Bethenny Frankel (born November 4, 1970) is an American television personality, author and entrepreneur. She founded the drink company Skinnygirl Cocktails, authored four self-help books and hosted an eponymous talk show, Bethenny. Frankel has appeared on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, The Real Housewives of New York City, Shark Tank, "Bethenny and Fredrik” and was the subject of the reality television series Bethenny Ever After. Bethenny Frankel Early life of Bethenny Frankel Frankel is the only child of Robert J. Frankel, a horse trainer, and Bernadette Birk, an interior designer. Her father was Jewish and her mother was a Roman Catholic of Welsh descent, who converted to Judaism when the couple married. Her father left her mother when Frankel was four years old. When she was five, her mother married another horse trainer, John Parisella. Frankel describes her childhood as difficult. Her biological father stopped supporting the family and her mo...