Jeanne’s Bio

Jeanne Benedict is fast becoming a household name and face! Benedict’s popularity has been on the rise since the success of her first book and a four season run as the host / chef / designer of the TV theme party show, Weekend Entertaining, on the DIY network.

Plus, TV viewers know Jeanne from over 100 appearances as a lifestyle / party expert and chef on shows such as The TODAY Show, Live with Regis & Kelly, The Ellen Degeneres Show, The CBS Saturday Early Show, The Bonnie Hunt Show, and many more (complete list upon request from in-studio segments to satellite tours).

Jeanne’s first book, The Sophisticated Cookie, was published by Penguin-Putnam, Inc. in September 1998, and she followed up with creative cookbooks and lifestyle guides titled, Sophisticated Entertaining (Oct. 2000) and Celebrations (Nov. 2001). In 2003 she came out with, Pregnant For 100 Years, a collection of hysterical one-liners and pre-mom pregnancy tales.

Jeanne is a sought after spokesperson with clients and PR firms repeating and continuing campaigns to include her talents. To kick off 2010, Jeanne will be wrapping up a venture with NUVO Liqueur and beginning a partnership with Flings Bins and SAF (Society of American Florists).

For 2009, Jeanne worked with Del Monte at a high profile blogging event in NYC and then participated in a Satellite Media Tour for 2Kplay’s Wii Game Birthday Party Bash. The SMT was so successful that Jeanne was asked to do an 8-City Ground Media Tour. The end of 2009 marked a real highlight in her spokesperson career when she traveled to North Pole, Alaska for a holiday SMT Co-Op with Santa sponsored by Smartbox, Tide, 2KPlay, Dawn, Izzy!

In 2008, 2007, and 2004, Jeanne was the spokesperson for a Prilosec OTC campaign as a tailgating expert along with football legend and TV sports analyst Phil Simms and country music star Clint Black. For 2007, she teamed up with Country Crock participating in media tours and as a consultant, content creator, and host of videos for their website. In Spring 2005, Jeanne partnered with Michael’s Arts & Crafts in a national media tour for their new book on paper-crafts.  Other ongoing partnerships or past relationships have been with Vtech, Kodak, Nancy’s Frozen Appetizers, Vanity Fair Tableware, RIT Dye, Future Foods, and C&H Sugar where her fun how-to video, Gingerbread House Party was offered on 6,000,000 sugar boxes.

In August 2007, Jeanne joined Celebrations.com, a venture from 1-800-Flowers®, as a Contributing Editor and Lifestyle Party Expert where she writes weekly articles, answers community questions, participates in media and content share ops, hosts videos, and hosts their monthly Blog Talk Radio show.  The article topics and her media talking points have ranged from Kid’s Parties to Wine Tasting to Holiday Affairs, showing her versatility and authority on entertaining.

Jeanne’s on line presence has grown tremendously over the years given her prolific content creation and active social media status with over 10,000 followers on Twitter (10/2010).

How did it all begin? Benedict’s introduction to the Los Angeles party circuit was as an event coordinator for high-power political and social functions, including fund-raisers for Senator Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, and The Human Rights Campaign Casino Nights hosted by Joan Rivers. Simultaneously, she apprenticed at Somerset Caterers where she gained her knowledge of cuisine and party design. Jeanne began her own production / catering company, Ice Entertainment, specializing in inventive theme parties from food to décor and then traded in the late nights for her flourishing lifestyle media career and Mommydom! Jeanne lives in Los Angeles with her husband, TV designer and set decorator John Sparano, and 2 incredibly fabulous children. Visit www.JeanneBenedict.com for more.