‘Welcome to Chippendales’: What Happened to Somen Banerjee’s Wife, Irene?
The new Hulu limited series Welcome to Chippendales follows the founder of Chippendales’ descent into a life of crime as his desire to succeed overshadowed everything else. Somen “Steve” Banerjee, an Indian immigrant, moved to the United States with dreams of opening a backgammon club. However, when those plans didn’t work out, Banerjee changed his business plan. Banerjee founded the most successful male dance troupe in history, and that’s also how he met his wife. So, what happened to Somen Banerjee’s wife, Irene?
[WARNING: Because Welcome to Chippendales is based on a true story, some of the details in this article might be considered spoilers.]
Annaleigh Ashford plays Somen Banerjee’s wife, Irene, in ‘Welcome to Chippendales’
Showrunner Rob Siegel brings the story of Chippendales’ beginnings to Hulu with an overload of flashing lights and glittery outfits, capitalizing on the glamour of Los Angeles nightlife in the 1980s. However, he manages to weave in the dark undertones of the story perfectly. Even though Welcome to Chippendales ends in murder, there’s still plenty of humor throughout the series, and a lot of that credit goes to Annaleigh Ashford as Banerjee’s wife, Irene.
Audiences first meet Irene at one of the performances by the Chippendales when she sidles up to the bar to ask for a Coca-Cola. Banerjee, played by Kumail Nanjiani, asks her what she thinks, and she’s honest – it’s not her kind of place. Banerjee agrees as he’s more of the buttoned-up type himself. However, he swoons when Irene explains to him that one tiny detail, like ice, could help him bring in more profit for the club. By the time she breathily tells him she’s an accountant, he’s in love.
Ashford’s character, Irene, is a bright spot in the series and brings viewers some laugh-out-loud moments, particularly when she tries cocaine for the first time. But the question remains whether or not it’s an accurate depiction of the real Irene Banerjee.
Not much is known about Irene’s personal life
Welcome to Chippendales features a wildly bizarre storyline, but Siegel based the series on real-life events. However, not all the characters existed in real life. Or, like Irene, producers had very little information to pull from and simply added details to help move the story along.
Ashford herself said she had little to go on regarding Irene. Speaking to Hidden Remote, she said, “I had no research to go from because there’s nothing about this woman. We have one picture of her, and that’s it. So the only thing I had to work off were the given circumstances of the situation, the real-life events. And so it was real important to me to create a person who was really human and complicated and still lived in the world of the late 70s and 80s, which was a complicated time for women still. And I also wanted to make sure that the connection that she had with Kumail’s character, Steve, felt really authentic to the audience. Because if she loves him, then hopefully, everybody loves him. That was important.”
Somen Banerjee’s wife Irene died from breast cancer in 2001
Authorities eventually arrested Banerjee for the murder-for-hire plot that lead to the death of his business partner Nick de Noia. However, hours before he was due to be sentenced, Banerjee died by suicide in his cell. Irene inherited the Chippendales franchise due to Banerjee’s death.
According to her obituary, Irene went into remission from breast cancer in the late 1990s, only for it to come back a few years later. She had her breast removed in 2000, but the disease had already spread to other parts of her body. Irene died from breast cancer in 2001. She is survived by her two children.
Welcome to Chippendales Episodes 1-3 are currently available on Hulu.
