Page 100 July 30, 2021 DAN’S PAPERS danspapers.com
EAST END LIVING
BY DANNY FRANK
Although it’s peak summer, we
caught Jill Zarin working from
her Boca Raton, Florida bedroom.
However, Zarin has been a longtime
Hamptons dweller with her late husband,
Bobby Zarin. “Both divorced
and dating, Bobby and I were living in
Manhattan. We had no friends together,
and we really did not know where
to settle. We looked out the window
at Waterside by 23rd Street
by the East River where we saw
the marina: Why don’t we get
a boat and just start cruising
to different places to see what
we like! One of our new friends
drove the boat for us and took us to
West Cove Marina, Sag Harbor … we
never left.”
Living on a series of bigger boats,
the novelty wore off for Jill and Bobby.
They bought a house on Deerfield
Road, Sag Harbor in 2006. Here too,
they went through a series of renting
and buying houses. When Bobby died
from cancer in 2018, Jill sold her existing
real estate and moved to Florida.
Zarin’s 28-year-old daughter Ally
Shapiro wanted to remain in NYC and
the Hamptons. “I was looking for a specific
Sag Harbor condo, right next door
to where we kept our boat,” Zarin continues.
“I got lucky … the perfect location
with two tennis courts and a swimming
pool (which is where I am now).”
Zarin began her career originally
working for Filene’s. When she married
Bobby, she became an executive
in his prominent family textiles and
fabrics business. “Bobby owned a restaurant
in Remsenburg for a time,”
she adds.
Then Hollywood called! The producer
of Super Nanny left a message
on Zarin’s home answering machine
about a new program he was going to
produce using glamorous moms and
their children in the upper echelons of
NYC. “I played it for Bobby wondering
if the message was legit. Bobby figured
if this caller was actually the producer
of Super Nanny he must be real. The
rest is history!”
Zarin was a star of the second series
under The Real Housewives brand
(the first was The Real Housewives
of Orange County). The Real Housewives
of New York took off thanks to
Andy Cohen. “He worked directly with
us many times,” Zarin recalls. The
show enjoyed mega attention and a lot
of money was spent promoting it.
“After Season 4, I had a parting of
ways. One of the most exciting points
during that period was when Harper’s
Bazaar published a multi-page spread
on us. I’m not a model, I’m not six feet
tall, I’m not beautiful. … It’s a little
girl’s dream to be in a high-fashion
magazine like this. … A manicurist, a
seamstress, a famous clothing stylist
and a celebrity hairstylist all on the
set at the same time at our disposal
for the photoshoot … I felt like Cindy
Crawford for the day!” There was major
coverage in People magazine, and
regular pops on Zarin’s whereabouts
in many daily newspapers.
Jill Zarin Home is becoming a
lifestyle brand. The Jill Zarin Home
Rug collection has grown from a
small business into a multi-milliondollar
operation. This summer Zarin
has been launching the Jill Zarin
Do-It-Yourself Home Furniture line
in stores like Wayfair and through
JillZarin.com. “I have built my brand
cutting out the middleman and going
directly to the consumers. Next is a
candle collection. Then clothing, then
accessories. My whole brand is about
solutions and getting a lot of value.”
Zarin has a team of 10 full-time people
including daughter Ally who is Chief
Marketing Officer. (In March 2020,
Zarin got media attention with a frank,
transparent revelation that her daughter
was conceived through a sperm
bank, and not Zarin’s first husband.)
“We often butt heads on how to
present our products. She will tell me:
‘That’s Jill Zarin, it is not Jill & Ally.’”
Zarin doesn’t miss The Real Housewives.
“There were many times it became
exhausting with physical work to
be a ‘Real Housewife.’” Meanwhile, the
episodes continue in reruns.
Sag Harbor Resident & Entrepreneur:
Jill
Zarin
CELEBRATING
HAMPTONS
CELEBRITIES
JILL ZARIN
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