Rita Jenrette (née Carpenter) is an American actress, television journalist, and real estate executive.

On September 10, 1976, she married freshman Democratic whip John Jenrette (of ABSCAM notoriety) of South Carolina, 18 months after meeting him on Capitol Hill.

[2] In 1977, Jenrette worked as a research associate at the Office of Technology Assessment then under the co-chairmanship of Senators Hubert H. Humphrey and Edward M. Kennedy.

"[5] This led in 1989 to Jenrette's becoming an on-air journalist on Fox television’s A Current Affair where she interviewed celebrities.

[14] The article's revelation that she and her husband had sex on the steps of the U.S. Capitol during a break in an all-night House session caused a hoopla.

She met Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi of Piombino (1941–2018) in 2003 when working as a broker to develop a project on land he owned.

[5] To commemorate the marriage with Jenrette, the prince commissioned the recreation of a fragrance originally devised for one of his ancestors.

[20][21] She has promoted new research on the history of the property as well as the creation of a related scholarly resource, the Archivio Digitale Boncompagni Ludovisi.

[22] To settle an inheritance dispute, an Italian judge ordered Villa Aurora to be offered at auction in January 2022 for $531 million, but it attracted no bidders.