Terra Jole is an American reality TV star who first ventured into the entertainment scene in 2001 and in 2002 appeared on MTV’s docu-series about little people, True Life. The four foot 2 inches star is now best known as a cast member of Little Women: LA and its spin-offs all of which she serves as the executive producer. Her other reality show, Terra’s Little Family which airs on Lifetime, focuses on her family.
Terra Jole Wiki/Bio, Parents
Terra Jolé Odmark was born on May 25, 1980, in Comal County, Texas. Her parents are named Richard Odmark and Isabel Odmark. Her dad Richard lost his life to alcoholism.
During her high school years, Jole sang in the choir and wanted from an early age to become a Hollywood star. She pursued her dreams as soon as she could, but it wasn’t without struggles and challenges which were compounded because of her dwarfism.
Even before getting to Hollywood, Jole went through a lot of heartbreaks and disappointments while growing up, all because of her height. She was once denied a slot in a high school choir show because she was too short.
Jole in the year 2001 decided to relocate to LA to pursue a career as a singer. Luckily for her, she stumbled upon a post saying that MTV’s hit docu-series, True Life was looking to cast dwarfs with unusual jobs or who were already working in the entertainment industry.
Jole called up the producers telling them about her dream of becoming a singer and they were immediately impressed, so much so that they were ready to send a crew to San Antonio to film her journey to Los Angeles.
Jole left for LA with just $200 in savings, while in LA, the crew of True Life followed her around as she struggled to find her footing in a new environment. While searching for a Hollywood job, Jole worked a number of odd jobs to support herself. She worked as a medical insurance underwriter among other jobs. She shuffled between LA and her native San Antonio after she got a job as a dog groomer at the latter.
Jole revealed that during those times, she made the most money from reselling thrift store goods with a focus on Louis Vuitton signature pieces. She sold the pieces online on eBay and one time made $1,200 from selling a two-piece set of Louis Vuitton luggage. It was her highest sale.
On the Hollywood side of things, Terra Jole worked as a touring performer for Radio City in three locations including Denver, New York, and Detroit. Her most lucrative Hollywood job was working as a “Mini” performer in Las Vegas.
Jole first began by performing as Mini Paulina (Stanley) in a band called Mini Kiss with which she toured for two years. However, she began gaining attraction after she started performing as Mini Britney Spears. She earned as much as $8,000 outside the US.
Jole then created other Mini’s including Mini Madonna, Mini Katey Perry, and Mini Lady Gaga. Fast forward to December 2009, Jole began attracting the attention of celebrities including rapper T-Pain and Britney Spears who both wanted her to perform with them on tour. However, Jole missed out on the Britney tour as she had already begun working with T-Pain before Ms. Spears came knocking.
Prior to this time, Jole had made her film debut in the 2008 film Midgets vs. Mascots. Up next, Jole birthed the idea for a reality TV show focused on small women which she originally named Little Ladies Los Angeles. She selected the show’s cast from fellow little women she had met during her journey around LA.
She registered the show’s prospective name Little Ladies: LA with the Writers Guild of America. As Jole and her ladies were getting ready to film the first episode, many networks dedicated interest in picking up the show. Lifetime got the deal and premiered the show on May 27, 2014, and the rest, as they say, it, is history.
The show was later renamed Little Women and today it has developed into a franchise spawning spin-offs in Dallas, New York, and Atlanta.
In 2014, Jole made her second film appearance in The Hungover Games. Capitalizing on her fame, Terra released her debut single “Booty Bee” followed by “Ima Let You Know.” She released her debut album Penny’s Playlist in 2016. Dedicated to her daughter, the album features only children’s songs.
Jole released her first book, a memoir titled Fierce at Four Foot Two in late 2017.
While her journey to fame might appear smooth, Jole has had to deal with some personal issues. In her aforementioned book, Jole revealed that she was once arrested for DUI and had to spend a night in jail. She was slapped with a $10,000 fine and had to serve 30 hours of community service. She was also ordered to attended mandatory AA meetings and sobriety classes.
Dancing with the Stars
Terra Jole joined the 23rd season of Dancing with the Stars, dancing with Sasha Farber. Their journey ended in the 10th week as they emerged in 5th place.
Kids
Jole is married with two kids. She met her husband Joe Gnoffo in the year 2000 at a party. They have been through rough patches together including a broken engagement and infidelity. They rekindled their love and Joe proposed again in 2015, about a month before their first daughter was born.
Her daughter, Penelope Charlevoix Gnoffo was born in March 2015 and on August 1st, 2016, the couple welcomed a son named Grayson Vincent D’Artagnan Gnoffo.
