BETHENNY FRANKEL

Who is Bethenny Frankel? The charismatic TV personality who glows with health and exudes an exciting energy is much more than one of the stars on Bravo's number-one freshman series, The Real Housewives of New York City. Bethenny is also a natural food chef whose number-one goal is to democratize health, making it accessible, balanced and sustainable for everyone, not just the A-list celebrities and Hollywood elite that enjoy her signature baked goods and personal chef services. "Not everybody can afford a private chef and a nutrition team," Bethenny says. "I barely have time to cook for myself." Yet, Bethenny believes everyone wants and deserves to have a healthy, balanced life. Many people simply don't know where to begin. Whether educating people on how to stock the refrigerator and pantry while going green and maximizing health, or demonstrating easy, quick, and health-consciously delicious cooking techniques, Bethenny always delivers her message in an approachable, humorous way.

Bethenny has built a reputation for creating healthy foods that never compromise on taste. After graduating from The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts in New York, Bethenny's passion for health and healing combined with her innovative culinary skills inspired her to create BethennyBakesR, a line of low fat, wheat, egg and dairy free baked goods launching in supermarkets nationwide. Bethenny has also been featured in dozens of publications and television shows, and writes a monthly column for Health Magazine, in her capacity as the publication's health expert. She appears frequently on television to discuss various health, diet and fitness issues. Her recipes and health tips can also be found on ehow.com where she is their popular health expert. Bethenny has aligned with brands such as Pepperidge Farm, Tupperware, and Cascade to incorporate her realistic health goals and knowledge into their corporate message and charity efforts. In addition, each year, Bethenny hosts Chefdance, a 10-day culinary event during the Sundance Film Festival in which Bethenny selects ten acclaimed chef to host their own meal to be served to Hollywood's elite. This is Bethenny's pride and joy as it marries entertainment, food, snowboarding and film.

She is open about her past. Bethenny grew up in an environment of alcoholism, abuse, bulimia, cigarette smoking and gambling, and that is just the beginning of her story. Always honest, forthright, and open about how her past has molded her future, Bethenny has taken a challenging past and used it to shape an exciting future. "Life is a marathon, not a sprint. It's about the journey, not the destination, and that's where I focus," Bethenny says.
Communicating her simple and user-friendly healthy messages have gained her acclaim as an approachable, reputable, and always accessible chef. Between filming "Housewives" and making personal appearances, Bethenny recently penned a new book, NATURALLY THIN (in stores January 2009), which will unleash and unshackle readers from a lifetime of dieting. Her ten tried-and-true rules, combined with a seven-day program that helps incorporate those rules into real life, can help anyone alleviate toxic "food noise," freeing up the mind and body to find balance and return to its naturally thin state, without ever dieting again. In fact, Bethenny believes diets not only don't work but are dangerous and foster an attitude in which people don't take responsibility for their own lives. NATURALLY THIN helps readers turn that attitude around so that they, like Bethenny herself, can reshape their futures along with their bodies.

As Bethenny continues to run her personal life marathon and pursue her mission to democratize health, she will continue to create products and informational resources for real women in the real world. Most recently, she developed a drink called the "Skinny Girl Margarita" which has been one of the most popular topics on the Bravo website and has inspired her next, lighthearted pursuit, a book called The Skinny Girl's Guide to Cocktails. Watch for it in stores soon.

Bethenny currently lives in New York with her dog Cookie and spends her free time snowboarding, surfing, rollerblading or doing yoga. Stay tuned for more Bethenny news, because with Bethenny Frankel, every new day is a new opportunity to spread the word.