Cardi B’s younger sister Hennessy Carolina is a star in her own right. The influencer, reality star and fashion designer first rose to fame alongside the “Bodak Yellow” rapper on Love & Hip Hop: New York, and has appeared on shows including MTV’s The Challenge and Hip Hop Squares in the years since.

Boasting millions of Instagram followers, she’s made a name for herself as an influencer, as well as a model and designer, collaborating on a collection with Boohoo in 2018 and landing a campaign with Moschino the following year. “I want to dominate the fashion industry and I would eventually like to get into the makeup industry,” she told Galore in 2019 of her career plans.

Born on Dec. 22, 1995, in the Bronx, New York, Hennessy is the daughter of a Dominican father and a Trinidadian mother, Carlos and Clara Almanzar. She was born three years after her older sister, whom she’s been close with since childhood.

When asked if there’s any competition between herself and her Grammy-winning sister, she quickly set the record straight, telling Paper, “That’s not even a problem for me.” She added, “We’re always looking out for each other.”

Navigating the spotlight has its challenges, she told the outlet, but being able to rely on her sister makes it more manageable. “What we tell each other, is let’s not pay these haters no attention,” she told Paper. “But it’s hard because we really have big hearts.”

Together, they’ve worked to tune out the negativity. “It just really hurts our feelings. So we just learned to let people just talk, let them have their opinions, and not take it offensive. Don’t let that mess up our minds,” Hennessy added.

Here’s everything to know about Cardi B’s younger sister, Hennessy Carolina.

Her name inspired her sister’s stage name

The legend of Hennessy’s name is something she’s discussed in a handful of interviews, with Cosmopolitan and Galore reporting that she allegedly got her memorable moniker after her father showed up to her birth intoxicated and suggested they name her after the cognac brand he’d been enjoying that night.

Her name ultimately inspired friends and family to give her older sister an alcohol-related nickname as well. Cardi — born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar — explained on Twitter: “My name is Belcalis, Growing up people called me Bacardi cause my sister name is Hennessy ..FYI.”

She starred alongside Cardi B on Love & Hip Hop: New York

Hennessy made her reality TV debut while sharing the screen with her sister on Love & Hip Hop: New York in 2016. During the season 7 reunion episode, she infamously got into a fight with Major Galore while defending the “I Like It” singer — a moment, but not a motive, she has since said she regrets.

“One reason I regret it is because I’m grown and I wouldn’t want to let that represent me, so that people wouldn’t judge me based on that,” she told BET. “But I have a good reason, it’s because the girl was being fake and she was talking crap about my sister, and I’m very defensive over my sister.”

She later made her mark on a number of other reality TV shows and competitions in the years since, including MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars in 2018 and Hip Hop Squares in 2019.

She made her first major red carpet appearance at the 2018 Grammys

Hennessy often accompanies her sister to red carpet events and premieres, from award shows like the VMAs to galas like Rihanna’s Diamond Ball.

In January 2018, she made her official red carpet debut at the 2018 Grammys, where she showed support for her sister ahead of Cardi’s performance with Bruno Mars.

The lookalike sisters dressed to the nines for the glamorous night out, hitting the red carpet in coordinated white gowns and white roses in support of the #MeToo movement.

She’s a doting aunt to Cardi’s children

Hennessy is a proud aunt to Kulture and Wave, Cardi’s daughter and son, whom she welcomed in 2018 and 2021, respectively, with husband Offset.

“I actually really now know what it really feels like to actually say a baby is a blessing…” Hennessy gushed in a tribute to Kulture in celebration of her first birthday.

“I love you like you was my own child,” she went on, adding, “I just want to protect you and be the coolest aunt in the world. Thanks for givin me something even more great to look foward too [sic]. I look foward [sic] to watching you grow, teaching you what you need to know, and making sure you have everything you could ever need.” She added that she planned to take her “everywhere your mommy and I couldn’t afford to go/do growing up.”

Celebrating Kulture’s third birthday in 2021, Hennessy opened up about the quality time they get to spend together. “I love spending quality time [with] her,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a slideshow of photos and videos of the pair. “I be hands on with my niece all the time usually my clothes, hair and makeup ends up getting messy with paint /slime or playing for hours by the end of the day I look a hot mess.”

She marked her nephew’s first birthday with a loving birthday tribute as well, sharing photos of herself holding and cuddling him at his birthday party.