size of a lemon. The doctors discovered a second tumor in her throat later that same year. In addition, stage 4 lung and brain cancer were discovered in her.
“At first, I believed I was cancer-free. I was planning a sizable gathering. I reached stage 4 a month later,” explained Angela.
Even though she kept making appearances in “Mob Wives,” it was obvious that she was in pain. She “dragged herself from her deathbed” and spent only two hours on set during a reunion episode on February 13, 2016.
And six grandchildren, Donofrio.
In 2009, she wed Neil Murphy, but the couple’s marriage occasionally experienced difficulties.
In 2016, Angela dropped a bombshell on The Dr. Oz Show when she revealed that she had split up with her husband because of her cancer treatment.
I was finished with it because, in her words, “I felt like he never stepped up to the plate.”. It’s too late now. Being by myself is preferable. I would prefer to be by myself. ”.
Dr. Prior to her passing, “Big Ang” and Oz also conducted her final public interview. The host of the Dr. Oz Show provided some insight into how the reality star felt in her final months.
By the time she appeared on the program, he claimed, “she had really wanted to let things out of her system, to say things she knew she needed to say before the end, because she had weeks to months, not months to years, left.”.
“Fear was the main feeling I noticed in Big Ang when I spoke to her outside of the show; she was terrified. I believe she was aware that she was approaching death, that she was staring into the darkness that awaits us all, and that it was time. ”.
Angela attended the program in part to warn viewers about a behavior that may have cost her her life: smoking cigarettes. She smoked for more than 40 years, averaging one pack per day, but she immediately quit after learning about her illness.
Dr. Dot Oz said, “I think the big legacy she’s leaving us, the big reason she came on the show, was to make sure everyone knew that cigarettes had taken her life.
She began smoking when she was young, like so many others, but like so many others, by the time she realized she didn’t want to smoke any longer, it was already too late to quit. She also made light of her throat cancer diagnosis on the program, and as she left the hospital, she threw the pack of cigarettes in the trash after picking them up. She also abruptly ended her relationship, though it was a little late, he continued.
‘Big Ang’ passed away peacefully on February 18, 2016, in the company of friends and family, at a hospital in Manhattan.
She was surrounded by love from her immediate family and close friends, according to a statement. “YOU, (her fans), were some of the most special people in her life, and she adored you to pieces. ”.
When word of her death spread, tributes to her were posted on social media by stars, cast members, friends, and family.
Renee Graziano, a cast member and star of “Mob Wives,” posted a photo of “Big Ang” on Instagram with the caption, “We will always love you dot. Angela, for all time. You belong to our family and are with the angels in a better place.
Some of her family members posted touching images of the “Mob Wives” star being comforted by her loved ones as she lay on her deathbed.
Neil Murphy, her husband, shared a picture of him and his wife on Twitter after it was reported that he was by her bedside when she passed away.
“Please watch over the grandkids I know you will,” he wrote. “I will always love you forever.”.
Of all the women on “Mob Wives,” Angela seemed to be the most adoring, sweet, and firmly planted. She never tried to be someone she wasn’t, always admitting she had made mistakes in the past. Everyone liked her because of her authenticity. Please go in peace.
