Kelly Jean Killoren Bensimon (born May 1, 1968)[1] is an American real estate agent, author, a former Editor of Elle Accessories, and a former model. She appeared as a full-time cast member on the Bravo television series The Real Housewives of New York City from seasons 2 to 4.
Kelly Killoren Bensimon | |
|---|---|
 Bensimon at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival | |
| Born | Kelly Jean Killoren May 1, 1968 Rockford, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Kelly Bensimon |
| Education | Trinity College, Connecticut Columbia University (BA) Northeastern University (MBA) |
| Occupation(s) | Model, entrepreneur, author, television personality, real estate broker |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Known for | The Real Housewives of New York City |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Sea Bensimon Thaddeus Bensimon |
Early life
editKelly Jean Killoren[2] was born in Rockford, Illinois.[1] She began working as a model while in her teens.[1]
Education
editKelly graduated from Keith Country Day School, a college prep academy in Rockford, Illinois before attending college. She attended Trinity College, Connecticut, but left after a year.[3] She graduated in 1998 from Columbia's School of General Studies for non-traditional students, with a degree in Literature and Writing. She completed an MBA with a focus on International Marketing at Northeastern University in 2015.[3][4][5]
Career
editAs a model, she appeared in magazines such as Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Harper's Bazaar, and she was once the face of Clarins. She appeared on the cover and in a six-page pictorial in the March 2010 edition of Playboy, which was photographed by her ex-husband Gilles Bensimon. In September 2011, Killoren Bensimon was on the cover of Shape and was featured in a pictorial based on her exercise routine.
She has worked as a host of various events including IMG fashion week, and of the IMG swim shows in Miami. She was a spokesperson in 2006 for Wool as part of their Test Marketing Productions (TMP).[6] Bensimon hosted and modeled in menswear events with GQ magazine. She was also an "ambassador" for Spring 2007 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week[7] in New York City.
Killoren Bensimon has had several jewelry collections. Her first line of jewelry was sold exclusively at Barneys New York. Her second line of jewelry was sold at Bloomingdale's in fall 2007. On June 24, 2010, Killoren Bensimon announced the launch of her fourth jewelry collection, Kelly by Kelly Killoren Bensimon. The collection included mixed metals, leather, feathers and crystals and was sold at Intermix stores across the U.S. to support Feeding America.[8] For spring 2011, Bensimon's jewelry collection was sold at Wink, W Hotels, and Dash. She also sold a jewelry collection on HSN. In 2013, she launched a fragrance, In the Spirit of, and a candle line called Baiser Rose. In 2019, she launched an outerwear line called Enville by Pologeorgis.
Her television career most notably includes Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City (seasons 2-4), which she joined in 2009 as a full cast member. She stirred controversy while on a cast trip to the island of Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands in the season 3 episode titled "Sun, Sand and Psychosis".[9][10] Killoren Bensimon appeared on Bravo's Odd Mom Out in episodes 9 and 10 of season 2. She also appeared on WEtv's reality series Million Dollar Matchmaker. Killoren Bensimon starred in the fourth season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, a spin-off featuring various women from The Real Housewives franchise, which premiered in December 2023 on Peacock.
Killoren Bensimon has also worked as a writer, producing three books for Assouline Publishing: In the Spirit of the Hamptons (2 volumes), American Style, and The Bikini Book. A portion of the author's proceeds were donated to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her fourth book, I Can Make You Hot, was published by St. Martin's Press in April 2012. A portion of the author's proceeds were donated to Generositywater.org.[citation needed] In June 2016, Simon & Schuster published Bensimon's novel, A Dangerous Age.[11] In August 2017, Killoren launched the sequel The Second Course, an odyssey about the food world. She is a style columnist for the newspaper AM New York.[12] She is the editor at large for Hamptons Magazine,[13] a free weekly with circulation of 40,000 to 50,000 and Gotham Magazine.[14] Both publications are owned by Niche Media. She became the founding editor of Elle Accessories, but left after two issues.
After obtaining her real estate agent's license, Killoren joined Dolly Lenz Realty in New York in 2018.[15] She moved to the Douglas Elliman real estate group in 2019.[citation needed] She has also made numerous appearances on Million Dollar Listing New York.
Personal life
editKilloren Bensimon was married to fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon until the couple divorced in 2007.[1][16] They have two daughters, Sea Louise, born in 1998, and Thaddeus Ann, born in 2000. In August 2017, ten years after her divorce, Killoren Bensimon explained in a video that she would be dropping her ex-husband's last name, and would again be using the name Kelly Killoren.[17]
On March 5, 2009, Killoren Bensimon was arrested on allegations of domestic violence and assault against her ex-boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend alleged that she punched him in the face during an argument. Killoren Bensimon entered into a plea agreement with the State of New York, under which she was required to perform two days of community service.[18][19]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Kelly Bensimon Bio". UsMagazine.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ^ "Kelly Jean Killoren". Geneanet.org.
- ^ a b Wilson, Eric (May 18, 2006). "Bikinis, Breakups and the Glam Game". New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
- ^ Radziejewski, W. J. (April 1996). "Of All The Reasons To Interrupt An Education" (PDF). School of General Studies, Columbia University. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2007.
- ^ "Kelly Killoren Bensimon". LinkedIn.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
- ^ "Test Marketing Productions - Dillards Program" (PDF). Test Marketing Productions - Dillards. October 2006.
- ^ [1] Archived February 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Real NY Housewife Kelly Bensimon Debuts Feather-Filled Jewelry Line". UsMagazine.com. June 24, 2010. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010.
- ^ What Really Happened on Scary Island? Looking Back at the Memorable RHONY Vacation
- ^ Why 'Scary Island' Is Still The Most Iconic RHONY Episode
- ^ Killoren, Kelly; Difalco, Teresa (February 28, 2017). A Dangerous Age. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781501136139.
- ^ Gordon, Julie. "Ask Kelly: Submit your style Qs to Kelly Killoren Bensimon". AM New York. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "Hampton's Magazine - Contact Us". Hamptons Magazine. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- ^ "Gotham Magazine - Contact Us". Gotham Magazine. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- ^ "Kelly Killoren Bensimon Has a Brand-New Career". Bravotv.com. March 2, 2018.
- ^ Jade Watkins (May 14, 2012). "They could be sisters! Youthful Kelly Bensimon and her fashionable mini-me daughter cuddle up for Mother's Day".
- ^ "Bensimon Is Going by a Different Name These Days". Bravotv.com. August 23, 2017.
- ^ "'Real Housewives of New York City' star Kelly Killoren Bensimon arrested for assault". Daily News (New York). March 10, 2009.
- ^ "Community Service Deal For Kelly Bensimon". Gothamist. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.