Debbi Fields
Encyclopedia
Debbi Fields is the founder and current spokesperson of Mrs. Fields Bakeries
. Additionally, she has written several cookbooks. She currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee
, with her husband, former Holiday Inn
and Harrah's CEO, Michael Rose. She and her husband are very involved in philanthropic work throughout the area.
In 1969, Oakland Athletics
owner Charles O. Finley
introduced "ball girls
" (young girls who would sit in foul territory near the baselines to retrieve baseballs grounded foul by batters) to major league baseball. Debbi was one of the first ones he hired. She was paid five dollars an hour and would use the money to buy ingredients for what would become her famous cookies.
She began her business in 1977 in Palo Alto, California
, and since it has grown into over 650 retail bakeries in the United States
and over 80 in 11 different countries. Fields began franchising in 1990, and, though she sold the business to an investment group in the early 1990s, she remains as the company's spokesperson.
. Her father was a welder and Fields had four sisters. At the age of nineteen, she married Randy Fields, taking the name she would soon use for her business.
Debbi and Randy Fields had five daughters, Jessica, Jenessa, Jennifer, Ashley and McKenzie, but divorced in 1997. In 1998, Fields married former Holiday Inn
president & CEO Michael Rose. One of her stepdaughters, Gabrielle Rose, swam for Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics
.
Mrs. Fields
Mrs. Fields Famous Brands is a franchisor in the snack food industry, with Mrs. Fields and TCBY as its core brands. Through its franchisees’ retail stores, it is one of the largest retailers of freshly baked, on-premises specialty cookies and brownies in the US and the largest retailer of...
. Additionally, she has written several cookbooks. She currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, with her husband, former Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
and Harrah's CEO, Michael Rose. She and her husband are very involved in philanthropic work throughout the area.
In 1969, Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
owner Charles O. Finley
Charles O. Finley
Charles Oscar Finley , nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who is best remembered for his tenure as the owner of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City, moving it to Oakland in 1968...
introduced "ball girls
Ball Boy
Ball Boy is a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano and also the name of the main character. It first appeared in issue 1735, dated 18 October 1975. It features a five-a-side football team that includes:* Ball Boy - the captain of the team, Ball Boy bears resemblances to The Dandy's Owen Goal...
" (young girls who would sit in foul territory near the baselines to retrieve baseballs grounded foul by batters) to major league baseball. Debbi was one of the first ones he hired. She was paid five dollars an hour and would use the money to buy ingredients for what would become her famous cookies.
She began her business in 1977 in Palo Alto, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and since it has grown into over 650 retail bakeries in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and over 80 in 11 different countries. Fields began franchising in 1990, and, though she sold the business to an investment group in the early 1990s, she remains as the company's spokesperson.
Personal life
Debbi Fields was born Debra Jane Sivyer on September 18, 1956, in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. Her father was a welder and Fields had four sisters. At the age of nineteen, she married Randy Fields, taking the name she would soon use for her business.
Debbi and Randy Fields had five daughters, Jessica, Jenessa, Jennifer, Ashley and McKenzie, but divorced in 1997. In 1998, Fields married former Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
president & CEO Michael Rose. One of her stepdaughters, Gabrielle Rose, swam for Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Brazil competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.- Gold:* Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva — Volleyball, Women's Beach Volleyball* Marcelo Ferreira and Torben Grael — Sailing, Men's Star class...
.