Ree Drummond

About Ree Drummond

Ree Drummond’s blog, The Pioneer Woman, was named “Weblog of the Year” for three consecutive years, and in 2010, Drummond was named one of Forbes’ “Top 25 of Web Celebrities.” ^[3] Her TV show series won a medal two years in a row with New York Festivals and was a Daytime Emmy Award nominee in 2019.^[4] Today, Drummond’s brand includes a TV series, books, a brick-and-mortar retail store, an inn, and a bakery. Her estimated net worth is $50 million.^[5]

Drummond, an Oklahoma native, got her start in 2006 with the launch of her blog, The Pioneer Woman.^[1] Drummond had spent time in Los Angeles before returning home to Oklahoma to be the wife of a prominent cattle rancher. This transition inspired her to share with others what that lifestyle looked like, and as her content became more popular, her fanbase grew.^[1] Since then, Drummond has hosted a TV series on Food Network, has published 21 books, and has opened a two-level restaurant and store called The Pioneer Woman Mercantile.^[6][7]

Early Life

Ree Drummond was born Anne Marie Smith on January 6, 1969.^[1] “Ree” came from the nickname she had during childhood. She was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, an oil town about 50 miles north of Tulsa. Her mother was Gerre Schwert Smith, and her father was William “Bill” Smith. While her father was an orthopedic surgeon, her mother’s profession is unknown.^[8] Drummond was one of four children.^[1] 

Drummond graduated from high school in 1987. From there, she enrolled at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in gerontology in 1991. Drummond moved back home after graduating with the intention of moving to Chicago with her boyfriend to pursue law school. Instead, she met local cowboy Ladd Drummond at a bar one night, and the two got married in 1996.^[5] 

ThePioneerWoman.com Blog

Ree Drummond began her blog, The Pioneer Woman, in 2006.^[1] Drummond used the blog to show her life on the ranch, including a food section with recipes, insights on homeschooling her children, and pictures.^[1] Over time, her blog attracted more attention, and by 2011, The Pioneer Woman was getting more than 20 million page views per month. In 2010, the popularity of her blog landed her her first television appearance on Throwdown! With Bobby Flay.^[1] That same year, The Pioneer Woman was also named “Weblog of the Year.”^[5]

Books

Drummond has published several books, some of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list.^[5] Her first, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, was a memoir she published in 2007 and was almost made into a movie with Reese Witherspoon playing the role of Ree. This was followed by her first bestselling cookbook in 2009, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes From an Accidental Country Girl.  

Recent books by Ree Drummond:

• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime—Comfort Classics (2015)
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! (2017)
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier (2019)
• Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood (2020)
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks—Super Easy! (2021)

Television and Media

In 2010, Drummond won a cooking contest against celebrity chef Bobby Flay in an appearance on Throwdown! With Bobby Flay.^[1] A year later, Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman cooking show premiered on Food Network.^[1] Today, her series is the second most popular show on the network and is ranked 188th of all programs on TV.^[9] 

In 2022, Drummond and celebrity chef Guy Fieri partnered on a new food TV series called Big Bad Budget Battle, which premiered in August.^[10][11] Drummond has also appeared on a number on television talk shows, including Good Morning America, TODAY, The View, and Fox & Friends.^[12] 

Family and Personal Life

Ree and her husband Ladd (who she calls “The Marlboro Man”) got married in 1996, and together they have four children: Alex, Paige, Bryce, and Todd.In 2020, they shared that they had welcomed Jamar, a foster son, into their family.^[1] 

The Drummonds own more than 430,000 acres of land in Oklahoma and as such, are ranked in the top 25 of largest American landowners.^[1] In 2022, Drummond shared with People the family had to move out of their 50-year-old house in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, the main house featured in her series.^[13] Due to overwhelming structural repairs that would be needed on the old house, the family decided to build a new, smaller home right next door. 

In 2018, Ree Drummond and her husband transformed a three-story historical building in downtown Pawhuska into an inn for guests called “The Boarding House.”^[14] The inn’s rooms, which are said to have a “cowboy-luxury vibe,” are booked nearly a year in advance.^[14]

Ree Drummond Today

Today, Ree Drummond continues to share recipes and content from living on the ranch with her loyal followers.^[15] New episodes of The Pioneer Woman launched on Food Network in August of 2022.^[11] She is active on Instagram, sharing the latest updates about her new brick-and-mortar retail store, The Pioneer Woman Mercantile, with millions of followers.^[16] The retail store, which originally began in a 25,000-square-foot building in 2012, became a very popular asset to Drummond’s brand quickly, serving an average of 6,000 customers per day.^[1] Today, the Drummonds have been renovating the retail space and are excited to welcome customers back into the original location in February 2023, as well as reopen their bakery.^[16]