How Donna Karan Shaped My Approach to Health & Healing

In the last 20 years since I completed my residency in Ob-Gyn, and in the last 18 years working as a medical correspondent on national television, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have had many memorable experiences and to have met many interesting people. Donna Karan is one of them.

I first met the iconic fashion designer when we were both invited to attend the Women of the World retreat hosted by Tina Brown. With only 40 women participating over the course of three days in California, we all had the opportunity to truly get to know each other. Donna and I hit it off immediately—she was deeply interested in healthcare and wellness, and I was fascinated by fashion.

One of the first things that struck me about Donna was her personal story and how she became such an advocate for healing. While caring for her late husband, artist Stephan Weiss, who was dying from lung cancer, he famously made her promise to “take care of the nurses” after he was gone. It was then that they both realized how much caregivers also deserve and require care themselves—and that the traditional Western approach to healing was incomplete in many ways.

In 2011, Donna launched Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT), a blend of Reiki, yoga, nutrition, and aromatherapy massage, as part of her mission to offer a more holistic approach to wellness and healing.

“Much was missing from Stephan’s care,” Karan said. “He needed the knowledge of traditional Western medicine. But he also needed healing that can only be accessed from the heart and through the spirit. Out of my frustrations with the treatment at even the best medical facilities, a commitment was born. I am determined to do what I can to create a new model for wellness and patient care in hospitals and to address the needs of patients’ loved ones and the staff who are on the journey with them.”

Today, UZIT and its training programs are offered across the U.S., helping both patients and everyday people incorporate these holistic healing elements into healthcare systems and daily life.

But it isn’t just Donna’s passion for health and wellness that drew me to her—it’s also her philosophy as a fashion designer. If you know Donna’s aesthetic, you know it’s about draping, luxury fabrics, and making a woman’s body (ANY body) look amazing.

She once told me, “Before I dress a woman, I need to ADDRESS the woman,” meaning she starts from a place of respect and deep understanding of the person she is designing for. Donna believes that the woman she designs for is strong, sexy, active, and a little mysterious. She blends power and vulnerability in the most divine fabrics and fits, and whether it was her iconic silk bodysuit from the 1980s or her Urban Zen jersey knits from the last decade, the same item can take a woman from a party to a conference room, from no makeup to full glam—something few global fashion forces can do.

She launched her blockbuster fashion company with high-end luxury pieces and quickly expanded to create affordable, accessible designs (DKNY) so she could dress every woman.

Since Donna and I are both based in New York City, we get to see each other often, and we’ve even hung out in her closet—where she delights in watching me try on her leather jackets (as do I!). We’ve also bonded over our travels to Haiti—where I spent 10 days caring for victims of the 2010 earthquake, and she has traveled numerous times to support and uplift the Haitian artistic community.

Donna is the epitome of a woman I respect and love—an icon in her career, a philanthropist, activist, loving mother and grandmother, devoted friend, and brilliant businesswoman. And… she loves to laugh and have fun! She has been there for me through ups and downs, continuously inspiring me as a woman, a wife, a mother, a friend, and as a doctor.

Donna, you’re a gift, and I love you!

xo, Jen