Jill Zarin

Jill Zarin, the breakout star of Bravo's hugely successful The Real Housewives of New York City, is no ordinary Real Housewife. Her effervescent persona coupled with extensive philanthropic work has set her apart from her glamorous New York City cohorts.

Jill's devotion to charitable public health organization comes from personal experience. Both her daughter and step son have been diagnosed with Arthritic diseases. Jill has since made it her mission to raise money for Arthritis and bringing people together to learn about managing and living with this disease.

Additionally, Jill will be a a featured speaker at the 2009 Bone and Joint Decade Global Network Conference, Featured Speaker at HSBC Bank Women's Forum Speaker Series in October, voted one of 25 Most Stylish New Yorkers in US Weekly Sept 2009, Honoree at the MaryHaven Center of Hope Co-Chair of Help for Orphans, which raises money for schoolhouses in Kisi, Kenya. She is also an active participant in the Jeffrey Modell Foundation, People Reaching Out and many other charities.

Born and raised in Woodmere, New York, Jill graduated from Simmons College School of Retail Management. She began her career as Assistant Buyer at Filene's and also held positions as Vice President of Sales at Royce Hosiery and National Sales Manager/Vice President of Great American Knitting Mills Jockey division.

Jill joined her husband Bobby Zarin, owner of Zarin Fabrics and Home Furnishings, in managing the company after they got married. Jill serves as a senior executive at Zarin Fabrics and focuses on Sales and Marketing while her husband concentrates on their real estate businesses in New York, Las Vegas and Florida. When approached to star in the reality show "Real Housewives of New York City," Jill saw it as a great opportunity to expand the Zarin Fabrics brand. Through her expertise in textiles, Jill is also busy developing products for the Home market. Jill is also the Brand Spokesperson for Kodak.

Although Jill has proven herself to be a savvy businesswoman and philanthropist she is a dedicated mother, daughter and sister. She is currently writing her first novel with her mom, Gloria Kamen and her sister, radio host Lisa Wexler. The book, titled Secrets of a Jewish Mother, is expected to hit the shelves for Mother's Day 2010.

Jill is often asked how she does it all. Her answer: not always as perfectly as she would like! Her credo "you can have it all, just not at the same time" is the basis for her hugely popular weekly column on Hamptons.com called "Ask Jill." She also has a quarterly column in Hotel Magazine on fabric and trends and one of the most popular blogs on bravotv.com. Known for always speaking her mind, Zarin is an entertaining and powerful speaker and has quickly become one of the most charming personalities to emerge from reality television.