Patti Stanger life and biography

Patti Stanger is an American matchmaker and television producer with her own Bravo TV show called The Millionaire Matchmaker. She is the founder and CEO of Millionaire's Club International Inc., a professional matchmaking service for millionaires.

Prior to founding her business, Stanger worked as the Director of Marketing for Great Expectations, the largest and oldest dating service in the United States.
Stanger is a third-generation matchmaker. Stanger was introduced to the fashion industry by Janis Spindel, who had hired and scouted her at the age of 24 when looking to cast a part for a sitcom pilot. She worked for ten years in the fashion industry at Unionbay Sportswear, JouJou Jeans, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

In 2000, Stanger stated that "successful men in the dating arena needed a private, exclusive club where they could come to find their beautiful and intelligent wives."
In 2008, Stanger signed a deal to have her own reality show called Millionaire Matchmaker on the Bravo TV Network. Stanger stars in the program and also produces the show.

The hour-long show follows her matchmaking at Millionaire's Club. Each episode features her matchmaking two millionaires and occasionally a millionaire and a millionairess. First they submit a biographical sketch on a DVD describing the type of partner they want. Stanger then meets them individually to better understand their desires and welcome them to the club. She's been called "The Simon Cowell of Dating," and makes very quick, very direct comments. "I am not paid to hide my true feelings," she said. Her 'casting calls' or "recruiting sessions" where she screens women can be brutal. She told one woman she had a beautiful face but could not meet her millionaire because she was 10–15 lbs overweight. "I can't do much for women over 45," Stanger said in an interview, "and if they're overweight, it's almost impossible." She told another woman to take off her wig, then suggested she come back after she got hair extensions.

The millionaires and 30–40 women first meet at a cocktail party she hosts called a "VIP mixer," where they mingle and the millionaires get to evaluate the women. The men choose their top two women and have ten-minute "mini dates," then they pick the one that they like best. Stanger announces the choices to the group, and then the millionaires set up their "master dates."

The Millionaire's Club has a few rules. For example, millionaires cannot discuss sex or trade phone numbers at the mixer. No sex is allowed until the couple is in an "exclusive, committed, monogamous relationship." There is also a two-drink maximum enforced on each date. If a millionaire violates the terms of the club, then Patti can throw them out of the club.

At the end of each episode, Stanger calls each millionaire or invites them into her office to discuss how the date went; this is after she calls the person they chose for their master date.

The show concludes with updates on each couple, saying whether they are still together or not.

In April 2009, Patti Stanger was hired by Clear Channel subsidiary Premiere Radio Networks to host a 4-week special titled P.S. I Love You for XM Satellite Radio. The live call-in program was simulcast on Clear Channel owned MIX channel 22 and The Pink Channel on channel 24 Sunday evenings. After a month hiatus, the program was returned to the schedule on a semi-regular basis, until it was moved to Thursday evenings in July 2009 and made a permanent fixture. Stanger continues to host P.S. I Love You on Thursday nights from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific time on both Mix and The Pink Channel.

On September 25, 2011, during a taping of "Watch What Happens Live" hosted by Andy Cohen, Stanger made some remarks that many found controversial. When responding to a question from a gay man about a long distance open-relationship, she said, "There is no curbing you people," meaning that gay men are incapable of monogamy. She later told a viewer who Skyped in, "You are very handsome, I thought you were straight." She went on to explain that she meant he was not "queen-y." Stanger also made comments about Jewish men and smart women that were found to be offensive.

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