Real Housewives of New York New Cast Members – Season 5

With the premier of RHONY coming June 4th, I got curious who was replacing Alex McCord and Jill Zarin.  I didn’t realize until I did the Google search that Cindy Barshop and Kelly Bensimon were also fired.  Can I get a Halleluiah that Kelly is not coming back?!!  For some reason I could always handle Alex’s crazy but not Kelly’s.  She drove me insane.   So who’s replacing these women and crazy enough to join Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, and Ramona Singer?

Here are their bios as listed on Bravotv.com:

Heather Thompson

 

A savvy and highly successful businesswoman, Heather Thomson is the creator of “Yummie by Heather Thomson,” a popular and innovative shapewear line. Fifteen years as a successful designer and stylist, she’s worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, and Tina Knowles and Sean “Diddy” Combs. She was the founding Design Director for his Sean John line, and is credited as a major force behind multiple CFDA award nominations. A married mother of two, Jax, 6, and Ella Rae, 4, the idea for Yummie by Heather Thomson was born shortly after having her children. Disappointed by existing shapewear, she set out to create something sexier, comfier, and “yummier.” She came up with the patented 3-panel system that is now Yummie Tummie’s signature. Since the launch of the original tank, Yummie by Heather Thomson has expanded into ready-to-wear and denim. In addition to her professional work, Heather supports several charitable initiatives including Kelllner Family Pediatric Liver Disease Foundation and City of Hope.

Carole Radziwill

Best-selling author and award-winning journalist Carole Radziwill grew up in upstate New York. She moved to New York City at age 18 to attend college, earning a Bachelor of Arts at Hunter College and a Masters degree at New York University. In 1988 she landed a life-changing internship at ABC News. It was the start of a long and rewarding career. Carole’s work with Peter Jennings’ documentary unit and the news magazine shows PrimeTime Live and 20/20 garnered her three EMMYs, a Robert F. Kennedy Humanitarian award, and a GLADD award. Carole has traveled all over the world for her work, reporting on hard-hitting stories from places like Cambodia, India, and the Middle East. She was stationed in Israel in 1991, to cover the first Gulf War. And in 2001, during the Afghanistan War, she spent a month documenting the 101st Airborne Division in Khandahar for the ABC docu-series Profiles From the Front Line. In 2003 Carole left ABC News to write her first book, What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love. It is a moving account of her life, her marriage to fellow ABC News producer Anthony Radziwill, and their heartbreaking battle with cancer. What Remains spent over 12 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List and was nominated for the “Books for a Better Life” award. Carole is a frequent contributor to Glamour magazine and her first novel, The Widow’s Guide to Sex & Dating, will be published in summer 2012.

Aviva Drescher

Aviva Drescher is the first and only New York City born and bred “Housewife” in the history of the show. At 5’10” with brains to match her beauty, this part-time socialite and full-time mother will let nothing hold her back. When Aviva was just six years-old, she was in a tragic farm accident, which resulted in the amputation of her left leg. Aviva has never let this tragedy define who she is. Aviva has a solid education. She received a Bachelors of Arts degree from Vassar College, a Masters degree in French from New York University, and then went on to earn a JD from The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Instead of practicing law, she devotes her time to her investment banker husband Reid and raising and educating their family of four children on the Upper East Side. Aviva continually teaches her family the importance of giving back through her philanthropic work as the National Spokesperson for One Step Ahead, an organization for amputees and as an Advisory Board Member of Cancer Schmancer/ Trash Cancer and for her work with the Live4Life Foundation.

So after reading their bios, I have to wonder… do these intelligent, beautiful women realize what they’ve signed up for?  They seem far too smart to be partaking in a Real Housewives show.  However, I am very excited about the new blood and maybe this will bring some more sophistication to the show (probably not).  Can’t wait for the season to begin, Monday, June 4th!!