The Queen of Storage Wars: Who is Brandi Passante?
Love Storage Wars? Find out more about Brandi Passante, her humble beginnings and where she is now.
Image: Brandi Passante | Storage Wars
Meet Brandi Passante, one half of Storage Wars’ most enduring duo. A savvy auction-buyer, businesswoman and mother, the treasure hunter has found fame and built a devoted fanbase.
Brandi Passante is more than just the face you remember shouting bids – she’s a woman who’s grown up on the screen, held her own in a male-dominated arena and come out with grit and charm.
But no matter how au fait you might be with the popular TV star, there’s a lot more to Passante than meets the eye. Read on as Sky HISTORY deep dives into Brandi Passante.
Beginnings: How Brandi found the lockers
Brandi Passante was born 16th May 1980 in Harris County, Texas, but grew up in California. She didn’t start off dreaming of TV fame; her early life was grounded, unglamorous and real. What she did have was a knack for spotting value, a flair for design and reuse and a personal and professional partnership with Jarrod Schulz.
Together, long before Storage Wars, they ran a thrift store called Now and Then in Orange, California.
In 2010, Storage Wars was launched, a show where people bid on abandoned or defaulted storage units in hopes of finding hidden treasure. Brandi and Jarrod were cast early on - and though many buyers came and went, Brandi stayed. Her steady presence from season one onward made her a cornerstone of the show.
Highs, lows and unforgettable moments
What makes Brandi stand out in Storage Wars isn’t only the jackpots she uncovered, but the journey the cameras captured along the way. Some of her biggest storylines weren’t about the contents of lockers at all, but about what happened once she tried to build something from them.
One of the most memorable arcs came when Brandi and Jarrod opened a second Now and Then store in Long Beach. It was a bold move, a chance to capitalise on their growing TV fame.
But when reality hit, the shop struggled, never turned a profit and eventually closed. The setback was painful but also honest. Brandi didn’t shy away from the risks she’d taken, and viewers saw the unfiltered side of what happens when television dreams meet retail realities.
What was Brandi like on the auction floor?
On the auction floor, Brandi’s style was just as distinctive. Where Jarrod was often impulsive, Brandi calculated her moves. She was less about chasing the adrenaline rush and more about making smart, sustainable bids. Time and again, she spotted value in places others overlooked.
Whether it was an old piece of furniture with resale potential or a quirky décor item, she knew what collectors would covet. When a gamble didn’t pay off, her reactions were often more entertaining than the locker's contents.
How did family play a part?
Family life also played into her storyline. As a mother of two, Brandi occasionally allowed the camera glimpses of her children, Cameron and Payton. This reminded viewers that she wasn’t just hustling for profit, but for the stability of her family.
In a series filled with outsize personalities and sharp elbows, her balance of professional drive and maternal warmth became the heart of the show.
Why Brandi resonates with fans
Brandi’s authenticity is probably her greatest strength. In a genre where personalities are often exaggerated for the cameras, she has always seemed disarmingly herself. Quick to laugh, quick to roll her eyes and unwilling to pretend she knows something she doesn’t, her honesty created trust with her audience.
Then there’s her competence. Brandi isn’t a loud bidder for the sake of it. She combines intuition with lived experience from the resale world.
When she spots an antique worth refinishing or a collectible with value, it feels grounded in genuine know-how rather than TV magic. Fans who also buy, sell or thrift often recognise themselves in her decisions.
A career in her own right
Over the years, Brandi and Jarrod’s partnership changed. They left Storage Wars briefly in 2014 to headline their own spin-off, Brandi & Jarrod: Married to the Job, but returned to the original show after one season.
In 2020, Brandi confirmed that she and Jarrod had split personally, though they still occasionally filmed together. By 2021, she was bidding independently, carving out her own identity in the series separate from the dynamic duo she once formed.
She’s become a reality TV veteran, part of the backbone of Storage Wars, even as other cast members cycled in and out.
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