All the Real Housewives of Atlanta housewives, ranked

Real Housewives of Atlanta season 11 premieres Sunday, Oct. 7, on the tenth anniversary of the first season.

With a new season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta upon us, and the 10th anniversary of of the season 1 premiere, it seems like a good time to reflect on all the housewives who’ve come before. Some we have loved, and some we’ve loved to hate — and others we simply forgot all about.

Here are all 14 of the Atlanta housewives throughout the 10 seasons, ranked from best to worst.

And just as a refresher, here’s who will appear on season 11.

1. NeNe Leakes

The OG of the ATL is NeNe Leakes — and she won’t let you forget it. If it weren’t for Leakes there would be no Real Housewives of Atlanta. It was she who put together the first cast of women for the inaugural season and it’s been her serving tea ever since. The only hiccup to Leakes’ queendom is her brief departure from the show for seasons 8 and 9. She was off filming The New Normal, which is now canceled, and she made her return to the show that put her on the map for season 10.

Some of Leakes’ most riveting storylines were her divorce (and remarriage) of her husband Greg, her search for her birth father, and her feud with … pretty much everyone.

You simply cannot have The Real Housewives of Atlanta without Leakes. Period.

2. Kim Zolciak-Biermann

Some might argue that Kim Zolciak-Biermann should hold the number one housewife slot, and I won’t even really argue it, but I gave Leakes the top spot since she’s appeared in more seasons. Zolciak-Biermann is probably the most talked about housewife from Atlanta, due in part to her NFL husband and her freakish fertility, but before Zolciak-Biermann lived happily ever after she was “the other woman” to a rich, possibly married man who never appeared on the show, but was in nearly every confirmation for years. “Big Papa” as the cast members called him, was Zolciak-Biermann’s inspiration for her second single “The Ring Didn’t Mean a Thing,” the follow up to her debut single “Tardy for the Party.”

Zolciak-Biermann’s most famous storylines were her feuds with her one-time boo, Leakes; her friendship with Kandi Burruss and her overindulgent relationship with her two teenage daughters (on Big Papa’s dime) and who could forget the multiple times she was accused of being a racist. Classic.

The blonde bombshell appeared in seasons 1 through 5 before leaving for her own spin-off show but appeared in seasons 8 and 9 as a “guest,” not a full-time cast member.