Background and career
Bethenny Frankel (born November 4, 1970) is an American entrepreneur, television personality, philanthropist, and author. After appearing on the NBC reality competition series The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005, where she was the runner-up, Frankel increased her profile on the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of New York City (2008–2010, 2015–2019). Frankel propelled her fame in 2009 when she founded Skinnygirl, a lifestyle brand. In 2011, Forbes reported the success of Skinnygirl earned Frankel $55 million, leading her to rank at #42 on the annual Forbes Celebrity 100. Frankel's spin-off series Bethenny Ever After aired three seasons from 2010 to 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. She has written ten books, hosted five podcasts, and is a YouTuber.
Frankel is the only child of Robert J. Frankel, a horse trainer, and Bernadette (Verderosa) Birk, an interior designer and college professor. Her father was German Jewish, whereas her mother was Italian Catholic and converted to Judaism. Her parents divorced when Frankel was four years old. One year later, her mother married horse trainer John Parisella and Bethenny was raised Roman Catholic. She completed the sacraments of communion and confirmation. 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.
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. Frankel began her career as a natural food chef in 2001, later enrolling at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. In 2003, Frankel started BethennyBakes, a baking business that made egg-free, wheat-free, and dairy-free cookies and provided 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. In 2011, Frankel became a spokesperson for a low-calorie Pepperidge Farms 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. In 2016, Forbes, who previously dubbed Frankel the "it girl" of reality television, reported that Frankel was the sixth highest-paid reality star. In May 2017, ABC announced Frankel would guest judge on their business series Shark Tank during the show's ninth and tenth seasons. In March 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported Frankel had signed a deal with MGM Television and its chairman, Mark Burnett, to produce and star in future unscripted television projects. In August of the same year, Frankel announced her departure from The Real Housewives of New York City. In 2020, Frankel starred in the HBO Max reality competition series titled The Big Shot with Bethenny, which she also co-produced alongside Burnett. The series featured "aspiring business moguls compete for a job on Frankel's executive team." The show underperformed, and in June 2021, Frankel announced she no longer had a deal with MGM Television. In 2022, the Jewish Journal named Frankel one of "The Top 10 Jewish Reality TV Stars of All Time".
Frankel created a pre-packaged margarita mix line named Skinnygirl Margarita in 2009. Skinnygirl was sold nationwide by April 2010, and landed Frankel a spot on Forbes' "10 Reality Stars Turned Entrepreneurs" list. This was the foundation product for Skinnygirl Cocktails. The cocktail line was sold to Beam Global for a reported $120 million in 2011. According to Forbes, Skinnygirl's success earned Frankel $55 million by May 2011, leading her to become the cover of the annual Forbes Celebrity 100 issue of that year, where she ranked at #42. Frankel kept the Skinnygirl brand name to sell a variety of foods including dips, shakes, candy, deli meat, sweeteners, jellies, popcorn, and salad dressings. She sells Skinnygirl shapewear, apparel, and accessories on the Home Shopping Network. Frankel developed a Skinnygirl cookware line sold at TJMaxx and Marshalls stores, which premiered in 2021.
In March 2009, Frankel's book, Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting, was published. The Skinnygirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life, was published in December of the same year. In spring 2010, she released an exercise DVD, Body by Bethenny, and an audiobook, The Skinnygirl Rules, which summarized her two prior books. In 2011, Frankel published A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life. In December 2012, she published a novel, Skinnydipping. She published five additional books including a children's book and additional self-help books.
While appearing on Shark Tank in 2017, Frankel partnered with entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary to invest $150,000 for 25% equity of the beverage company Snarky Tea. Around the end of 2025, Frankel launched a private dating platform called The Core. Following many years of various collaborations with many different companies and products, in June 2026, Frankel acquired a stake in haircare brand dpHUE and joined the company as chief brand officer, overseeing brand strategy, product innovation, marketing, consumer education, and retail expansion.
