Olivia Palermo

Olivia Toledo Palermo (born February 28, 1986) is an American socialite, and It Girl. In 2009, Palermo came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series The City, which documented the personal and professional lives of Whitney Port and her friends.

Early life

The daughter of wealthy real estate developer Douglas Palermo who is of Southern Italian descent and interior designer Lynn Hutchings, Palermo grew up between the Upper East Side of New York and Greenwich, Connecticut where she attended the prestigious Nightingale-Bamford School then finally St. Luke's School, where she was on the field hockey team. She attended the American University of Paris for a year and studied media at The New School in New York.

Career

Palermo initially denied rumors in 2008 that she would be a part of The City, a spin-off of MTV's television show The Hills but was later confirmed as a cast member. She agreed to star in the series to familiarize herself with acting. The series debuted on December 29, 2008, it documents the lives of the cast members in New York City. It was reported that Palermo was granted $12,000 per episode at the time. As part of the show, Palermo worked at the PR department for Diane von Furstenberg and later the accessories department at Elle. The second part of the first season debuted in September 2009. She was given a bigger role and more air time. The City returned for a second and final season in 2010 where Palermo was given reporting duties for Elle.com.

She was signed to Wilhelmina Models in 2009. She has appeared on the cover of magazines including Elle Mexico, Tatler, ASOS Magazine, Shop Til You Drop and Marie Claire UK. She also modeled alongside her boyfriend, Johannes Huebl, for autumn/winter 2010 campaigns by Mango and Hogan. She also launched a jewelry line with Roberta Freymann in 2010 and became the face of the Mediterraneo collection by Spanish jewellery firm Carrera y Carrera. In August 2011, Palermo was invited by Stuart Weitzman to design a shoe for charity. She became a guest editor for Piperlime.com in September and appeared as a guest judge on Project Runway Season 9 in that role. In October, Palermo launched her personal website, consisting of a blog about her travels and fashion pieces by herself and two other full-time writers. She also appeared as a guest judge on Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model.

Personal life

She interned at Quest. Photographer Patrick McMullan spotted her at an auction, then took pictures of her about town. Palermo began taking part in the charity event circuit in New York, becoming a member of the Friends Committee of New Yorkers For Children and joining the committee of Operation Smile. Palermo found herself at the center of a controversy when she was reported to have sent out a letter to fellow socialites pleading for acceptance. This letter was forwarded to the owners of the social website, SocialiteRank.com who promptly published it. Palermo immediately denied the authenticity of the letter and filed a lawsuit against the website. The website was eventually shut down and in May 2007, Palermo appeared on the cover of New York Magazine in a story about the incident.

Palermo has been in a relationship with model Johannes Huebl since 2008. They reside in Brooklyn, New York.