Patti Stanger

Patricia "Patti" Stanger (born May 31, 1961) is an American businesswoman and reality television personality, who founded and serves as CEO of professional matchmaking service Millionaire's Club International.

She is known for starring in and producing her own matchmaking reality series, The Millionaire Matchmaker, on Bravo TV.

Stanger was born and raised in Short Hills, New Jersey.

She was adopted by matchmaker Rhoda and Ida Stanger, and was raised in the Jewish faith.

She graduated from Millburn High School in 1979 and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Miami in 1983.

She currently lives in Los Angeles.

Stanger is a third-generation matchmaker, born into a family that practiced the Orthodox Jewish system of shidduch.

Prior to founding her business in January 2000, she worked as the Director of Marketing for Great Expectations.

She also worked in fashion.

Stanger was introduced to the fashion industry by Janis Spindel, who had hired and scouted the 24-year-old when looking for an assistant.

Stanger worked for 10 years in the fashion industry at Unionbay Sportswear, JouJou Jeans, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

In 2000, Stanger stated that "successful men in the dating arena needed a private, exclusive club where they could come to find their beautiful and intelligent wives."

In 2008, Stanger signed a deal to have her own reality show called Millionaire Matchmaker on the Bravo TV Network.

Stanger starred in and produced the show.

The hour-long show followed her matchmaking at Millionaire's Club.

Each episode featured her matchmaking two millionaires.

First, millionaire clients submitted a biographical video profile on a DVD describing the type of partner they want.

Stanger then met them individually to better understand their desires and welcome them to the club.

She's been called "The Simon Cowell of Dating" and made very quick, very direct comments.

"I am not paid to hide my true feelings," she said.

Her "casting calls" or "recruiting sessions", where she screened men and women, involved her making brutal comments on their dress and appearance.

She told one woman she had a beautiful face but could not meet her millionaire because she was 10–15 lbs overweight.

"I can't do much for women over 45," Stanger said in an interview, "and if they're overweight, it's almost impossible."

She told another woman to take off her wig, then suggested she come back after she got hair extensions.

The millionaires and 30–40 potential dates would first meet at a cocktail party Stanger hosted called a "VIP mixer", where they mingled and the millionaires got to evaluate the candidates.

The millionaires chose their top two candidates and had 10-minute "mini dates", after which they picked the candidate they liked best.

Stanger announced the choices to the group, and then the millionaires set up their "master dates".

The Millionaire's Club has a few rules.

For example, millionaires cannot discuss sex or trade phone numbers at the mixer.

No sex is allowed until the couple is in an "exclusive, committed, monogamous relationship".

There is also a two-drink maximum enforced on each date.

If a millionaire violates the terms of the club, then Patti can throw him or her out of the club.

At the end of each episode, Stanger called each candidate chosen for their master date, after which Patti called each millionaire or invites him or her into her office to discuss how the date went.

The show would conclude with updates on each couple, indicating whether they are still together or not.

The show ran from January 22, 2008 – March 29, 2015.

In 2022, the Jewish Journal named Stanger one of "The Top 10 Jewish Reality TV Stars of All Time."

In April 2009, Patti Stanger was hired by Clear Channel subsidiary Premiere Radio Networks to host a 4-week special titled P.S. I Love You for XM Satellite Radio.

The live call-in program was simulcast on Clear Channel owned MIX channel 22 and The Pink Channel on channel 24, Sunday evenings.

After a month's hiatus, the program was returned to the schedule on a semi-regular basis, until it was moved to Thursday evenings in July 2009 and made a permanent fixture.

Stanger continues to host P.S. I Love You on Thursday nights from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific time on both Mix and The Pink Channel.