Bethenny Frankel (born November 4, 1970) is an American reality television personality, entrepreneur, and author. She rose to prominence as a contestant on the reality competition series "", in which she was the runner-up, in 2005. She later became a main cast member in the Bravo reality television series "The Real Housewives of New York City"; she has starred in eight of its twelve seasons since its premiere in 2008. She also starred in her own spin-off series "Bethenny Ever After" (2010–2012), "Bethenny & Fredrik" (2018), and the daytime talk show "Bethenny" (2013–2014).