Who is Rebecca Minkoff? RHONY star says Danny Masterson was “incredibly supportive” of her when she started her career

Rebecca Minkoff, who is currently starring in The Real Housewives of New York City (RHONY), recently discussed her relationship with Danny Masterson. During her appearance on the Two Ts in a Pod podcast on Monday, December 9, 2024, the designer explained:

"I haven't seen or spoken to Danny in over 10 years. When I started out, he was incredibly supportive to me. I knew no one."

Minkoff is a luxury apparel and accessory designer who is best known for co-founding her eponymous fashion brand with her brother Uri. Like Masterson, she too is a Scientologist.

For the unversed, last September, Masterson was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of s*xually assaulting two women. The victims were members of the Scientologist church, which allegedly warned them against reporting the crime at the time of the incidents.

While talking to podcast hosts Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge, the 43-year-old designer explained that when she started out in the industry, Masterson introduced her to "girls and actresses that were excited to wear (her) product." Rebecca Minkoff continued:

"And that's all I can say (about Danny Masterson). I didn't participate in the case. I don't have details."

---

The first handbag that Rebecca Minkoff designed was called the Morning After Bag

Rebecca Minkoff hails from San Diego, California, and found her passion for designing while working at the costume department in her high school. According to Minkoff's biography on her website, she moved to New York City at the age of 18 to pursue her dream.

Per her May 2011 interview with Entrepreneur.com, Minkoff soon landed an internship at Craig Taylor, a fashion house, as an assistant designer (LinkedIn). She told the publication that the company's CEO "took me under her wing and taught me about the whole business."

By 2001, she began working on her own designs, which included a version of the “I Love New York” t-shirt (a part of a five-piece capsule collection). Actress Jenna Elfman (of Dharma and Greg fame) later wore the T-shirt on the Jay Leno show, earning Rebecca Minkoff recognition.

In 2005, Rebecca and her brother Uri launched Rebecca Minkoff LLC, with her as the creative director and Uri as the CEO. Per the company's website, their first product (and Rebecca Minkoff's first handbag) was the Morning After Bag. Per Entrepreneur.com, the bag was hit with celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Hayden Panettiere wearing it.

"I envisioned a bag that you'd want to take with you on late nights out when you weren't sure where you'd wind up or when you'd come home the next morning," Minkoff told the publication.

The brand has since grown with 13 retail locations in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Korea. It also distributes in over 900 stores worldwide. In 2011, the company launched a new division called Ben Minkoff (named after Rebecca Minkoff's grandfather) targeting men's bags and accessories.

Rebecca Minkoff has received awards such as the Breakthrough Designer Award (2011), New York Moves Power Women (2009), and Best Interactive Retail at the Fashion 2.0 Awards (2015). In 2018, she founded the Female Founder Collective, a network supporting women-led businesses.

Rebecca Minkoff has spoken about being a member of the Church of Scientology throughout her career. During a profile for The New York Times in 2021, the designer stated that she was "totally open" about her religion, stating that there is "horrific misinformation" in general about Scientology.

Stating that she is not going to "proselytize (advocate for or promote)," Minkoff stated:

"I think there’s a lot of confusion when people hear the word ‘religion’ — immediately you hear that I pray to L. Ron Hubbard. I study it, I take classes and that’s the extent of it, and it’s helped me stay centered."

She continued:

"I don’t have all the answers. When I needed someone, it was a place for me to go get some answers."

In an October 2021 appearance on Dinner Party With Jeremy Fall, she asserted that she was Jewish, so her beliefs lay with "Judaism and God," adding that she went to "Scientology to learn knowledge."

During a recent episode of RHONY, co-star Brynn Whitfield asked Rebecca Minkoff what she wanted everyone to say to the press if questioned about her faith. To which the fashion designer replied, "(say) no comment," adding that if someone pressed further to ask them to "read a book."

According to her profile on IMDb, Minkoff married actor and director Gavin Bellour (A Buddy Story and Royal Pains fame) in June 2009. They share three children together, sons Luca Shai Bellour (2011) and Nico Valentine Bellour (2018), and a daughter, Bowie Lou Bellour (2014).

---

Meanwhile, Danny Masterson is currently incarcerated at California’s Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.