Supernanny: Meet Jo Frost

Jo Frost: the name may sound unfamiliar, but if you're the parent of a young child, chances are you know her as ABC's popular Supernanny.

"Frost transforms yowling demon spawn into angelic little darlings," claims Entertainment Weekly. Who exactly is Jo Frost?

She was born June 27, 1971, in London as Joanne Frost.

Jo says she has always had a gift for connecting with children. She began babysitting as a teen, and after college began a career as a nanny in England, the United States, and the Caribbean. She has over 15 years of nannying experience.

Nick Powell, the executive producer of Supernanny, was impressed with Frost's skills with children and originally cast her in the role of Supernanny.

The Supernanny television program debuted in the United Kingdom in 2004 to rave reviews. It debuted on U.S. screens in 2005, and has recently been renewed into the 2009 season. Jo was an instant hit with viewers. She became famous for her "naughty chair" concept, where an offending child is placed in a time out for a minute per year of his/her age. She is known for her positive and encouraging manner with children, and has been called a "modern-day Mary Poppins".

The U.S. version of the show was shown in Australia where it was successful at first, but after ratings dropped the show was dropped there.

Jo has written three books since becoming famous: "Ask Supernanny", "Supernanny", and "Jo Frost's Confident Baby Care". The books have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Jo tells how she was inspired to try her hand at authoring: "A seed was planted a very long time ago for me when told by an employer: 'Jo you have so much insight, you could write your own book.'"

Her image has only grown as she has appeared on television shows such as The View, Ellen, and 20/20. She is currently an advocate for Weight Watchers' Family Power principles. The Weight Watchers connection came about because Jo wanted to lose weight, which she said she had gained as a result of frequent traveling for her job which cause her to eat poorly and not exercise enough.

Her healthy family ideas include focusing on healthy foods, including treats, being active an hour or more each day, aiming for 2 hours or less per day of "screen time", and applying these principles to everyone in the home (not just the children).

When she is not busy traveling for her filming schedule, Jo lives in London.