The role of Naomi Lapaglia in The Wolf of Wall Street was a breakthrough for actress Margot Robbie. Who could forget the Aussie bombshell holding her own as a tough-as-nails trophy wife? (Bonus points her a full-blown Brooklyn accent.)
But behind the character is a real woman with a fascinating life story. Lapaglia was based on Nadine Caridi, ex-wife of disgraced “Wolf” Jordan Belfort (played on-screen by Leonardo DiCaprio.) Find out everything we know about her—including what she’s up to 16 years after splitting up with Belfort.
Personal Life
She was born on the 6th of November 1962. She was born in London, the UK. However, her family decided to leave the UK and to go to the USA, and this is the reason why she spent her childhood in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. As far as her education is concerned, she finished John Dewey High School in the city she grew up in. It should be mentioned that she was very ambitious from an early age and wanted to become a businesswoman. This was not her only interest since she also wanted to pursue a career as a model. As far as her measures are concerned, we can say that she is 5 feet 4 inches tall.
Nadine met Jordan during one of his parties and it was her then boyfriend Alan Wilzig, an American entrepreneur and a semi-professional race driver, who introduced the two – Jordan was famous back than for his parties which were filled with girls, alcohol and drugs. He was married to Deniso Lombardo at that time but was very attracted to Nadine and a couple of years after he divorced, he married Nadine in 1991. She then quit her modeling job, and has two children with him – a son named Carter and a daughter named Chandler.
Jordan bought a luxurious yacht for his wife and named it “Nadine”, but it sank in June 1996. At that time, Jordan was often in the news because of his suspicious businesses, which led to an investigation by the authorities, and he ended up being sentenced to four years in prison in 2003 – he spent one year and 10 months in jail before release on probation for good behavior. This incident, together with Jordan’s addiction to alcohol and drugs, his affairs with other women and physical abuse towards Nadine, saw her decide to divorce him in 2005.
For everybody who is interested, there is a famous movie called “The Wolf of Wall Street” released on 25 September, 2007 which is based on Belfort’s life. The film starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan and Margot Robbie as Nadine and was a major success, winning a couple of awards and is considered to be one of the best movies of that time.
After she divorced Jordan, Nadine married again, this time to John Macaluso who is an ex- entrepreneur and was a CEO of the Wizard World while he still has shares in the company which are worth around $8 million. It was not a problem for them that John was 22 years older and they seem to be living a happy life now. They don’t have any kids together, but Macaluso has three daughters from his first marriage, adding to Nadine’s two from hers.
What Was Jordan Belfort Most Known For?
Jordan Belfort, 58, is a former stockbroker and convicted felon who detailed his stock market scams in his 2007 memoir The Wolf of Wall Street. The book was adapted into a 2013 film directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It was a commercial and critical success, earning $392 million at the box office and garnering five Academy Award nominations.
Belfort established the financial firm Stratton Oakmont in 1989. He used the business to participate in a pump-and-dump scheme, forcing his investors to put their money in penny stocks and then selling his own shares at an artificially inflated price.
He paid the price for his greed. In 1999, Belfort was indicted for securities fraud and money laundering. The FBI estimated that Stratton Oakmont fleeced investors of approximately $200 million. Belfort’s restitution agreement requires him to repay victims $110 million, but his new career as a motivational speaker has only covered a fraction of the bill to date.
Belfort’s crimes financed a lavish and hedonistic lifestyle. During his reign as a Wall Street tycoon, he indulged in two vices: drugs and women. He was also married twice and is a father to two children.
Marriage
She was attending some party when she was introduced to Jordan Belford, who was working as a stockbroker at that time. At that time, she was not dating Alan anymore. However, Jordan was married at that time to Denise Lombardo, who is the love from his school days. Unfortunately, the couple got divorced.
On the other hand, Jordan and Nadine decided to get married in 1991, and the ceremony was done in the Caribbean. Their marriage resulted in two children, i.e., Chandler Belfort and Carter Belfort. It should be also mentioned that Jordan was in prison due to fraud dealings that he did on the market, but he went out after 22 months. The couple divorced in 2005 due to Jordan’s infidelity and abuse of drugs. After that, she got acquainted with John Macaluso, who is also a very successful businessman. The couple decided to get married one year after her divorce.
Who Is Nadine Caridi?
Nadine Caridi, currently known as Nadine Macaluso, is Jordan Belfort’s second wife. She met Belfort at the tail-end of the 1980s while the finance fraudster was still married to his first wife. Caridi was introduced to Belfort by her own ex-boyfriend, entrepreneur, and race car driver Alan Wilzig.
“Twenty-odd years ago while ‘The Wolf’ was still growing his fangs — I had my first post-college relationship,” Wilzig wrote on Facebook. “At the end of year 2, as friendly-exes, I took Nadine to Jordan Belfort’s July 4th Westhampton Beach House party where the two of them met… He left his high school sweetheart wife to marry her, and the rest you can see in the movie.”
Caridi was married to Belfort from 1991 until 1998. She had two children with him: son Carter and daughter Chandler.
Margot Robbie’s role as Naomi Lapaglia was not intended to be a true-to-life portrayal of Caridi. However, the real-life and on-screen wives shared limited patience for Belfort’s antics.
“When I asked what would they fight about, [Caridi] was like, ‘The drugs. The fact that he was a drug addict… I didn’t care about the hookers or coming home late.’ … She said he would be doing crack in front of their newborn baby. Any mother would divorce their husband for that.”
There’s little info on what kind of divorce settlement Caridi received. However, Belfort gave a clue in 2015 when he spoke to Notable Life.
“Sign a prenup,” said Belfort. “Don’t get yourself in a situation where if you get divorced you will screw yourself.”
Nadine Was Once In Miller Lite Commercials
Prior to being known as Belfort’s wife, or the “Duchess of Bay Ridge”, Caridi had a promising career as a model. Her claim to fame was appearing in a series of 1990 Miller Lite beer commercials. Check out some of the ads for a blast from the past:
Caridi, who went by Nadine Belfort at the time, was newly married when the campaign aired. As a result, she seemed to put future work on the back burner while she focused on being a homemaker and mom.
Nadine’s hobbies and favorite things
Nadine talked about her favorite things to do and favorite actors to watch during one of her interviews – Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock are always good for watching, her dream holiday destination are the mountains in Switzerland, and her favorite color is red. She has many hobbies which include painting, cooking, reading and travelling, while her favorite cuisine is Italian.
What Is Nadine Doing Now?
Caridi is now professionally known as Dr. Nae. Armed with her degrees, she works in private practice as a licensed marriage and family therapist and relationship expert. She splits her time between Hermosa Beach, California, and Glen Cove, New York.
She currently runs a mental health YouTube channel called Dr. Nae’s Talking Bar, which showcases “people who thrived after overcoming challenging painful experiences and demonstrate how adversity transformed them, enrich their lives, and help them reach their unique potential.”
Appearance and net worth
Nadine is currently 56 years old, has long blonde hair, blue eyes, is 5ft 8ins (1.78m) tall and weighs around 142lbs (64kg), with vital statistics of 36-30-37, and she wears shoes size seven.
Authoritative sources estimate Nadine’s net worth to be around $5 million, most of which she has earned from her career of a therapist.
