Bethenny Frankel was born and raised in New York City.
Frankel is a self-described religious "mutt." Her father is Jewish and her mother was Catholic, but converted to Judaism before she married her father. But after her parents were divorced, her mother sent her to Catholic schools.[1] That all amounts to Frankel not feeling particularly connected to any religion. She wrote,
I'm not particularly religious. I am spiritual; I do believe in what is right and wrong, in energy, in karma, and that what you put out there you get back.[2]
That didn't stop Frankel from baptizing her daughter in the Catholic church, the religion of her husband. Referring to her husband's faith, she said about the baptism,
I'm not all that comfortable with religion but I do value rituals, family, and tradition. Jason does walk the walk in his religion, so it was only right that we respect that.[3]
So, it looks like she's in the spiritual, non-religious, respectful of religion category. I wonder if her daughter will feels as confused as she is?
Skinnygirl Politics
Frankel is thoroughly a Democrat. She supports Obama, and even sounded a little starstruck when talking about meeting him.[4] After Obama endorsed gay marriage, she tweeted,
History in the making: @BarackObama is the 1st Pres. to openly support gay marriage (during an election year). Well played, Mr. President.[5]
And she pays attention too. She apparently watched all the presidential debates in 2012, and even the vice-presidential one–granted, most of her comments on Twitter were about Joe Biden's "Chiclet teeth" and not policy.[6] She also showed her support for the animal rights movement by posing naked for PETA's anti-fur campaign, but when asked about it, she talked more about how good she looked than the ethical treatment of animals.[7]
Even though she clearly thinks politics are important, she doesn't necessarily think they are more important than she is. Understandably. I mean, she's got a business empire to maintain. When news of the Supreme Court's favorable ruling about the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, interrupted her talk show, she was not pleased. Referring to a segment about her new baby, she tweeted,
I'm hearing that the news interrupted the show and ur all so aggravated! Me too! Please tell me that you saw the part with Bryn![8]
I guess her ability to provide health insurance for her daughter was not hinging on that decision. But, her liberal values still shine through her ego, even if they're not always on top.
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