Kelly Bensimon

Kelly Jean Killoren Bensimon is an American real estate agent, television personality, and former model. She is best known for appearing as a full-time cast member on the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of New York City from seasons 2 through 4, joining the show in 2009.

Born in Rockford, Illinois, she began working as a model during her teenage years. She graduated from Keith Country Day School in Rockford before attending Trinity College in Connecticut, which she left after one year. In 1998, she graduated from Columbia University's School of General Studies with a degree in literature and writing. She later earned a Master of Business Administration with a focus on international marketing from Northeastern University in 2015.

During her career as a model, she appeared in publications such as Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Harper's Bazaar, and served as the face of Clarins. She was featured on the cover and in a pictorial for Playboy in March 2010, photographed by Gilles Bensimon, and appeared on the cover of Shape in September 2011. Her hosting and promotional work includes hosting IMG fashion week events and IMG swim shows in Miami, hosting and modeling menswear events with GQ, serving as a spokesperson for Wool in 2006, and acting as an ambassador for New York City's Spring 2007 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

She has launched multiple commercial lines, beginning with a jewelry collection sold exclusively at Barneys New York and a second line sold at Bloomingdale's in 2007. In 2010, she launched her fourth collection, Kelly by Kelly Killoren Bensimon, sold at Intermix stores to benefit Feeding America, followed by collections sold at Wink, W Hotels, Dash, and HSN. She launched the fragrance In the Spirit of and the candle line Baiser Rose in 2013, as well as the outerwear line Enville by Pologeorgis in 2019.

Her television appearances include a guest role on Odd Mom Out, participating in Million Dollar Matchmaker, and co-starring in season 4 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, which premiered in December 2023. She has also appeared on Million Dollar Listing New York. In February 2026, she was announced as a cast member for the E! reality series The Golden Life, set in Palm Beach, Florida.

As a writer, she authored three books for Assouline Publishing, donating a portion of proceeds to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She published I Can Make You Hot in 2012, donating proceeds to Generositywater.org, followed by her novel A Dangerous Age in 2016 and its sequel The Second Course in 2017. Her journalism work includes serving as a style columnist for AM New York, editor-at-large for Hamptons Magazine and Gotham Magazine, and founding editor of Elle Accessories.

In real estate, she joined Dolly Lenz Realty in 2018 after earning her license and moved to Douglas Elliman in 2019. She was married to photographer Gilles Bensimon until their 2007 divorce, and they have two daughters, Sea Louise and Thaddeus Ann. In 2017, she stated she would revert to using Kelly Killoren. In March 2009, she was arrested following allegations of domestic violence against an ex-boyfriend, later entering a plea agreement requiring two days of community service.