About

ELLEN RAKIETEN

Thirteen-time Emmy Award-winning producer Ellen Rakieten co-created and produced The Oprah Winfrey Show for twenty-three years. The highest-rated talk show in television history, The Oprah Winfrey Show reached more than 40 million viewers a week in the United States and was licensed to 150 countries internationally. Ms. Rakieten was Harpo Productions’ longest-serving producer and was largely responsible for creating the iconic, dominant and influential series. Thousands of Ms. Rakieten’s original concepts are landmarks of the Oprah legacy, including “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” “Oprah and Gayle’s Road Trip Adventure,” “Wildest Dreams,” and “You Get A Car,” described as “one of the great promotional stunts in the history of television” by Frank Brady of St. John’s University. Ms. Rakieten’s instincts for discovering emerging products, from Spanx to Uggs, was a major factor to what is now referred to as “The Oprah Effect.”

Whether turning books into best sellers, movies into box office hits or products into multi-million dollar businesses, Ms. Rakieten’s keen eye for content, story and talent was key in transforming unknowns like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Suze Orman, Iyanla Vanzant, Bob Greene, Lisa Ling, Jessica Seinfeld, Nate Berkus and Marianne Williamson into global brands.

From its inception, Ms. Rakieten was a key architect behind OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, and conceived the acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series Oprah’s Master Class, currently in it’s sixth season.

Ms. Rakieten went on to form Ellen Rakieten Entertainment, which creates unscripted and scripted original content for broadcast, cable, digital platforms, live events, documentaries, films, product development and merchandising.

Ellen Rakieten Entertainment’s credits include:

• Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch) a critically acclaimed and widely successful inter-generational talk show featuring Jada Pinkett Smith, daughter Willow Smith and mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
• The Marriage Ref (NBC) in partnership with Jerry Seinfeld
• Losing It with Jillian (NBC) starring Jillian Michaels
• Welcome Back Potter (HGTV) featuring Parenthood and Wisdom Of the Crowd star, Monica Potter
• Emmy Award-winning Trisha’s Southern Kitchen (Food Network) starring Trisha Yearwood, currently in it’s 10th season
• All About Sex (TLC) with Margaret Cho, comedian Heather McDonald, and Marissa Jaret Winokur
• Zoe Saldana Presents: My Hero (AOL)
• Joyride (Esquire) with T-Pain
• Car Matchmaker with Spike Feresten (Esquire, NBC Sports Network)
• Pippen Ain’t Easy (VH1) featuring basketball icon Scottie Pippen and his wife, social media influencer and lifestyle expert, Larsa Pippen
• Teen Trouble (Lifetime) anchored by bestselling author, youth empowerment expert, and global speaker, Josh Shipp.
• You are Beautiful (infomercial) hosted by Giuliana Rancic, featuring beauty products developed by celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves
• Money Hungry (VH1) a weight lost competition show led by Dan Cortese
• Pretty Wicked Moms (Lifetime) a docu-series following the lives of Atlanta based socialites

Ms. Rakieten penned her first book, Undateable, published by Random House, which was adapted into a multi-season sitcom for NBC in partnership with Warner Brothers.

Recognizing her achievements, The Hollywood Reporter named her one of the Most Powerful People in Reality Television

Ms. Rakieten’s other notable business endeavors include:

• Billy, a new fashion line, which has been seen regularly on Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Wiz Khalifa, and The Chainsmokers
• BloOuts beauty salons
• ArsenicTV, a digital lifestyle and culture magazine
• PhD, a touring master class with celebrity hair guru Ken Paves
• Skill Club, subscription video on demand tutorials, with high-profile talent

MEGHAN HOFFMAN
VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT + CURRENT

Emmy-award winning producer Meghan Hoffman has played an integral role in creating, selling, and producing more than 45 broadcast, cable, and digital projects for Ellen Rakieten Entertainment.

At VTP, Ms. Hoffman has generated original content with and for Jada Pinkett Smith, Jerry Seinfeld, Trisha Yearwood, Jillian Michaels, Sean Kingston and his family, Superbowl winners Martellus and Michael Bennett, Eva Longoria, Zoe Saldana, Cat Deeley, Margaret Cho, Common, Spike Feresten, Selita Ebanks, Monica Potter, Brooke Shields, Christina Milian and her family, NBA stars Matt Barnes and Nick Young, NFL Pro Bowl star Marcedes Lewis, Daisy Fuentes, Alison Sweeney, Ken Paves, Ali Landry, Tom Papa, and many, many more.

Ms. Hoffman received a degree from University of Illinois at Chicago.

MARTHA CHAPUT
EIC

As the Executive In Charge of Production, Martha Chaput oversees all elements of physical Production for Ellen Rakieten Entertainment.

Ms. Chaput has worked in many different genres of entertainment including feature films, documentaries, live events, digital and unscripted television. Before joining VTP, Ms. Chaput oversaw Production and Operations at Twofour America. She was integral in producing This Time Next Year for Lifetime, which was the fastest selling global format of 2016.

In 2011, Ms. Chaput was part of the team that launched OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. She then worked as a freelance EIC on multiple shows across networks including Discovery Channel, OWN, TLC, History, Animal Planet and Lifetime.

Ms. Chaput received degrees in Radio / TV and English from Drake University, and was a 4-year Division I letter winner on the Drake University Women’s Basketball Team.

LYNNETTE RAMIREZ
SENIOR DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT

Named one of the most influential minorities in the cable industry by Cable Fax Magazine and to the 40 Under 40 Class by Multichannel News, Lynnette Ramirez is a visionary leader with nearly 20 years of success in the field of entertainment.

Most recently Ms. Ramirez served as SVP, Original Content for Fuse Media. In this role she was responsible for overseeing all programming development for Fuse and FM, a cable and digital media network with music at its core. She oversaw all new and returning series for both networks – including SKEE TV, Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce, Fluffy Breaks Even and Transcendent – as well as additional programming from Jennifer Lopez, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Gabriel Iglesias.

Ms. Ramirez began her career in development with Sean Connery’s Fountainbridge Films, and in 2002, she launched Vida Films, an independent film production company that produced the ensemble drama The Blue Hour, starring Emily Rios and Alyssa Milano.

In June 2007 Ms. Ramirez became SVP of development and production for George Lopez Presents. During her tenure with Mr. Lopez, she produced several projects including the Nickelodeon original movie Mr. Troopmom.

Ms. Ramirez graduated from the Loyola Marymount University screenwriting undergrad program. In addition to her executive duties, she is also a member of the WGA having written screenplays for Walt Disney Studios and Lionsgate.

MICAH GLENN
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT

Prior to Ellen Rakieten Entertainment, Micah Glenn handled the marketing and promotions for APX Management, a talent and brand management company based in his hometown of Detroit. He worked on the bookings and promotions for The University of New England’s annual spring concert and was heavily involved in the social media and web content for Maine radio station Hot 104.7.

Mr. Glenn is a former college athlete. In 2018 he graduated with a degree in Business Marketing from the University of New England.