Bonnie Fuller goes Hollywood, as EIC of celebrities website

Bonnie Fuller, the Canadian expat who made good in New York, has been quiet of late, after her ouster as queen of the tabloids.

When she was removed last May from her position as vice-president and chief editorial director of American Media Inc., which publishes Star, Shape, Men's Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health, and The National Enquirer, it seemed that her meteoric career trajectory was taking a nosedive. She was shunted into a consulting job and the occasional blogging on the Huffington Post and not much has been heard since. She had said she was looking for backing for Bonnie Fuller Media and was going to start her own independent site. Clearly the search for funds didn't go well.

Now Fuller, who got her start as a fashion reporter at the Toronto Star and became the editor of Flare magazine then shot to prominence in New York heading up Women's Wear Daily, Glamour and then US Weekly, has resurfaced as the website editor-in-chief and president of Hollywood Life, a Los Angeles-based celebrities site. According to a story in the New York Times,

The site is owned by Mail.com Media Corporation, which was founded by Jay Penske, the youngest son of famed auto racer and automotive executive Roger Penske. Mail.com also owns MovieLine.com and OnCars.com and made a splash last month when it announced it had purchased Deadline Hollywood Daily, the Los Angeles Web site run by Nikki Finke that covers the entertainment industry.

Not surprisingly, Fuller is going to shake things up and it looks like she'll spend most of her time in New York with occasional trips to Los Angeles. She told the Times that the site was going to be casting a wide net when it comes to celbrities:

“Celebrities come from such a much broader spectrum,” she said. “My audience is just as interested in Sarah Palin as they are in Miley Cyrus. We have a celebrity president and reality stars like Jon and Kate have been one of the most important stories of the year. It’s not just about movie stars anymore.”

[photo: Ruth Fremson, New York Times]