What Happened to Raquel Harper from 'TMZ'?

TMZ's Raquel Harper was a breakout star. She was a producer on the show for a long time, and she co-hosted their game show South of Wilshire for a short time. But it seems that her presence on TMZ has waned in the last year or so. 

Let's talk about what Raquel has meant to TMZ over the years. She rose to fame thanks to her strong personality and direct reporting style. Eventually, because she was so well-liked, she was able to turn her web series, Raq Rants, into its own TV show in BET, which she hosts. 

According to Earn the Necklace, Raquel Harper was born in 1982 in Santa Barbara, California. She is super close to her family, especially her mom, Claudette Childress Clipper, and she has two adorable kids: Justice and Jayah Harper. 

Justice Harper is in high school and was actually featured on TMZ Sports because at 14 years old, he was already 6 feet 5 inches tall. Seems like there might be a pro basketball player in the family.

BET picked up Raquel's show, Raq Rants for 12 half-hour episodes in 2018. In the show, according to Deadline, "Harper takes her distinctive interviewing skills to the streets to talk to some of the biggest names in music, television, movies, and sports." 

No big deal, she's just hanging with Taraji P. Henson. The show covers current events in news and pop culture, and Raquel hangs with about two or three celebrity guests each episode. 

TMZ's Harvey Levin told Deadline, "Raquel's voice is strong and unapologetic. She has a world view of life and is fearless about expressing it. I've rarely met anyone who can move a conversation along in such an authentic, entertaining, interesting, and informative way as Raquel."

While at TMZ, Raquel broke some of the biggest stories in hip-hop and entertainment. She was a huge personality of the TMZ TV shows, and before Raq Rants became a TV show, it garnered millions of views as a web series on YouTube. 

But just because Raquel is keeping busy these days with Raq Rants doesn't mean she has said goodbye completely to TMZ. The show is still produced by Harvey Levin's production company, Harvey Levin Productions, Inc. And Raquel serves as an executive producer on the show as well as its host and star.

Raquel has built an incredible career for herself, but it hasn't always been easy. She told Rolling Out that she worked her way through school. “I would get up extra early because while I was in school I had two full-time jobs, so I would have to take the bus two hours up and two hours back, and I worked the morning shift at one job, went to school, then worked the overnight shift at another job. The hustle was real for me,” Raquel said. 

Clearly, though, all her hard work paid off, and she's totally killing it. We can't wait to see what Raquel Harper does next.