The Real Housewives Of New York City star Jessel Taank heartbrokenly announced her father Kishor Taank has died at the age of 68.

She shared the news on her Instagram page on Friday, referring to him as ‘My Hero’ and ‘Our North Star’ and revealing he lived from May 1956 to February 2025.

Amid an album of throwback pH๏τos, Jessel paid tribute to her father’s international life, including his childhood in colonial Kenya with parents who came from India.

The post included pictures of Jessel and her brother Bobby as small children, cuddling cheerfully up to their father during their own upbringing in England.

Kishor was also pictured with his wife Nilam – Jessel’s mother – as well as with Jessel’s own husband Pavit Randhawa and their three-year-old twin sons.

‘If lust for life were a person, it would be my Dad,’ she wrote. ‘His adventurous spirit was rooted in his beloved Kisumu, Kenya, where he spun tales of his mischievous childhood – climbing banana trees, stirring up trouble.’

Jessel Taank heartbrokenly announced her father Kishor Taank’s death aged 68; she is pictured with Kishor, as well as her husband Pavit Randhawa and one of their twin sons

Jessel is pictured in a publicity sH๏τ for The Real Housewives Of New York City

She called him a ‘true Tarzan,’ describing him as ‘fiercely pᴀssionate’ and ‘Loyal to a fault,’ and adding that Kishor – who worked as a finance manager in the UK – ‘loved talking about money – ours, other people’s – always the finance guy.’

Jessel fondly recalled: ‘He interrogated us about our spending habits. “You have to save your money,” he warned. “But that’s not fun,” I’d argue. “Being broke isn’t fun,” he’d counter. We never listened.’ 

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She lovingly described her mother as ‘the Cindy Crawford to his bald Richard Gere’ and gushed that her parents ‘built a life of family, travel, and laughter.’

Kishor and Nilam, wrote Jessel, were ‘my best friends – crazy, spontaneous, a little nuts,’ to the point her friends remarked: ‘Your parents don’t act like parents.’

Jessel, the first New York City Housewife of Indian descent, shared: ‘My love for India and my culture came from him. He called it “my India,” the land of his parents.’

Name-checking two singing stars of classic Hindi cinema, she wrote: ‘He was obsessed with old-school Bollywood – Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh. Because of him, I know all the words.’

She then turned her attention to Indian desserts, dishing that her father’s ‘guilty pleasure was a warmed gulab jamun with gajar halwa,’ before adding: ‘India was his happy place. He immersed himself in its DNA.’

Jessel added: ‘My dad always turned to face the sun in pictures. Now, he’s in the very light he basked in. It’s easy to be overcome by sadness, but sadness only serves our own selfish purpose. Instead, we move forward with graтιтude. I’m so grateful you were my dad. We would choose you every time.’ 

The post included pictures of Jessel and her brother Bobby as small children, cuddling cheerfully up to their father during their own upbringing in England

Kishor was also pictured with his wife Nilam – Jessel’s mother, whom she lovingly referred to as ‘the Cindy Crawford to his bald Richard Gere’

Kishor and Nilam, wrote Jessel, were ‘my best friends – crazy, spontaneous, a little nuts,’ to the point her friends remarked: ‘Your parents don’t act like parents’

Jessel, the first New York City Housewife of Indian descent, shared: ‘My love for India and my culture came from him,’ adding: ‘He called it “my India,” the land of his parents’

Jesse remembered that her father, who is pictured as a young man in Italy, ‘always turned to face the sun in pictures’

Her announcement was met with warm messages from her fellow Real Housewives Of New York City Ubah Hᴀssan, Jenna Lyons and Sai De Silva

Her announcement was met with warm messages from her fellow Real Housewives Of New York City Ubah Hᴀssan, Jenna Lyons and Sai De Silva.

‘Jessel!’ wrote Ubah. ‘My heart aches for you and your family. May Allah surround you with strength, comfort, and peace, guiding you through this difficult time.’

‘So beautiful Jessel,’ wrote Jenna, as Sai chimed in that she was ‘Sending you so much love my girl,’ amid the flood of condolences in Jessel’s comments.

Jessel has spoken about her family background before, explaining: ‘My family came to London from Kenya, they were a part of the mᴀssive diaspora born out of political unrest and were forced to leave and start their lives over again,’ to Vogue India. 

The Indian community in Kenya – which had been brought over by the British during the colonial era – was depleted by a major exodus in the 1960s and 1970s after being targeted by the ‘Africanization’ policies of the new independent government.

Jessel joined the Real Housewives Of New Jersey for the 14th season in 2023, as part of the controversial first full-cast reboot.

The previous season had received a brutal reception from fans – overshadowed by controversies such as woke star Ebony K. Williams’ political clashes with her castmates – after which the entire cast was replaced.