Meet Snoop Dogg's Wife and 'Boss Lady' in All Things Business, Shante Monique Broadus
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr.—the rapper known everyone knows as Snoop Dogg—owes plenty of his career success to the savvy business acumen of his wife, Shante Broadus.
Together since high school, the couple are a unified front overseeing Snoop's music career and ever-growing portfolio of entertainment and business endeavors. They also juggle busy work schedules with a busy family life—the couple has three kids and several grandchildren—plus philanthropic work.
Things haven't been perfect, of course. The couple's weathered ups and downs in their relationship and nearly called it quits on their union during a tough time in the 2000s. However, the two ultimately reconciled, and Snoop Dogg is frequently heard offering nothing but compliments for his wife.
"She's always right," he told QueenLatifah on her talk show in2013. "Because you gotta understand the turmoil and stuff that I put her through, in my journey on becoming successful, because I had no understanding of how I was doing her, how I was hurting her, and how I was betraying myself, until I became a man and realized that I had to love this woman who loved me and had my kids, and put my life in perspective and let my music and my business be secondary."
Tell it, Snoop! Keep reading for everything we know about Snoop Dogg's life with wife Shante Broadus.
Who is Snoop Dogg's wife, Shante Broadus?
Born in 1971, Shante Monique Broadus boasts anamazing résumé built around making great things happen for talented people. In fact, as of 2021, Shante officially became husband Snoop Dogg's manager—a big job, since the musician has his hand in TV, clothing, cannabis, video games, mobile apps and much, much more.
Still, being Snoop's manager is clearly a role she's been preparing for since the '90s. “Shante has been guiding my career behind the scenes from day one,” the rapper said in a press release cited byForbes. “She has always been my final gut check with all my decisions, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her. I am grateful to have her as my official manager, helping to build the Snoop Dogg empire together.”
Broadus also couldn't be happier with the role, she toldW Magazine. “He knows that he can always trust me. So he wanted the world to know he had his wife by his side, helping him," she explained. "He wanted a strong female to lead. And of course, that’s me. I’m the boss lady.”
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That's no exaggeration: Broadus is also the founder of Boss Lady Entertainment. As the name implies, her company is a powerhouse that, among other endeavors, helms operations for an L.A. recording and events complex called The Compound that draws such top-notch talent such as Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B. Broadus was also executive producer on the 2012 Snoop documentary Reincarnated and was part of the E! reality show Snoop Dogg’s Fatherhood.
How did Snoop Dogg meet his wife, Shante Broadus?
Believe it or not, the Broaduses are teenage sweethearts who met while students at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. Their courtship was charmingly old-fashioned, the rapper once recalled toVladTV. “I had to go over there and meet her mother," he explains. "I had to go over there and date her for, like, four months before I was able to kiss her. I had to call her on the phone. I had to write love letters."
The wooing worked, as the pair went to prom together—photos of which Snoop frequently shares on social media to express his love.
Snoop's talent was already on display even back then. Although he played football, classmates alsorecalled him rapping at spirit rallies. Shante, too, was already throwing her support behind her future spouse. “I was there with him when he started all this,” she told W Magazine. “Even before he came out [as a musician], our friends and I were his fans. We would always listen to his songs and give our opinions. When he became popular, I was still helping them with deals and offers.”
When did Snoop Dogg get married to Shante Broadus?
Snoop Dogg and the future Shante Broadus tied the knoton June 14, 1997, at The Ritz Carlton Hotel in California. When they married, Snoop was already an MTV star thanks to his work with Dr. Dre and his own solo career. In fact, it's safe to say Mrs. Broadus was a grounding presence for Snoop both before and after they married. “We were friends first, and then we became parents. He’s a businessman but we hold it down together,” she toldShowbiz Cheat Sheet. “I don’t think he could do this without me, to be honest. He couldn’t handle it. There’s too much going on.”
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Does Snoop Dogg have kids with wife Shante Broadus?
Yep, they have three children together: two sons (Cordé, born in 1994, and Cordell, born in 1997), and a daughter, Cori, who arrived in 1999. The rapper also has a son named Julian from another relationship, who was born in 1998.
The couple are known for being doting (if strict) parents to all of their children. "I’m hard," he said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2007. "I cuss ’em out. But my philosophy is, I pick on them, and then I pick them up. That’s what I do, to let them know that I expect more out of them, because they’re better than that." However, both Snoop and Shante are supportive: For example, he done dad duty as a Little League football coach and she's supported the music ambitions of Cordell and Cori.
Snoop and Mrs. Snoop have also been deeply supportive of Cori as she's navigated living with lupus. In fact, it's made their family stronger. "It’s amazing how this all turned out," Broadus toldPEOPLE in 2010, speaking about the experience of Cori being diagnosed and started treatment. "We were gonna get a divorce. But we wouldn’t have gotten through it [that way]." Added Snoop, "That’s what it boiled down to. Cori’s lupus showed us we need to be together forever."
How many times has Snoop Dogg been married?
Snoop Dogg has been married just once, to high school sweetheart Broadus. However, the couple have technically had more than one wedding ceremony. After being married in 1997, the couple renewed their vows at Charlie Wilson's ranch on January 12, 2008. The 200-person ceremony was a surprise, but the festivities later ended up on an episode of Snoop Dogg's Father Hood.
As the rapper told Larry King in 2008, getting back to a good place took time. "A whole lot of begging and pleading... it was up to me to try to put it back together, because I'm the one who said I didn't want to be a part of it no more," he admitted. "It's hard now to this day. It's still hard because there's a lot of, you know—there's a lot of roller coaster to a relationship. You know, we've been together for 17 or 18 years. We've been married for 10 years, but, at the same time, it's like, you know, some people in life are chosen for you. And I feel like we're chosen for each other."
Has Snoop Dogg ever been divorced?
Technically, no—although he and Shante almost divorced during a rougher time in their marriage. Back in 2004, Snoop actually filed for divorce. "I was trying to get a divorce, but I went back home and I fell back in love with my wife and kids. A lot of times you get cloudy," he told MTV at the time. "This music industry is a mother, man, and it'll take your vision and blur it."
Luckily, Snoop added that he is so grateful he came to his senses. "But God is good, so I understand that I need my wife and my kids in my life—so I threw the papers away. I don't want to get a divorce," he said. "So if you hear about a divorce, it'll be my wife divorcing me. It won't be me divorcing her... And I made a mistake, so I'm trying to get back right."
