kelly killoren bensimon

8/14/2019 Kelly Killoren Bensimon

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kelly-killoren-bensimon 1/422 • Resident The Week Of March 3, 2009

N e w K i d o n t he Bl oc kKe l l y K i l loren Bens imon jo ins t he cast o f Real

H ousew ives o f N ew Y or

Good look s. Grea t par ties.An e xci ting career

. Model- turned-mom Kell y Killoren Bensimon has a lo t to smile abou t. B

f orge t the gli t z and glamour. For this Manha t tan mom — who recen tly joined B

ra vo’s Real Housew iv es of New Y ork City f o

the sho w’s second season — i t’s the simple things tha t reall y m

a t ter. — H eat her C orcora


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kelly-killoren-bensimon 2/4Resident The Week Of March 3, 2009 • 23

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his is our family issue, andI know you’re the motherof two little girls. Tell me alittle bit about your family?

I have two amazing girls; one[Thadeus] is 8 and one [Sea]is 10. I gave birth to both of

them in New York City and welive between New York and theHamptons. They go to schoolhere, most of their activities arehere. They go to school uptown,we live downtown …

Like a lot of Manhattan moms, you balance kids and acareer. How?

My career is like the new, modern career — I don’t work in an of-ce, so I have a lot of exibility. It’s basically taking everything thatcomes this way and maximizing. For example, I started a magazinecalled Elle Accessories, and I love accessories, so I decided to createmy own line, because I realized there was a huge void in the market.

Here I was, telling all these women across America, “Mix it up; bea chameleon,” but really didn’t see that there were any options forthese woman to do that. So I decided to create a line of jewelry thatwould make women, if they wanted to look like a ’70s rock star theycould do that, if they wanted to be more elegant like a ’50s moviestar, they could be like that. Just a line that was really my favoritepieces, but that were fun and sexy and transitional.

Any tips for other mothers who are trying todo it all?

I think one of the biggest things in order to bal-ance work and family is to not try to balance work andfamily. Just wake up in the morning and go for it andhave a good time. They say that you create your own

memories … so if I’m creating my own memories, Idon’t want to remember the bad ones. I’d rather havefun. This morning we were reading all these little Rob-ert Frost poems to my kids, and Mr. Peabody’s Apples, thatMadonna wrote.

Now you’re the newest cast member of theReal Housewives of New York . How’d thathappen?

I was already in the Bravo family; I was up foranother show with Tim Gunn. Then the executive producer said,“You know what, we would really love to explore your life.” So theyinterviewed me and asked me to be one of the housewives. At rst, Ihadn’t seen the show, so this whole idea of reality TV was something

that I thought was disingenuous, I didn’t think that it was reallytrue. I decided: If I’m going to be on the show, then I’m going to becompletely authentic and genuine, not watch the show, and just bemyself. I wanted to show other single, working moms, that you canhave it all. Having children and being single is a luxury. I don’t think of it as baggage, I think of it as the ultimate luxury.

From top: Sea, Kelly and Thadeus “Teddy” Bensimon; a modeling shot;

the cover of Bensimon’s book on bikinis; with the cast of Real Housewives

of New York City .



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The idea o totally being yoursel, that’s really cool… When people describe me, they always describe me as genuine.

That’s exactly who I am; there’s absolutely not one disingenuous

bone in my body. I’m very true to myself, to my friends. I’m nice tothe doorman; I’m nice to the president. I really couldn’t care less. Ireact to you. If you’re nice to me; I’m nice to you.

You’re the frst to say you’re not a housewie, or asocialite.

They call me a socialite. I wrote a book on American style andthe ultimate American sociali te is Nan Kempner. So if they’re saying I’m like Nan Kempner … thank you! I don’t have a similar lifestyleto her, but I’m attered that people think of me in a way that I’mrepresenting New York’s social situation. I’m lucky enough to be ableto go to all these fun parties, and meet these interesting people, sothat, I think, is lucky. I’m a luckyite; I’m not a socialite.

When you went on the show, did you have to prepare yourdaughters at all?

No. In fact, we walk down the street all the time, and I say tothem, “Does the show have anything to do with us walking down thestreet?” No. “Does the show have anything to do with how much Ilove you?” No. “Does the show have anything to do with how muchwe love our dogs?” No. “So what’s the big deal? It’s like when mom-my writes a book, does it have anything to do with Sea and Teddy?”No. “Am I doing anything that’s harmful or hurtful to myself or toothers?” No. So we’re good. I have a very strong code.

The second season is just starting to air. How do you ft in?The one thing that’s great about the show is it really portrays one of

the big luxuries about living in New York: that it is a melting pot and

it is all these different walks of life. It shows Ramona from Rhinebeck,and it shows LuAnn from Connecticut, and it shows Jill from Long Island, and it shows Bethenny from New York and me from outside of Chicago. I think more exciting than getting along with the friends is

just exploring New York through different eyes. That’s the most evoca-tive character on New York Housewives, New York.

How would you describe the other “wives?”They’re Type-A, unique, dynamic individuals. That’s what New

York is lled with, and that’s what makes New York so exciting. It’sever-changing and ever-evolving.

Having your lie documented in the media, what lessonsdo you hope your daughters learn by watching you?

I hope that they see their mom not engaging in fodder and rising above it. I’m not snarky; I don’t gossip. If I don’t like something I’m

very straightforward about it: I don’t like this, please change, or, let’smove on. I’m like the non-housewife. I work, I live downtown, I’mwith my kids all the time. I’m a different kind of housewife.

Right now the recession is on everyone’s minds. You writea lot about New York and Hamptons society, how do yousee the recession aecting the city?

I see this recession as an amazing opportunity to do things thatare important. Spend time with your kids, pick up your kids

Kelly’s Shopping List Th fashinista sha h picks f shpping andnttainmnt in Nw Yk and th Hamptns

I love French Sole, I buy all my shoes there. I really likeMarc Jacobs a lot. I loveTracy Feith. I love Cartier,except Cartier doesn’t loveme, because their prices are

too expensive. I really likeCalypso. In the Hamptons, Ilove the Monogram Shop; I

love Ralph Lauren.My kids, most o their

things are rom Ralph Lauren.I’m an American; I love theAmerican amily. Not neces-sarily super-traditional, butalways well-maintained andwell-groomed. I like whenkids always look neat.

Every single year it’s my daughter’s birthday, we always go to the Costume Institute and we always go through whateveshow is happening at the Met. Aterwards we go to HelloKitty. I take like eight o her riends and we get a car and we

just fy all over the city going to all these un spots. It’s just excit

ing and educational. It’s exactly what New York is; these amazinplaces in a sound bite.

For a night on the town … like Delicatessen. One o mgreat riends owns this restauranCharles I love. I love Fat Cat,love to drink un beer and play PingPong. I eat at the Mercer Kitchena lot, I like Lure. I like downtownI like things that are more relaxingMost people when they go out odinner, they’re all dressed up. I lik

to wear jeans and a T-shirt. I juwant to go someplace where I ca

have something really yummy toeat and just enjoy the person tha

I’m with, becaus that’s really wI’m going out. Mavorite place togo out is just tostay in, to stay iwith my kids.

Kelly Killoren BensimonContinued from page 22



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instead of having someone else pick them up. Go to the local barand play a game of pool with your friends instead of going out todinner. Money doesn’t bring you laughter; money doesn’t bring youlove. It’s just a vehicle that helps facilitate a certain kind of l ifestyle.Someone that is having a great time is having a great time whether

they’re rich or poor, and I think that’s one of the great things aboutthis time. A cartwheel doesn’t cost a dollar. And neither does a smile.There’s no price on that.

You’re raising a family in New York. What makes NYC agreat place for kids to grow up?

It’s an electric, magnetic city. It’s an amazing environment forchildren to be raised in because you have access to the Met, theMoMA, the Guggenheim, Central Park. You have restaurants likeSweetie Pie, where you can get ice cream sandwiches for $100, and

you can go on the street and get a hotdog for a dollar.

I know you travel a lot. Where are your favorite places togo with the girls?

I always say New York is where I work and the Hamptons iswhere I live. I love the Hamptons; I spend a lot of time there. Thereare obviously other places around the country that I love to be. Butif you ask me what I like to do, I like to bike ride with my kids downthe street. That’s what I love to do.

Even with your busy schedule, you always manage to lookfabulous. Do you have any quick style tips for moms on the go?

Always have a great hair colorist. I get my hair colored at AKS. Ican be in a T-shirt, I can be in a beautiful dress, but if my hair looksgood and it’s clean, then it sets the tone for everything else.

Now I’ve read yourfavorite question to ask ininterviews is: “If you couldbe someone else, who

would it be?” So …

I’d be Peggy Guggenheim.She was married to Yves Kleinand she brought all the AbstractImpressionists from Europe,during the War, to the Hamp-tons. I love that she was a pio-neer. She had all this money andinstead of being like, I’m going to be rich and go to Chanel andhave 15,000 dresses made, she took all these artists, she saved theilives, and she was basically the backbone of what we call modernart today. I really like people that are out of the box. I really likpeople that think differently and are helpful, I nd that to be reallyevocative.

What’s next for you?I’m working on my different projects. What I really want to do

with everything that’s been happening with Housewives is to be ablto build a charity that my children will be able to take on later. Thatreally the main focus for me is to create awareness and build a namso I can do something great for my kids.

See more of Kelly on The Real Housewives of New YorkCity, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Bravo

Kelly Killoren BensimonContinued from page 24

Kelly with (l to r) Ally Shapiro and LuAnn de Lesseps; (right) at a fashion show.

kelly killoren bensimon

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