Who Is Rasha Pecoraro? 6 Details About Fauna Hodel's Daughter
George Hodel’s great-granddaughters' podcast, Root of Evil, which dives into the Black Dahlia murder
Getty Elizabeth Short was a 22-year-old aspiring actress from Boston who wanted to be a movie star. Short became known as the Black Dahlia after her body was discovered in a vacant lot in Hollywood in 1947. The Black Dahlia remains America’s most famous unsolved murder, even after 62 years.
The renewed interest in the unsolved Black Dahlia case comes from the TNT series I Am the Night, starring Chris Pine. The drama series tells the story of Fauna Hodel (India Eisley), a teenage girl born and abandoned in a casino bathroom, who enlists a struggling reporter (Chris Pine) to help solve the mystery. The investigation takes them to L.A. where they meet Dr. George Hodel (Jefferson Mays), an infamous Hollywood gynecologist who many suspected — including his own family — committed the gruesome murder. Hodel was a suspect in the 1947 killing, but was never charged in connection the murder.
At the same time as the series is airing, George Hodel’s great-granddaughters have created a podcast, Root of Evil which dives into his story and explores the Black Dahlia murder.
The real Fauna Hodel was closely involved in the production of I Am the Night up until her death in 2017. The six-episode series is loosely based on Hodel’s 2008 memoir “One Day She’ll Darken.” Her daughters, Yvette Gentile and Rasha Pecoraro, continued the project and together, have been working with director Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) to complete the series.
The sisters have also said they're proud of how the miniseries turned out, telling Black Hollywood Live that the word "happy" is an "understatement" to describe their feelings about it.
"For everybody involved, this is more than just a project. It's something so much deeper than we can even explain and it all comes down to the basis of love and identity and searching for our true self, and so many other things on top of that", Gentile said.
But now, the sisters are also co-hosting the podcast so they can dive deeper into their family history. In Root of Evil, they feature private letters, diary entries, and audio from Hodel. feature interviews with other Hodel relatives including great-uncle Steve Hodel, George Hodel’s son (Fauna’s uncle) a former LAPD detective who publicly accused his father George of the Black Dahlia murder and several other killings, and authored books about them.
So who is Rasha Pecoraro? Here's what we know.
1. She is Fauna Hodel’s daughter.
She, along with Yvette Gentile, created the podcast Root of Evil and were heavily involved in the TNT adaptation of Hodel’s 2008 memoir. In the podcast, Gentile and Pecoraro will reveal even more about their mother's story — as well as their family's alleged connection to the 1947 Black Dahlia murder.
She and Gentile have different fathers.
The sisters have different fathers but grew up together in Hawaii. They are very close, and also had a loving bond with their mother.
2. Pecoraro was heavily involved in the series.
Pecoraro was on set during production. According to The New York Times, Hodel's daughters were "granted generous access to the set during production" of I Am the Night. The family had a relationship with executive producer Patty Jenkins and her husband, series creator Sam Sheridan.
Jenkins met Hodel in 2008 and remained close with her until her death in 2017. Hodel was able to read the script for the pilot, but Gentile and Pecoraro stepped in to work with Jenkins after their mother's death, according to Rolling Stone.
3. Pecoraro was a model.
Pecoraro has been a plus-size model since 2003, appearing on the cover of PLUS Model Magazine in 2006.
4. She owns a t-shirt line.
She is and co-owner of Dapper D Fashions with her wife, Vanna. Dapper D Fashions was created with “a vision of making a Men's style clothing line for Women.”
“Dapper D is a line of Tomboy Tees that make a positive difference in the world,” according to the website.
5. Pecoraro was on The Biggest Loser.
In addition, Pecoraro was on The Biggest Loser in the 2000s.
“I honestly remember watching the first season of 'The Biggest Loser,' and identifying with every single cast member on that show. I had been hiding behind 'my plus-sized-beauty' for so long. I remember breaking down into tears, and realizing that I wanted to change my life."
"I didn't want to be skinny (I never have been), I wanted to be healthy. The exact moment that made me decide to send the audition tape in was when I saw Bob Harper (my soon-to-be Blue Team trainer) on the show, telling Mo that anything was possible, and Mo was well-over 400 pounds! It was the first time I had seen people like me on TV."
6. She had gastric sleeve surgery.
She’s chronicled her weight loss journey on Instagram, having had a gastric sleeve surgery in 2013 when she was at 288 pounds. Now she weights 177.
“My weight has been a life long battle for me, and having surgery gave me the tools to help change my life to a more healthy one. Everyone knows how crazy my life has been since my Mom’s cancer diagnosis in 2016, and the whirlwind of losing her, and celebrating her success, but it feels good that I have been able to maintain my weight loss, and to feel a sense of pride at what I have been able to accomplish despite all of the craziness."
"As many of us who have battled with our weight know, losing the weight and keeping the weight off are two very different things. One thing I’ve realized since having surgery is that food is not the enemy. In fact, I enjoy food more now. I just have a different relationship with it. Surgery is not for everyone, but it has been such a great tool for me.”
Maria Lianos-Carbone is author of "Oh Baby! A Mom's Self-Care Survival Guide for the First Year" and publisher of amotherworld.com.
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