Ree Drummond

Drummond

**Anne Marie "Ree" Drummond** (nee **Smith**), also known as the **Pioneer Woman**, is an American chef, blogger, and author of five cookbooks as well as some other books. Her recipes are the primary interest of this wiki.

## Early life

Born on January 6, 1969 to William and Gerre Smith, Drummond grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She has two brothers (Mike and Doug) and one sister (Betsy). In 1987, Drummond graduated from Bartlesville High School and left for college in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 1991, having studied journalism and gerontology. Drummond was going to attend law school in Chicago, but canceled her plans after meeting Ladd Drummond, whom she married.

Drummond was raised Episcopalian (a denomination of the Christian religion).

## Career

### Blog

Drummond grew to popularity through her blog, thepioneerwoman.com, which she registered in October of 2006 (though she began blogging through Typepad in May 2006). She still has her blog, where she writes about ranch life, her children, and, of course, recipes. Her first recipe was a tutorial titled "How to Cook a Steak". Her step-by-step instructions and photography proved popular with readers of the blog, and the blog soon became one of the most popular food-themed blogs (and still is to this day).

### Books

Drummond has released five cookbooks, as well as memoirs and stories about her life on the ranch. Her cookbooks are ***The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl***; ***The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from my Frontier***; ***The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays***; ***The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime***; and ***The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get it!***. She has also released numerous picture books about her basset hound, Charlie, a series titled *Little Ree*, and a memoir titled *From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels*.

### Food Network

Drummond first appeared on Food Network on an episode of *Throwdown! With Bobby Flay*, where the two chefs competed during a Thanksgiving-themed competition. Drummond's food won. Then, in April 2011, Food Network announced that Drummond would host her own show, *The Pioneer Woman*, which premiered on August 27, 2011.

### The Merc

Drummond and her husband, Ladd, purchased The Mercantile (The Merc for short), a restaurant and retail store in a downtown Pawhuska building that they began renovating in 2012. The Merc opened in late 2016.

### Awards

(Taken directly from Wikipedia)
Seventh Annual Weblog Awards – The 2007 Bloggies
2007 Best Kept Secret Weblog – Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (won)

Eighth Annual Weblog Awards – The 2008 Bloggies
2008 Best Food Weblog – The Pioneer Woman Cooks (won)
2008 Best Writing of a Weblog – Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (won)

Ninth Annual Weblog Awards – The 2009 Bloggies
2009 Weblog of the Year – Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (won)
2009 Best Designed Weblog – Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (won)
2009 Best Photography of a Weblog – Pioneer Woman Photography (won)
2009 Best Food Weblog – The Pioneer Woman Cooks (nominated)
2009 Most Humorous Weblog – Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (nominated)
2009 Best Writing of a Weblog – Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (nominated)

Tenth Annual Weblog Awards – The 2010 Bloggies
2010 Weblog of the Year – The Pioneer Woman (won)
2010 Best Writing of a Weblog – The Pioneer Woman (won)
2010 Best Designed Weblog – The Pioneer Woman (won)

## Personal Life

After marrying Ladd Drummond, Ree moved to Ladd's cattle ranch, 8 miles west of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She has four children: Alex, Paige, Bryce, and Todd.