Rita Tateel (born c. 1951) is an American businesswoman. She is the founder and President of The Celebrity Source, a

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

booking agency that matches celebrities with corporate and non-profit clients for

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

and

advertising campaigns An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an marketing strategy, integrated marketing marketing communications, communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform i ...

, and special events. She has also taught classes at

UCLA Extension UCLA Extension is a public continuing education institution headquartered in Westwood, Los Angeles, on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. Classes are held at UCLA, in Downtown Los Angeles, and other locations throughout Los ...

Early life and education

Tateel was born in

Loma Linda, California Loma Linda ( Spanish for "Beautiful Hill") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 24,791 at the 2020 census, up from 23,261 at the 2010 census. The central area of the ...

; her parents were

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors who owned an egg farm in Fontana, California at the time. She grew up in Los Angeles. She has a bachelor's degree in child development and a master's degree in social work. She worked for nonprofit organizations for 15 years.

The Celebrity Source

Through her work in nonprofit organizations, she became aware that celebrities can be very important to a charity, because they provide visibility and credibility as well as influencing others to contribute. She decided to go into the business of helping organizations to recruit celebrity sponsors, headliners, and participants in events. She incorporated The Celebrity Source, headquartered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, on April 7, 1988. Her company finds celebrities willing to work in "cause-related marketing and public relations”. She has been described as "a matchmaker, Hollywood style". The business maintains a database of more than 5,000 celebrities from film, television, music, sports and fashion in addition to experts from other industries and digital influencers, with information about their biographies, tastes, and charitable interests. "For example, if we need to identify a golfer who's from the Midwest, a supporter of the American Cancer Society and is African American, we can do that." In addition to linking stars to non-profits, she helps corporations to find celebrity endorsers or spokespeople.

Sample celebrity matches

* She has recruited celebrities for the

Hollywood Christmas Parade The Hollywood Christmas Parade (formerly the Hollywood Santa Parade and Santa Claus Lane Parade) is an annual parade held on the Sunday after Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It follows a 3.5-mi ...

and the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

, among many other events. * For 20 years she has procured celebrity racers for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Pro/Celebrity Race, which benefits Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach and

Children's Hospital of Orange County Children's Hospital of Orange County or CHOC is a pediatric healthcare system based in Orange County, California. Its flagship hospital, CHOC Hospital Main Campus – Orange, is a pediatric acute care hospital located in Orange, California. The ...

. * When Purina wanted to support animal-rescue organizations, Tateel recruited

Emily Procter Emily Procter (born October 8, 1968) is an American actress and activist. She played Ainsley Hayes in the NBC political drama ''The West Wing'' (2000–2002; 2006) and Det. Calleigh Duquesne in the CBS police procedural drama '' CSI: Miami'' ...

, a star of “

CSI Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural television series that aired on CBS from September 23, 2002, to April 8, 2012. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Detective ...

,” because she knew that Procter “lives and breathes animal rescue.”

Memberships

Tateel is a member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society (EPPS). She is a founding member and advisor to the Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants (ACPA). She also helped organize the New York chapter of the ACPA, which is now the independent organization, New York Celebrity Assistants (NYCA).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tateel, Rita Living people 1951 births American public relations people People from Fontana, California Businesspeople from Los Angeles