Biography

Kristen Zang was brought up in the Michigan boondocks. At age 14 she was "discovered" and began a whirlwind career shortly after signing with Elite Models. Kristen spent her summers in major cities, and left home permanently at the age of 17. She has been featured in countless ad campaigns and magazines and went on to do film, guest stars on tv shows and national commercials.

Kristen's romantic relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio and her engagement to Oscar winner Nicolas Cage have been well documented by the press.

Her love of animals, culinary skills and a vast knowledge of nutrition led her to spearhead her company "Emma Lou's Homemade Kitchen," a gourmet, human-grade dog food company. While she still enjoys being in front of the camera from time to time, what she enjoys most is running her company, participating in dog rescue and of course hanging out with her beloved husky mix, Emma Lou and lab mix Meester James.

Emma Lou's Kitchen is truly a labor of love. Shortly after Kristen Zang adopted her puppy Emma, she received jarring news. Emma was diagnosed with Distemper, a condition that leaves most dogs affected by it having to be put to sleep. Determined to save Emma, Kristen set out to learn everything she could about dog nutrition and the pet food industry. This was around the same time that many of the pet food companies were issuing recalls.

Zang consulted veterinarians, nutritionists and other specialists while simultaneously studying the diets of most dogs. She learned that most of what was being sold at pet stores was not healthy for them. Through her research, Kristen developed homemade dog food (which is actually people food) that was compliant with the AAFCO's recommended dietary balance among proteins, vitamins, fats and micronutrients. She began feeding Emma with it. Thanks to the health benefits of Kristen's creation, all signs of Distemper quickly disappeared. Emma Lou lived to the ripe old age of 17!

After experiencing the joy of Emma's restoration to excellent health, Kristen wanted to share these benefits with other dog owners. What began as a small operation out of her home is now a rapidly growing company serving many satisfied and steadily returning customers including a large celebrity clientele. She now works in a commercial kitchen to accommodate the volume of food she's producing, and yet maintains her personal touch by cooking everything from scratch. Kristen hopes to continue to grow Emma Lou's Kitchen exponentially and be able to share the love with as many dogs as possible.
- IMDb mini biography by: Jessica Golden