Dorit Kemsley (née Lemel; born July 14, 1976) is an American fashion designer and television personality. She is best known as a main cast member on the

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show ''

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills ''The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'' (abbreviated as ''RHOBH'') is an American reality television series which has been broadcast on Bravo since October 14, 2010. Developed as the sixth installment of '' The Real Housewives'' franchise, i ...

'', appearing in that capacity since the show's seventh season.

Early life and education

She was born in Woodbridge, Connecticut to Jewish parents: her father Shalom Lemel is Israeli, and her mother Rachel (Benchetrit) Lemel was born in Morocco. She attended

Amity Regional High School Amity High School is a regional public high school located in Woodbridge, Connecticut, United States. It provides high school education (grades 9–12) for the children in the towns of Woodbridge, Orange, and Bethany (which together form Regiona ...

in Woodbridge, Connecticut. After graduating from

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...

with a degree in marketing, design, and communication, she traveled in Europe. She settled in Italy for 10 years and worked for a global swimwear company.

Career

Kemsley developed the swimwear line Beverly Beach and bridal collection Nektaria. She is a current cast member of ''

'', joining in 2016, and has since starred in a main capacity for eight seasons. In 2017, she founded the swimwear brand, ''Beverly Beach by Dorit''. Kemsley was sued by former Beverly Beach co-owner Ryan Horne in August 2018. Horne claimed Kemsley owed $205,000 he lent to her to start the brand. The parties eventually settled out of court in early 2020.

Personal life

She was married to

Paul Kemsley Paul Zeital Kemsley (born 23 August 1967) is an English businessman, property developer and media personality. Since 2016, he has regularly appeared on the American reality television show ''The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'', alongside his ...

, and they have two children, Jagger and Phoenix Kemsley. The couple own a home in the LA suburb of

Encino, California Encino is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History Etymology The name Encino is the misspelling in masculine of Encina, the Spanish language, Spanish word for "holm oak” (Quercus ilex). The Spanis ...

, which was purchased for $6.47 million. In October 2021, Kemsley, alone with her children, was robbed at gunpoint by three male burglars. On May 9, 2024, it was announced that the couple had separated after 9 years of marriage.In April 2025, it was reported that the couple had filed for divorce.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemsley, Dorit 1976 births Living people American fashion designers American Jews American women fashion designers Jewish fashion designers People from Woodbridge, Connecticut