'Selling Sunset' New Cast Member Emma Hernan Makes A Mean Vegan Empanada
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The multimillion-dollar estates, the sky-high Louboutins, the designer ~lewks~ that could be sold to pay the rents of an NYC building full of tenants. It can only mean one thing — Selling Sunset is back, baby!
The fourth season of my favorite real estate reality show drops on Netflix on November 24. So grab the popcorn and open your Zillow apps because it’s exactly the sort of binge-able, aspirational television that’ll make you count your blessings this Thanksgiving. 🙏🏻
The iconic ladies and gents of The Oppenheim Group are bringing two new cast members into the fold: Emma Hernan and Vanessa Villela. Ahead of the Season 4 premiere, they sat down with Women's Health to tease all the drama that's going down.
Here's what you need to know about Emma:
Emma grew up outside of Boston.
Emma, 30, was born and raised in the small beach town of Scituate, Massachusetts.
“It was one of the best places to grow up,” Emma told Women’s Health. “All of my neighbors were my best friends.” Emma’s parents owned a seafood company, which at one point teenage Emma helped fund with her stock marketing earnings (more on that later!)
Emma’s family still lives in the Boston area, and when she is not filming, she is a bicoastal queen who spends every other month in Los Angeles and Boston. She flies private, naturally, to accommodate her dog Benny who is a completely adorable Akita mix, and recently celebrated his fourth birthday! Happy belated birthday, Libra King!
She started investing in the stock market as a teenager and now dabbles in crypto.
Emma says she had a strong work ethic from the beginning. She took what she made modeling, babysitting, working in ice cream shops as a teen, and put it right into the stock market. When she was 15 she lent her parents money to cover payroll at their seafood business, something she is proud of to this day. This childhood interest evolved into her love of cryptocurrency and real estate, and angel investing in startup health companies today.
“When I see a company I believe in, I’ll invest in that company,” Emma told Women’s Health. “I invest in companies I think will make a difference in the world.” She loves Strong Coffee and blck. water, lately, and both are an essential part of her morning routine.
She learned about cryptocurrency from working in Puerto Rico with real estate clients. “There are not a ton of females in the space yet,” she said. “But I love learning, and when my client tells me he made millions of dollars off of these coins I am going to listen.”
She launched her own vegan food company during the pandemic.
Emma is a big believer in having multiple streams of income. “I want to show young girls you can do anything you want,” she said. “You don’t have to limit yourself to one industry.”
This is what inspired her to found Emma Leigh & Co. during the pandemic. The plant-based frozen food company is best known for its vegan empanadas.
Emma talks about or serves empanadas in many creative situations during season 4. Empanada and wine? Check. Joking that there is an empanada stuck in a client's oven? Yep!
She says her food business actually goes hand in hand with her real estate work. “I meet with all of these big CEOs running huge companies. And guess what? They want to buy houses!” she said.
The Oppenheim brothers encouraged her to get her real estate license.
“I used to go with Brett and Jason [Oppenheim] to open houses every Sunday because I was looking for a property,” she said. But then after she purchased her home, she still kept scouting homes.
“I realized ‘Wow I love this,’ and I was picking up on the lingo really fast,” Hernan told Women’s Health. “Brett and Jason were like, ‘you have to get your license, you’re too good at this.’”
She did exactly that in 2018 and joined The Oppenheim Group shortly after. The brothers have helped her purchase several investment properties since then.
Emma hikes every day.
When she’s not crushing the real estate game, or filling grocery stores across America with her empanadas, Emma is on the trails. She hikes at least five miles a day.“Getting outside is so good for the body and the mind,” Emma told Women’s Health. “And you’re getting that nice little glute workout.”
Emma likes to incorporate Pilates and yoga into her routine depending on her work schedule.
She gets along with most of her costars.
Emma was close with the Oppenheim brothers, and Mary Fitzgerald before the show started so filming. And, she said Chrishell is exactly as genuine and sweet as she seems on screen in real life.
“Me and Chrishell really really bonded,” Emma said. “I trust Chrishell with my whole heart and tell her things about my life that you would only share with family.”
Cooking is her favorite way to unwind.
“Cooking for me is therapeutic,” she said. “I love being creative, and I never go by a recipe. It focuses my mind.”
Emma loves to entertain and says the more people around, the better.
“I am a really loving, caring person,” Emma said. “You can be a good person and still be successful. You don’t have to be a boss bitch, you can be a boss with a big heart.”
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