Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi’s Interesting Career Aspirations Before ‘Jersey Shore’
Jersey Shore fans know Nicole Polizzi as “Snooki.” But before she became a famous “meatball” on the MTV series, Polizzi was a college student who had an interesting career lined up. Find out what “Snooki” was studying to become before she was on Jersey Shore.
‘Jersey Shore’ was originally an all-male cast
Jersey Shore was originally going to be a reality series about an “all-male competition show,” according to Vulture. Casting directors wanted to cast “gym rats and fist-pumpers” until Doron Ofir realized why they needed to cast women. “’The boys preen’ — you know, they’re peacocks — ‘but the girls fight,’” Ofir explained. Knowing that including women would amplify the show’s appeal ten-fold, he started looking for female talent. Polizzi was one of the first female auditions to catch his attention.
‘Snooki’ showed up to her audition drunk
Before “Snooki” could shout “Party’s here!” she had to try out to be on the series. “I saw an audition posting on Facebook for a show called Guidos and Guidettes,” Polizzi said. She remembered thinking the opportunity was meant for her. “Before I walked in, I actually chugged SoCo. [When I] walked into the audition, I just remember it being like a dungeon,” she said in a YouTube video recounting her experience. Wearing a miniskirt, Polizzi impressed the casting crew with her ability to do cartwheels and flips without care.
Ofir knew she was right for the show when her application was covered in bronzer. “Nicole was extraordinary,” he recalled fondly. “Her application was smudged with fingerprints from her bronzer to the point that I was like, ‘What happened to her application? What spilled on it?'” Fortunately, Polizzi’s drunk antics paid off. She continued to be a main player on Jersey Shore and eventually, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. Polizzi has also worked on several spinoffs of the show, including Snooki & JWoww.
‘Snooki’ had dreams of becoming a veterinary technician
Before becoming a famous reality star, Polizzi was studying to be a veterinary technician at Brookdale Community College (via Life & Style). “We would help deliver cows,” Polizzi told Vulture. “I loved it. I had one more semester until I could graduate and then try to get my license.” While talking to a guy during Season 1 of the MTV series, Polizzi explained how she left school to spend the summer at the shore. “[Doing the show] was a huge thing for me because I was missing all my classes. I felt very guilty.”
Instead of pursuing a career as a vet tech, Polizzi made a name for herself in the reality TV world. Today, she continues to film for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. She is also a successful entrepreneur who runs her own Etsy shop and boutique, The Snooki Shop. When Polizzi isn’t filming or running her businesses, she’s raising her three children, Lorenzo, Giovanna, and Angelo, with her husband, Jionni LaValle.
