Bethenny Frankel (born November 4, 1970) is an American businesswoman, television personality, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. She starred in the Bravo television series The Real Housewives of New York City, appearing in eight of its thirteen seasons since its 2008 premiere. In 2009, she founded the lifestyle brand, Skinnygirl. Prior to this, she was the runner-up on the NBC reality competition series The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005. She has gone on to headline several series of her own: the Bravo spin-offs Bethenny Ever After (2010–2012) and Bethenny & Fredrik (2018), 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 reality television, Frankel is the founder of the Skinnygirl, a lifestyle brand, and BStrong, a disaster relief initiative. She is also the author of four self-help books. Early life 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 of Welsh descent. Her father left her mother 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. Her mother, Frankel says, "was always drinking" and often argued violently with her stepfather. Frankel considers herself Jewish and has spoken against the rise of antisemitism, stating "I have a last name that's Jewish. I have family that's Jewish. I am Jewish" on her Just B with Bethenny Frankel podcast. Frankel said she moved many times and attended multiple schools before going to boarding school. 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. Career Early career and television 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