Kellie Chauvin Biography, Struggles & Interesting Facts of Her Life
Jessica Hardy
Published Apr 11, 2026
Kellie Chauvin is a radiologist, beauty queen, and real estate agent from the Hmong community in the United States. She lived in several states around the country, including Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Kellie Chauvin And Her Family Struggles In Early Life
In October 1974, she was born in Laos to May Thao. She and her family escaped to Thailand in 1997, where they spent three years in a refugee camp.
As of 2021, she is 46 years old. She is of Asian ancestry.
Kellie’s family migrated to Thailand from Laos when she was three years old to avoid collateral damage.
Her family then relocated to Wisconsin, United States, in 1980.
Kellie was born in war-torn Laos, but she and her family were able to flee to Thailand, where they resided in a refugee camp. She recalled the difficulties of being a refugee during an interview.
She saw people surrender to disease, their only possessions being what they could carry on their backs. Three years later, she and her family relocated to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
She claims she understood less about reading and writing English than her younger peers when she started kindergarten.
Her parents were adamant about not allowing them to leave the house because they didn’t trust the outside world.
After leaving Hennepin County Medical Center, she went to Kaplan University for residential real estate and began working as a Realtor with Re/Max Results.
Education And Career of Kellie
After the divorce, she traveled to Minnesota to pursue an associate’s degree in radiography.
As an intern at the emergency room of Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, she began her career as a radiography technician. She stayed for 13 years after the internship developed into a full-time job.
She went to Kaplan University for residential real estate and began working as a Realtor after resigning from Hennepin County Medical Center.
The Reason Why Kellie Chauvin Parted Ways With Her Husbands
When she was 18, she was married off to Kujay Xiong. She hardly knew him. She married at the age of 17 after her parents found her a husband.
The couple had two children, but they split after ten years of marriage because he was an abusive spouse. He died in 2013, not long after the divorce was finalized.
Kellie is the mother of two children, one of whom is named George Xiong and Xommvaxai Xiong.
In 2010, Kellie Chauvin married Derek Chauvin. Kellie Chauvin is the adoring wife of Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer. After killing a black suspect during his arrest, Derek has been all over the news.
Derek had brought someone in for a health check before an arrest at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where they met for the first time.
He returned after taking the culprit to jail and asked her out.
Derek Chauvin’s wife filed for divorce just days after George Floyd was slain in the custody of the former Minneapolis police officer and three other cops.
Kellie May Xiong Chauvin, Chauvin’s now ex-wife, filed for divorce in Washington County District Court in Stillwater, Minnesota, on May 28, 2020, just three days after Mr. Floyd died in police custody on May 25.
Interesting Facts You Need To Know About The Ex-Wife Of Derek Chauvin
- She was placed in a kindergarten class in 1984 with younger peers who could read and write English more quickly than she could.
- She and KuJay Xiong married on August 18, 1991. He was 20 years old, and she was only 17 years old. Kellie May Xiong or Kellie Xiong became her stage name.
- She was charged with writing a bogus $42 check in Eau Claire in February 2005. Despite repeated letters delivered to her residence, she had not paid the money owed by July 2005, and criminal action was brought against her. She eventually paid the money, and the lawsuit was dropped.
- She and KuJay divorced in August 2006. Kheng Xiong and Xommvaxai Xiong, their two sons, were born to them. She relocated to Minnesota after her divorce, where she met Derek.
- She and Derek married in June 2010. They paid $210,900 for a townhouse in Windermere, Florida, in 2011. In 2017, they paid $260,000 for a house in Oakdale, Minnesota.
- According to nine felony tax evasion accusations brought against them in July 2020, she and Derek underreported their joint income by $464,433, including more than $95,000 for his off-duty security employment.
- In October 2018, she was crowned Mrs. Minnesota 2019 in the United States of America.
- She competed in the USOA’s Mrs. 2019 competition in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 17, 2019. She didn’t belong anywhere. In May of this year, she was elected Grand Marshal of the Oakdale Summerfest Parade.
- Derek was caught on camera squatting on George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds on May 25, 2020. She filed a divorce suit in the Washington County District Court in Stillwater, Minnesota, on May 31, 2020, after she separated from Derek on May 28, 2020.
- Juanita Freeman, a Washington County District Judge, denied her divorce petition on October 26, 2020, citing the risk of fraud. The judge permitted her and Derek to submit an amended application.
- Their divorce was finalized on February 2, 2021. Derek received $421,000 from the divorce settlement, while $704,000. In the divorce, she was represented by Amanda Mason-Sekula, while he expressed himself.
- On November 5, 2021, Washington County District Judge Sheridan Hawley accepted her and Derek’s not guilty pleas to tax evasion allegations. The judge set the case’s next court date for January 21, 2022.