The following information is courtesy via Bravo TV's Official Press Release
Bravo Media returns to the city where the drama and fun are always the talk of the town with the premiere of “The Real Housewives of New York City” season 11 on Wednesday, March 6 at 9pm ET/PT. Returning this season are Bethenny Frankel, Dorinda Medley, Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, and Tinsley Mortimer, joined by friend Barbara Kavovit. As the ladies try to pick up the pieces after a tumultuous season marked by loss and struggle, new friendships are forged in the face of change. For a sneak peek of the series, visit: http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city/season-11/videos/your-first-look-at-season-11-of-the-real
This season, after the tragic death of her boyfriend Dennis, Bethenny struggles with conflicting emotions while unexpectedly meeting someone new. Fresh off her second stint in rehab after last year's relapse, Luann is committed to her new love: cabaret! But will she ever get back on track with Dorinda after being heckled at her debut? Meanwhile, Sonja is embracing her future by finally moving out of her beloved townhouse for a fresh perspective on the city she calls home. Looking for a fresh start, Dorinda moves into an apartment in midtown. But not all change is good, as she is forced to evaluate her friendship with Luann. Always the hopeless romantic, Tinsley is ready for the next step with Scott, but he may not be on the same page. Also on the love train, Ramona continues her search for Mr. Right, even when old flames threaten to throw her off course. And Barbara Kavovit, a good friend of Luann’s who stood by the former countess after her relapse, should fit right in as she is not afraid to speak her mind. Barbara is a successful businesswoman running her own construction company.
“The Real Housewives of New York City” is produced by Shed Media with Pam Healey, Lisa Shannon, Andrew Hoegl, Barrie Bernstein and John Paparazzo. Andy Cohen is also an Executive Producer.
Meet the housewives:
The runner up on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart led her to Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City, followed by the spin-off series, Bethenny Getting Married? and Bethenny Ever After... Viewers were captivated by her wit, wisdom and humor as they followed her personal life becoming a mother and her professional journey creating her Skinnygirl empire, leading to her being named one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities by Forbes magazine. She brought her distinct voice and candid point of view to Bethenny, her nationally syndicated daytime talk program. Most recently, Bethenny joined ABC-TV's Shark Tank as a guest shark.
A true entrepreneur, to further build Skinnygirl Cocktails, Bethenny partnered with Beam Suntory in 2011 to grow the portfolio to include wines, flavored vodkas, and ready-to-drink cocktails. Since the launch of Skinnygirl Cocktails, she has expanded the Skinnygirl brand into a global lifestyle empire, featuring products for women that offer practical and stylish solutions to everyday problems. With the arrival of the Skinnygirl Jeanswear collection, fully embracing the Skinnygirl mission of female empowerment, we can all proudly display our inner Skinnygirl. Some of the many other Skinnygirl products include non-alcoholic beverages, microwave popcorn, candy, salad dressings, coffee, tea, liquid sweeteners, water enhancers, and shapewear.
Bethenny started her own TV production company, B Real Productions, producing two seasons of FYI's Food Porn, and is a creator, producer and star of Bravo's new real estate show, Bethenny and Frederik.
She is the five-time New York Times bestselling author of Skinnydipping, A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out Of Life, Naturally Thin: Unleash Your Skinnygirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting, The Skinnygirl™ Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life, and I Suck At Relationships So You Don't Have To. She has also authored Skinnygirl Solutions: Simple Ideas, Extraordinary Results, the children's book, Cookie Meets Peanut, and the cocktail book, Skinnygirl Cocktails.
Not fulfilled with business alone, Bethenny's life's experiences have inspired her to help other women in crisis find their own strength and resilience with the launch of B Strong, in partnership with Dress for Success. B Strong: Find Your Yes is a crisis intervention initiative that will provide real time emergency assistance to women who face crises on their road to success. Additionally, Bethenny established "B Strong / Delivering Good" in partnership with the highly respected 501C3, Delivering Good, as well as "B Strong Global Better," collecting aid and donations from across the country to help women and their families affected by the recent natural disasters impacting Texas, Florida, California and the Caribbean. As a result of Bethenny's efforts, B Strong has marshaled over 10 million pounds of aid to date that is destined primarily for Puerto Rico. Bethenny helped coordinate the chartering of 55+ private planes to help deliver aid and relief to those hit hardest by the disaster. Raising over $800,000 for cash cards, and collecting $20 million worth of disaster relief to distribute, this has been called one of the largest privately run humanitarian efforts in US history.
After the tragic loss of their beloved Richard in 2011, Dorinda and Hannah found strength in each other and in their loved ones to overcome the radical changes of losing a husband, friend, companion, and father figure. Through perseverance and support from her close friends, Dorinda climbed right back to the top of New York society, eventually meeting boyfriend John Mahdessian, owner of New York's legendary couture restoration house Madame Paulette. Dorinda is always directing her energy and focus into her home, family and friends, church, social engagements, and love for pop culture. She continuously gives back to her favorite charitable organizations like BeautyforFreedom.org, the JoyJ Initiative, Ronald McDonald House, NYLovesKids.org, Gabrielle's Angel Foundation, and Lenox Garden Society. Dorinda's passion for entertaining was deeply enhanced with the purchase of Blue Stone Manor, a nine-bedroom Stanford White estate in her native Great Barrington. Nothing gives Dorinda more pleasure than a weekend or holiday spent with great company, home-cooked meals, and the festive, personal touches she is known for. She enjoys the theater, the beach, the mountains, fabulous parties, a great dirty martini, and all types of fashion—both high-end and high-street—and considers all of her pieces collector's items. There's never enough glitz, glam, and sparkle for this true New York City Housewife.
Luann authored the book Class with the Countess: How to Live with Elegance & Flair and is currently working on a follow-up. Her globally known dance hits "Money Can't Buy You Class," "Chic C'est La Vie," and "Girl Code" resulted in her own Pandora station. Recently, Luann launched the Countess Luann collection with SuperJeweler, inspired by her love of statement pieces. Her two children, Victoria and Noel, are both accomplished artists and entrepreneurs.
Luann continues to challenge herself and expand her horizons with frequent hosting and guest appearances on shows like the Today Show, The View, Steve Harvey, Wendy Williams, The Talk, Dr. Oz, Access Hollywood, and others. She appeared as a guest star on the popular Hulu show Difficult People, and fans can still see her in airings of Law & Order: SVU, alongside Mariska Hargitay.
This past year, Luann made her cabaret debut with her show #COUNTESSANDFRIENDS with sold out shows at Feinstein's 54 Below in New York City, sparking her to take her show on tour visiting cities coast to coast. The national tour continues to sell out.
A champion of many charities, including God's Love We Deliver, the American Cancer Society, GLAAD, and ACE Partnership for the Homeless, Luann currently divides her time between her homes in New York City, Upstate New York, and the Hamptons.
At an early age, Ramona had a passion for fashion and later attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she was the first graduate of the four-year honors program, earning a BS in marketing. Ramona began her career in the elite Macy's executive training program as a buyer and continued it in sales management for major fashion companies such as Calvin Klein and French Connection. When she was 30, her entrepreneurial spirit arose, and she launched her own company dealing in closeout merchandise, working with some of the largest retailers. Once that spirit was ignited, Ramona continued to develop it by branching into the wine and accessory industry with the launch of the True Faith jewelry collection with HSN and her Ramona Pinot Grigio and Ramona Red. Her fashion prowess and creative direction can now be seen through her creation of jewelry pieces for Safe Horizon, a charity empowering victims of violence to move from crisis to confidence. All proceeds will be donated to Safe Horizon.
Ramona is passionate about her charity work, especially supporting women and children who are victims of domestic abuse, after the abuse she witnessed her own mother enduring. Ramona has always been a strong believer that children are the future and became involved with Africa Foundation/And Beyond, which helps build schools for children in Africa. Ever the optimist, Ramona has taken all of the recent developments in her life and made the most out of them. She is happily single and is focused on healthy living and spending time with her daughter, Avery. After renovating her Manhattan residence and her Hamptons residence all on her own, Ramona is now listing her luxurious NYC apartment to sell and looks forward to downsizing.
As a divorced single mother, Sonja dedicates her time to her 16-year-old daughter, her businesses, and her philanthropy, which includes work with children, artists, the LGBT community, and animals. A lover of the arts, Sonja enjoys producing, writing, and performing her inspirational "caburlesque" song skits at her Sonja in the City events that benefit her charities. Sonja received one of her first awards in 1990 at the St. Regis for being a Singular Sensation for her charity work as a young single woman alongside Vanessa Noel and Mira Sorvino. She received a New York State Senate award in July 2013 for her entrepreneurial business savvy, her use of the media, and again her charity work. She was interviewed on those topics and her "Philanthrocapitalism" by The Economist magazine at the New York Stock Exchange for Bloomberg TV. In October 2016 she made her Off-Broadway acting debut in Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man, in which Sonja was able to play her alter-ego in the character of a sexually repressed teacher while still incorporating her signature bawdy, sexy sense of humor that viewers know her for. Sonja's motto remains "Live each day as if you have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
Tinsley made her television debut in the season premiere of Gossip Girl in 2010, but after she and Topper divorced, she decided to take a sabbatical from the fast-paced and overwhelming lifestyle that she created for herself in New York City. A respite in Palm Beach gave her time to reflect on her accomplishments, and in late 2016, Tinsley decided to move back to New York City and prove that there is more to her than meets the eye.
The Real Housewives of New York City Season 11 premieres on Wednesday, March 6 at 9pm/8c on Bravo!
Source/Photo Credit: Bravo
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