Covers: Arielle Kebbel, March/April 2023 (photo: Andrea Ceraso); Monte & Angelina Lipman, November/December 2021 (photo: Rhonda Spevak).
Arielle Kebbel
Photography: Andrea Ceraso · Isabella Assumma · Photos provided by Fox
Arielle Kebbel was our March/April 2023 B&NC MAG Cover Feature - and the full feature is available on the Bedford & New Canaan Magazine website.
She’s probably been most well-known for her role playing Lexi Branson in Vampire Diaries, and boasts a long list of film and TV credits. On the silver screen, she’s had big parts in Fifty Shades of Grey, John Tucker Must Die, Aquamarine, and other popular movies, and roles in The Uninvited, The Grudge 2, and other box office hits. On TV, she started out as Dean’s wife, Lindsay, in Gilmore Girls, has had leading roles in the Ballers series on HBO, Midnight, Texas, and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, and has had parts on CSI, Law & Order: SVU, Entourage, Life Unexpected, and 90210, among other hot shows.
As we wrote about her in our March/April 2023 Cover Feature:
Arielle Kebbel is precocious and thoughtful, giggly, and charming. She gives off girl-next-door vibes and could certainly pass for a twenty-something, but is also perfectly cast in an array of more serious, sophisticated or sexy roles. She is always poised, and is consistently well prepared, but manages to give off an easy-going and care-free air. Arielle’s seemingly never-ending tank of energy is palpable, and she’s always smiling. She’s strikingly beautiful, like Charlize Theron, and yet also seems friendly and approachable, like Jennifer Aniston. And she’s a star on film and TV.
…and none of that has changed!
What’s new
What’s new is Arielle’s starring role as Em in the Fox & Hulu TV series Rescue: HI-Surf. Arielle plays the first female Lieutenant in Ocean Safety in this Baywatch-meets-Grey’s Anatomy series, that’s filmed on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Created by Matt Kester and produced by John Wells, the first season of Rescue: HI-Surf made waves as a show that highlights the adrenaline seeking lifeguards risking their lives on the seven-mile stretch of some of the most dangerous beaches in the world…alongside the locals.
“We’re 90% local hires. For example, my stunt double, Katie Pere, was a real female lifeguard on the North Shore,” Arielle relays. “The production supports small businesses and features some of the North Shore’s favorite local hangs. Sometimes our sets were so real - like teenagers jumping off the Haleiwa bridge - I couldn’t tell if the teens were actual locals or local extras hired for the show! We did not film anything on a studio lot. We were either in the ocean, in a lifeguard tower, in the elements, or filming at one of the local spots. It’s important that our audience knows that what they’re watching is authentic, and that the rescues are based on real life events and real locations. And I think we’re the only film or TV production shooting on the North Shore right now, and it’s really important we help get productions moving again in Hawaii.”
“Em has taught me so much,” Arielle declares. “I’m now educated as an open water lifeguard, an ATV driver, scuba diver, free diver, Jet Ski operator, and my personal fav… rock runner. That’s where you carry a heavy boulder to the bottom of the ocean floor and run. For fun! Lol! And training. It’s a great exercise for endurance, strength, breath holds, and mind set. Learning to be calm in the waves is key. Some days I would be going from land unit filming to water unit filming and spend eight hours or more getting tossed in waves or doing jet ski rescues. It pushed my mind, body, and spirit to new limits.”
“One of the biggest take aways for me was how strong the women on this island are,” Arielle continues. “I’m talking, deep core and inner-soul strength. Living on the North Shore is naturally a very active lifestyle. People run on the beach, surf, swim, boogie board, paddle board, kite surf, and the list goes on. I didn’t hear a lot of talk about dieting or getting into shape. The main focus was about how to level up your body in a way where you’re prepared for anything. In fact, the only two people that ever asked me about dieting and being in a bathing suit on set were two Directors from Los Angeles. Although this is the most physically demanding role I’ve ever done, the role has also been good for me artistically, as I’m getting to play a very real person. John Wells, who directed our first two episodes, said to us on Day 1 - ‘it’s important you are these characters. Live this.’, and I’ve tried to live up to that challenge.”
I’ve absolutely loved my time in Hawaii…but Bedford is still my base…
“I’ve absolutely loved my time in Hawaii…but Bedford is still my base…and I’m really looking forward to spending as much of the summer as I can enjoying my time at home. I’ve created a little paradise - and my dream is to eventually build out a farm and a menagerie of rescue animals.”
…Back home on the range
…or actually at a nearby private farm…Arielle continues to care for her adopted wild Mustang, Snow White, or ‘Snow’ for short.
As we detailed in our March/April 2023 Cover Feature on Arielle, she is an animal rights activist and quite involved in the mission of saving America’s wild horses and burros. In particular, she’s a Board Member on SkyDog Sanctuary, which assisted in Arielle adopting Snow a night before she was being shipped out to slaughter.
SkyDog Ranch has saved hundreds of horses from slaughter and is a forever home for wild mustangs and burros who have ended up in horrible and dangerous situations - at kill pens, at auctions, or in unloving homes, where they have often been starved and neglected. SkyDog is also home to several wild horse families that have been reunited after being separated during roundups by the Bureau of Land Management.
Ironically, ‘Snow White’ is an all-black Mustang.
Most recently, SkyDog & The American Wild Horse Conservation made headlines by getting a Federal Court to overturn the BLM’s Controversial Cash Incentive Adoption Program. As Clare Staples, the Founder of SkyDog and a plaintiff in the case, commented: “This ruling is a powerful affirmation that the Adoption Incentive Program was a betrayal of these iconic animals, pushing them from public lands to slaughter auctions under the false promise of care. The AIP opened the floodgates and allowed thousands of wild horses and burros to enter the slaughter pipeline.”
“I’ve been caring for Snow for two years now,” Arielle chronicles. “She is so smart and sassy and she now follows me around like a dog. I’m obsessed with her, and she trusts me now as momma. Her weight is up to where it should be, and she looks great! Sometimes it still takes my breath away that I get to partner with her. She is a strong spirit and she teaches me so much about instincts, environment, trust and boundaries. I’m planning on backing her this summer and I’m excited because I feel she’s ready. We hand walk the Bedford Riding Lanes Association trails and she loves them. One of the big lessons I learned with her is if you hold on too tight, she freezes up. If you give her space to relax, she’s up for anything. She’s still got her wild in her - and I’m not looking to do anything about it!”
Dr. Angelina Lipman
Photography: Gillian Gaughan
We had fun for the Holidays featuring Monte and Angelina Lipman on our November/December 2021 B&NC MAG Cover. The full feature is available at bedfordnewcanaanmag.com.
As we wrote in the 2021 Holiday Issue:
Angelina (Davis) was born in Brooklyn, to British parents of Jamaican descent, who had come to New York for her dad to work as a doctor. Similar to Monte, Angelina’s parents also divorced when she was ten. She relocated to Miami with her mom, attended Gulliver Prep, and spent summers and vacations in London and the UAE, visiting with her dad. She achieved a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Columbia University, a Master’s Degree in Psychology from New York University, and a dual-PhD in Social Personality and Industrial Organizational Psychology from New York University. She went on to work in the fields of management consulting and applied research and also worked as an assistant professor at the Business School of Columbia University, conducting research, mentoring graduate students, and teaching the MBA negotiation course.
Monte is the Founder and Chairman of Republic Records, with a well-established reputation as a leader and a good guy in the music industry and a roster of artists including Ariana Grande, John Mellencamp, Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Pearl Jam, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Stevie Wonder, and many, many more.
…And, as we noted, Monte and Angelina, who have a spectacular estate in Katonah, “are at once the epitome of the power couple, and still totally relatable, grounded, warm, earnest, and friendly.” They are the proud parents of Remy, who is a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, and Juliet and Cameron, who both go to the Fieldston School.
After 15 years of being a full-time mom…Dr. Angelina Lipman has founded a wellness program called Blocking The Noise and is now releasing the easy-to-read how-to book, Blocking The Noise: A Roadmap to Happiness.
Back in the 2021 Holiday Issue, Angelina had commented, “I’m a research psychologist by trade, and I’m interested in the psychology of management and how teams and people work. …This concept has continually evolved for me. When I decided to leave academia to become a full-time mom, it was hard to switch that part off. I’ve become more and more focused on discovering ways for society to make quality mental health more accessible.”
…Blocking The Noise: A Roadmap to Happiness is exactly that - totally accessible, quality mental health guidance.
And while it’s written in Angelina’s voice and will resonate directly with every other mom out there, it’s highly relatable for everyone - male or female, young or old. Angelina has taken a research psychologist’s look at how people work…and has some powerful advice to make life better!
Angelina defines noise as: “anything that detracts from happiness; a roadblock to happiness manifesting in social, emotional, or physical form; a state of chaos, and; a reversible circumstance that can be blocked to achieve happiness.” She points out that, “If we’re not aware, noise has the potential to derail our day from the moment we open our eyes in the morning.” And she has the generally positive and self-fulfilling philosophy that, “Our minds are way more powerful than we give them credit for. Thoughts are like magnets, attracting circumstances and responses to themselves. After all, like attracts like, thought attracts thought, and noise attracts noise. This means that what we fixate on does, in fact, become our reality. If you constantly think things aren’t working out, they’ll continue to go wrong. The deeper you fall down this negative rabbit hole, the less aware of other possibilities you become.”
But more than just an outline to happiness, Blocking The Noise includes practical easy-to-understand and easy-to-do exercises to identify the sources of your own noise…and plans to help ‘blocking the noise’ once you’ve got it identified. Central to the process, Angelina preaches that the ‘art of acceptance’ and ‘becoming fearless’ are fundamental to drowning noise and finding happiness, and warns against such things as all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, jumping to conclusions, and emotional reasoning, amongst other pitfalls. And she offers the salvation that, “It all comes down to emphasizing the aspects of yourself that serve your happiness and allowing the rest to fall away. It really is that simple. The hard part is letting go and allowing it to be simple.”
Angelina summarizes: “Just Be. Don’t Overthink Every Mistake Or Bad Day. Just Be. Don’t Relive the Past Or Wish For A Time Machine. Just Be. Don’t Focus On Every Tiny Flaw You Perceive In Yourself And Others. Just Be. …Life Is For Enjoying And Not Enduring.”
…More than just words to live by, Angelina offers a path to happiness which each person can, quite fundamentally, choose!
While Angelina has written scholarly features for the Annual Review of Psychology, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Social Justice Research, and received numerous awards, including the Columbia University Psychology Research Award, the New York University Henry Mitchell MacCracken Fellowship, and the super-prestigious Ford Foundation Fellowship Award…Blocking The Noise represents a new, fresh, practical, and super-effective method for providing good and solid advice to a mass audience. To learn more about Dr. Angelina’s new book visit blockingthenoise.com.
…She has a message that’s liberating, and a focus on making wellness accessible for everyone. …Blocking The Noise sets forth a method and a path to happiness. Angelina is out on a book tour announcing the release. And, though Angelina is not at all finished being a mom, she’s already getting calls to speak on TV and for conferences and seminars as an expert in all things psychology and wellness.
As featured in the May/June 2025 issue of Bedford & New Canaan Magazine