Bethenny Frankel is an American reality show personality, author, entrepreneur and natural foods chef. She was a contestant in the 2005 series
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, where she placed second. From 2008 to 2010, she was one of the original five housewives featured on the Bravo reality series
The Real Housewives of New York City. In 2010, she starred in her own companion series,
Bethenny Getting Married?, and again in 2011 with
Bethenny Ever After. She is the creator and founder the
Skinnygirl brand which was sold in 2011 for $120 million.
Frankel is the daughter of Bernadette Parisella and horse trainer, Robert Frankel, a National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee and five-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer.
Frankel says about her family religion: "My father was Jewish, my mother converted to be Jewish for him, but grew up Christian. I went to Catholic school because my stepfather was Catholic".
As a young woman she spent her summers in Saratoga Springs, New York, with her mother and stepfather, John Parisella. She worked at her stepfather's stable walking the horses to cool them down after their early morning workouts.
Frankel is a graduate of the Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the Natural Gourmet Culinary Institute in New York. She also attended New York University.
Frankel began her TV and film career with appearances in the 1994 movie
Hollywood Hills 90028 and the 1995 movie
Wish Me Luck. She also worked as a production assistant for
Saved by the Bell.
Upon graduation from Natural Gourmet Culinary Institute she formed a natural foods bakery and delivery service called
BethennyBakes.
In 2005, Frankel was one of 16 candidates in
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart TV show.
She was one of two finalist in the show.
Frankel was one of the seven women featured on Bravo's series
The Real Housewives of New York City.
In 2009 she launched her Skinnygirl brand and was a contributor to Bravo TV's coverage of the Kentucky Oaks. In March, Frankel's first book,
Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting, was published. In December 2009, her second book,
The SkinnyGirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life was released.
Frankel created an exercise DVD,
Body by Bethenny, in spring 2010 and an audio book,
The Skinnygirl Rules, which summarized the prior two books.In June 2010, Frankel starred in the Bravo reality TV show,
Bethenny Getting Married? which documented Frankel's engagement, marriage and the birth of her daughter. The show's premiere was the highest rated of any series in Bravo's history.
In September 2010, Frankel announced, that for personal reasons, she would not be returning to the
The Real Housewives of New York City show.
In February 2011, Frankel starred in a follow up series,
Bethenny Ever After which documented Frankel's first year of marriage and motherhood. In November, Frankel appeared on the ABC reality series
Skating With The Stars and finished as runner-up to the champion.
In April 2011, Frankel sold her Skinnygirl cocktail line to Fortune Brands' Beam Global for an estimated $120 million. It was subsequently pulled from Whole Foods Market shelves in August 2011 after it was discovered not to meet Whole Food's quality standards due to preservatives in the product, contrary to its advertisement which stated "no preservatives."
Bethenny Frankel
Bethenny Frankel
Bethenny Frankel
