Rachel Zoe has split with Los Angeles-based talent manager Todd Shemarya, the mastermind behind a number of Rachel Zoe-branded businesses.
Shemarya has negotiated deals for clients including Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey, and had worked with Zoe since 2006. At the time, the pin-thin stylist repped celebrity clients including Anne Hathaway, Cameron Diaz, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan and Jennifer Garner.
But Zoe became a household name with the help of Shemarya, who helped Zoe land deals to produce clothing lines for QVC, her new designer collection, her Bravo reality show and various endorsement deals with Piperlime, Bing and others.
Sources told us their relationship ended earlier this year, with Zoe now using the William Morris Agency and her husband, Rodger Berman, to oversee her business opportunities.
Sources speculated the split between Zoe and Shemarya had become “ugly,” and that one point of conflict could center on Mandana Dayani, a vice president and general counsel of Rachel Zoe Inc. Dayani, a former real-estate lawyer who also has a prominent role on Zoe’s show, “The Rachel Zoe Project,” worked at Shemarya’s talent agency before jumping to Zoe’s company more than a year ago.
Shemarya denies the split was contentious. “We had a great time and accomplished a lot in this time frame,” he said via e-mail.
“This year we came to a mutual agreement that we had pretty much accomplished everything we could together and it was time for us to separate. No drama. I think Rachel is a very talented woman and I wish her all success in her future; we just saw the future differently.”
Shemarya added that Dayani was not a factor in the split, and said she left his agency because “her passion was more for fashion than business.” A rep for Zoe didn’t return calls, and Dayani didn’t get back to us.