Kelly Bensimon

Kelly Killoren Bensimon is an author, model, jewelry designer, and former editor of Elle Accessories. In 2009, she appeared in the Bravo TV series The Real Housewives of New York City. Kelly was born in 1969, and raised in Rockford, Illinois. She began working as a model at the age of 15, where she formed friendships with many of the designers, models and editors who were to become the fashion industry's best-known names. Killoren was the third wife of French fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon, who was formerly International Creative Director of ELLE magazine; the couple have two daughters, born in 1999 and 2001. The couple divorced in January 2006, and the former Mrs. Bensimon now resides in New York City and East Hampton.

Killoren Bensimon attended Columbia University, where she graduated with a BA in English Literature. She then began writing for Hamptons magazine. While there, she was responsible for two fashion columns "In the Spirit of the Hamptons" and "Most Wanted." Her column initiated the "In the spirit of..." series for vanity press publisher Assouline although the publisher does not releases sales figures. She then helped Niche Media create and launch Gotham magazine in 2001. She remains an editor at large for Hamptons and Gotham magazines. She was named Editor of Elle Accessories in 2005 when she created and launched the magazine with the Fall issue.

Author of In The Spirit of the Hamptons (year 2002) and American Style (year 2004), Kelly also wrote The Bikini Book, (2006), a 400 page tome which explores the history of the bikini, and the swimsuit's 60th anniversary.

For the Fall 2006 fashion shows held in New York, Kelly was the host of the IMG fashion week, where she interviewed designers, celebrities, and models. During the summer of 2006, Kelly hosted the IMG swim shows in Miami and opened the LYCRA show. In the Fall, Kelly was the spokesperson for WOOL and traveled across America with Conde Nast and Dillards to host menswear events. She was also the ambassador for spring 2007 Mercedes Benz Fashion week in New York City.

Kelly has been a "friend" of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2004. A portion of the proceeds of her book, American Style and The Bikini book, were directed to the Costume Institute.

On March 7, 2009 Kelly joined the cast as the "new housewife" on Bravo's second season of The Real Housewives of New York City. She is a supporter of Feeding America, and donates time to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kelly Bensimon is available for speaking engagements, hosting and autograph signings.