Daniel Benedict
- Date of Birth
- 05/30/1971 (37 years old)
- Place of Birth
- Boston, MA
- Neighborhood
- Upper East Side
- Filed Under
- Socials
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Who
Don't try phoning Daniel Benedict at home—the blond, gay, perma-tanned social fixture and his boyfriend, Andrew Saffir, haven't spent an evening in for years.Backstory
A Massachusetts native and Northeastern grad, Benedict originally moved to the city to become a fashion designer. He didn't turn out to be the next Ralph Lauren, but by the late 1990s he'd managed to carve out a position on the social scene as a party reporter for Style.com and the co-author of the Hamptons guidebook, Jodi's Shortcuts, with Jodi Della Femina, the daughter of adman Jerry Della Femina. (They're also responsible for 2001's Celebrity Dish, which contains gems like Sting's favorite spaghetti recipe.) In recent years, Benedict has emerged as one of the most ubiquitous presences on the Upper East Side social circuit, turning up at just about every glam opening, gala and cocktail event held on the East Side between 59th and 96th Street. But he has bigger plans: In an attempt to become famous for more than his Patrick McMullan photo count, in 2004 Benedict partnered with socialite Marjorie Gubelmann on a series of scented lotions and candles. The line, Vie Luxe, was inspired by their "passion for luxurious living" and was reported to have grossed about $2 million a year. However, the partnership, and Daniel and Marj's friendship, was in tatters in July '08 when Gubelmann sued her former GBF for mismanagement and to prevent him from setting up a rival company.
