Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel, also known as Bethenny Parisella, (born November 4, 1970) is an American entrepreneur, television personality, philanthropist, and author. She was the runner-up on the NBC reality competition series The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005, and increased her profile on the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of New York City (2008–2010, 2015–2019). She propelled her fame from the series and founded Skinnygirl, a lifestyle brand.

Frankel's spin-off series Bethenny Ever After aired three seasons from 2010–2012, and Bethenny & Fredrik aired one season in 2018. She also headlined the Fox daytime talk show Bethenny (2013–2014) and the HBO Max reality competition series The Big Shot with Bethenny (2021). She also founded BStrong, a philanthropic organization that has provided disaster relief, and has written four self-help books, hosted two podcasts, and is a YouTuber.

Frankel is the only child of Robert J. Frankel, a horse trainer, and Bernadette Birk, an interior designer and college professor. Her father was German-Jewish, whereas her mother was of Welsh descent who converted to Judaism. Bethenny was raised Roman Catholic, and completed all of her sacraments including communion and confirmation. Her parents divorced when Frankel was four years old. When she was five, her mother married horse trainer John Parisella. Frankel describes her childhood as difficult. Frankel says her mother "was always drinking" and often argued violently with her stepfather.

Frankel originally grew up in Forest Hills, New York but moved many times and attended multiple schools before attending boarding school. She went to St. Agnes Cathedral School in Rockville Centre, New York and Holy Child Academy in Old Westbury, New York but graduated in 1988 from Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She attended Boston University for two years, and graduated with a degree in psychology and communications from New York University. She later attended the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City.

In 1992, Frankel moved to Los Angeles with hopes of being an actress. While she landed some small acting roles, she worked as an assistant to Kathy Hilton, sometimes taking her daughters Paris and Nicki out for ice cream or picking them up from school. She was also 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 Princess Pashmina, a business selling pashmina scarves she bought wholesale from an Indian manufacturer.

In 2003, Frankel started BethennyBakes, a baking business that made egg-free, wheat-free and dairy-free cookies and meal delivery in New York City. It was featured on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, a reality competition series, in 2005, in which Frankel was the first runner-up to the competition winner. BethennyBakes closed in 2006. Frankel became a spokesperson for Pepperidge Farms low-calorie line of bread.

In 2008, Frankel began starring in the reality television series The Real Housewives of New York City, which premiered in March on Bravo. 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. The series premiere was Bravo's highest-rated 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 talk show, Bethenny, in June 2011. The syndicated daytime talk show was created and co-produced by Ellen DeGeneres. It had a test run in 2012 in limited markets, and officially premiered in September 2013. It was canceled in February 2014 after one season, although episodes continued to run because 170 had been taped. Frankel rejoined The Real Housewives of New York City for its seventh season, which premiered in April 2015.