Debbi Fields
| Debbi Fields | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Debra Jane Sivyer September 18, 1956 Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Businesswoman, author |
| Known for | Founder of Mrs. Fields |
Debbi Fields (born September 18, 1956) is the founder and spokesperson of Mrs. Fields Bakeries. Additionally, she has written several cookbooks and makes cookies. She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, former Holiday Inn and Harrah's CEO Michael Rose.
Debbi was born Debra Jayde Sivyer in Oakland, California. Her father was a welder and she had four sisters.
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 instituted a "milk-and-cookies" break for the umpires.
At the age of 19, Debbi married Randy Fields, taking the name she would soon use for her business. She attended Foothill College in Los Altos, California.
Debbi 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.
Debbi and Randy had five daughters, Jessica, Jenessa, Jennifer, Ashley, and McKenzie, but divorced in 1997. In 1998, she married former Holiday Inn president and CEO Michael Rose. One of her stepdaughters, Gabrielle Rose, swam for Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Debbi began franchising in 1990, and, though she sold the business to an investment group in the early 1990s, she remains the company's spokesperson.
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