My City, My Los Angeles

What do famous people love to do during their free time in Los Angeles? Angelenos and other notables have their rituals that connect them to the city in a unique way: favorite restaurants, museums, beaches, parks, markets, landmarks, haunts, and hideaways. The activities are as diverse and eclectic as the city itself. My City, My Los Angeles gives readers something truly unique--a chance to experience L.A. the way the city's most notable luminaries do.

For freelance writer and journalist Jeryl Brunner, a good interview is like a tango--complex, soulful, fiery, exciting and illuminating. She has been performing this dance for more than a decade, contributing to such publications as National Geographic Traveler, ForbesTraveler.com, Four Seasons, Gotham, People, Parade, Every Day with Rachel Ray, Us Weekly, Hamptons, Brides, New York and In Style, where she worked on staff for nine years.

"The intrepid Jeryl Brunner" (as she was dubbed by In Style) is known for her prowess in securing quotes from celebs and is regularly called upon to get famous people to reveal themselves. For example PW Booklife.com, the consumer publication from Publisher's Weekly, hired her to ask notable authors, actors and directors like Frank McCourt, Wynton Marsalis, David Cronenberg and Ruth Reichl about a book that changed their life.

Brunner has written cover stories about Chris Noth, Dylan McDermott and Julianna Margulies for Travel Savvy and Hamptons. She profiled notable New Yorkers for Gotham, including Le Cirque owner, Sirio Maccioni, Anthony Bourdain, Vanity Fair writer Amy Fine Collins, famed nightclub owner Amy Sacco, noted chocolatier Jacques Torres, and has authored travel pieces for bridal magazines and ForbesTraveler.com. For several years, she had a weekly advice column for Woman's World magazine, in which she asked celebrities and other luminaries to answer readers' questions. For example, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger advised on creating a winning PTA campaign strategy and Wes Craven counseled on how to sit through a scary movie.

Brunner joined In Style in its infancy in 1994, working as a reporter. In 1999, she was promoted to staff correspondent, where she wrote items for nearly every section of the magazine. One of her regular columns was "On the Phone," where she gave a celebrity a cell phone and called the star at random during the week. She also edited and wrote "Lookback," the final page of the magazine, which featured vintage photos of celebrities. Every month, she had the challenge of writing a complete story about a star at the time the picture was taken, in just 180 words.

A veteran party reporter, Brunner wrote more than 40 party stories at In Style and has covered events for Us Weekly, People and Life & Style. Her reporting has taken her to the Lord of the Rings premiere in Wellington, New Zealand, to a luxurious spa in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and to the hospital where Vincent Van Gogh painted Starry Night. Brunner has contributed to the book Henry Dunay: A Precious Life about famed jewelry designer, Henry Dunay, writing chapters about the designer's esteemed clientele and his family.

Brunner has interviewed scores of celebrities, including Meryl Streep, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, George Clooney and Charlize Theron. Her pieces have been quoted in Page Six and in Liz Smith's column.

Visit her Website at www.jerylbrunner.com.