Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel (born November 4, 1970) is an American television personality, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and author.

Frankel attended Catholic schools as a girl, and she graduated in 1988 from the Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she lived on campus.

She attended the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City, Boston University for two years, and graduated with a degree in psychology and communications from New York University.

In 1992, Frankel moved to Los Angeles with hopes of being an actress.

While she landed some small acting roles, she worked as a nanny to Paris Hilton and a personal assistant to Jerry Bruckheimer and Linda Bruckheimer.

During this time, Frankel also worked as a production assistant on the set of Saved by the Bell.

Frankel used these connections to start her first company, called "In Any Event", a party-planning business, which was short-lived.

Her next entrepreneurial enterprise was re-selling pashmina scarves that she bought wholesale from an Indian manufacturer.

In 2003, Frankel started a baking business called "BethennyBakes", focusing on "healthy" cookies and meal delivery in New York City, which was featured on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, a reality competition series, in 2005.

Frankel was one of two finalists on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.

She was the runner-up on the NBC reality competition series The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005.

The company, BethennyBakes, later went out of business in 2006, but Frankel remained a spokesperson for Pepperidge Farms low-calorie line.

Frankel is best known as an original cast member of the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of New York City, starring in eight of the 14 seasons since its 2008 premiere.

In 2008, Frankel began starring in the reality television series The Real Housewives of New York City, which premiered in March on Bravo.

Her spin-off series Bethenny Ever After aired three seasons from 2010–2012, and Bethenny & Fredrik aired one season in 2018.

In June 2010, Frankel appeared in the Bravo reality series Bethenny Getting Married? (later retitled Bethenny Ever After), which documented her engagement and marriage to Jason Hoppy as well as the birth of their daughter, Bryn.

The series premiere became Bravo's highest-rated one at the time, garnering 2.1 million viewers.

In September 2010, Frankel announced her exit from The Real Housewives of New York City following its third season.

In November, she competed in the reality competition series Skating with the Stars and finished in second place.

Frankel taped the pilot of a potential talk show in June 2011.

She also headlined the Fox daytime talk show Bethenny (2013–2014) and the HBO Max reality competition series The Big Shot with Bethenny (2021).

Outside of her work in television, Frankel is the founder of Skinnygirl, a lifestyle brand, and BStrong, a disaster relief initiative.

She is also the author of four self-help books, the host of two podcasts and a YouTuber.

Frankel is the only child of Robert J. Frankel, a horse trainer, and Bernadette Birk, an interior designer.

Her father was German-Jewish, whereas her mother was a Roman Catholic Welsh.

Her parents got divorced when Frankel was four years old.

When she was five, her mother married horse trainer John Parisella, who is Italian and of the Roman Catholic faith.

Frankel describes her childhood as difficult.

Frankel says her mother "was always drinking" and often argued violently with her stepfather.

Frankel said she moved many times and attended multiple schools before going to boarding school.

The syndicated daytime talk show, eponymously titled Bethenny, premiered in September 2013.

It was cancelled in February 2014 after one season.

Frankel rejoined The Real Housewives of New York City as a cast member for its seventh season, which premiered in April 2015.

In March 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported that Frankel had signed a deal with MGM Television and the company's chairman, Mark Burnett, to produce and star in future unscripted television projects.

In June 2021, Frankel announced she no longer had a deal with MGM Television.

In August of the same year, she announced her departure from The Real Housewives of New York City.

Some of her most notable phrases on the show that the Bravo Network recognized, and ultimately capitalized on, include: "Get off my jock", "Go to sleep! GO TO SLEEP!", "Life is not a Cabaret!"

and "Mention it all!"

while simultaneously opening her legs during an argument with fellow castmate Ramona Singer.

In 2021, Frankel starred in the HBO Max reality competition series titled The Big Shot with Bethenny, which she also produced alongside Burnett.