The Hulu limited series Welcome to Chippendales follows the rags-to-riches story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the founder of Chippendales. Showrunner Rob Siegel, who was also behind Pam and Tommy, manages to balance the dark undertones of the story with the glitz and glamour of nightlife in Los Angeles. Throughout the series, audiences meet several people who join Steve along the way, but not all of them are actually based on real people. So, is Welcome to Chippendales‘ Denise Coughlan based on a real person? Here’s what we know.
‘Welcome to Chippendales’ stars Juliette Lewis as Denise Coughlan
Siegel’s series, inspired by the book Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders based on a true story, introduces audiences to Denise Coughlan, played by Juliette Lewis, in episode 2. After the tragic murder-suicide of Dorothy Stratten and Paul Snider, Nick de Noia (Murray Bartlett) returns to help Steve (Kumail Nanjiani) choreograph more dances for the club. Denise approaches Nick one night, but he brushes her off because he’s busy paying attention to the men’s routine on stage. She finally gets his attention and deems herself a “vision facilitator.” Nick, curious, listens as she explains her experience with costume designing, and she shows him the infamous breakaway pants the show eventually adopted as one of their signature styles.
Denise and Nick become close and eventually share a home together. They work to create a performance they call Dr. Hunkenstein, which features a mad scientist cultivating body parts from attractive men to create the “perfect specimen.” While all of these details make for great entertainment value, was Denise really the one behind all of these ideas?
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Denise Coughlan shares some similarities with the real Chippendales ‘den mother,’ Candace Mayeron
It appears that Siegel fabricated most of Denise’s story strictly for the show, but she does share some similarities with Candace Mayeron. Mayeron first discovered the Chippendales dancers playing backgammon in the back room of the nightclub. She spoke to Elle in September 2021 and said she heard noises emanating from another room and went to investigate. Once she saw the dancers, she knew she wanted to be part of it.
Lewis’s character slightly resembles Mayeron with her dark curly hair. And, just like Denise in Welcome to Chippendales, Mayeron became very close with de Noia over the years.
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Speaking about her friendship with de Noia, Mayeron said, “Our relationship evolved organically. I started helping Nick shoot the Chippendales calendar and handle merchandising. One of my jobs was to hire and train the hosts and waiters. I recruited at bodybuilding shows, but quickly discovered that all I had to do was walk outside during the show, where guys were lining up waiting to be discovered.”
‘Welcome to Chippendales’ builds up to Nick de Noia’s murder
While only three episodes have dropped so far, it’s clear the limited series is leading up to de Noia’s death. Welcome to Chippendales spotlights the closeness of Denise and Nick’s friendship in episode 3, titled “Velveeta.” In reality, Mayeron went on to help de Noia with his shows in New York City, and the two stayed close up until his murder. Mayeron called the FBI when she heard of Banerjee’s arrest for the attempted murder of two former Chippendales dancers to tell them she believed he murdered de Noia.
“I called the FBI and said, ‘Attempted murder? Steve actually murdered a guy seven years ago.’ At the FBI headquarters, I explained why Steve Banerjee was behind the murder of Nick de Noia. An FBI agent later told me that they already had a fair amount of what I gave them but that I was able to fill in a lot of the blanks,” Mayeron said.
While Mayeron showed up to watch Banerjee’s sentencing, someone made the announcement that Banerjee died by suicide in his cell. Mayeron eventually started her own production company in LA, which she still runs today.
Welcome to Chippendales Episodes 1-3 are currently streaming on Hulu.
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