Animal Advocate Beth Stern Talks Fighting Stress and Finding Joy in Our Furry Friends (EXCLUSIVE)

Beth Stern leads a busy life. Waking up at 4 a.m., she's up and tending to her many foster animals and pets well before most of us have even started our days. As she tells FIRST for Women, “I see the sun rise every morning and it makes me smile.”

The former model, actress, author and current North Shore Animal League America (NSALA), spokewoman and wife to iconic radio personality Howard Stern, has a delightfully optimistic outlook on life and stays calm, healthy and radiant no matter what the day throws at her.

Born Beth Ostrosky in Pittsburgh, Stern says caregiving runs in her family. “It’s in my blood,” she says. “My mom, my dad, my two brothers — we’re all animal lovers." Before Stern was born, her parents had a beloved dog who'd prove to be an important part of her life. "My parents call Suzy Dog their first-born, because they had her before my older brother was born," she says. "She was a part of the family the day we entered the world. She was like my sister.”

Beth Stern, who appears on the cover of our current issue (with an adorable rescue kitty, of course!) was also introduced to a larger audience of animals throughout her childhood. “We rescued guinea pigs, cats, dogs, hermit crabs that my neighbors didn’t want," she says, noting that this set her up for her current work as an animal advocate. "Over the years, I’ve fostered about 2,500 animals in all.”

It’s no surprise that Stern has been a prominent NSALA spokesperson, volunteer and foster parent since 2004 and a board member since 2018. This year marks the NSALA's 80th anniversary of saving lives, and the organization has saved more than 1.1 million animals overall.

Beth and Howard were instrumental in the creation of Bianca’s Furry Friends Feline Friends Adoption Center, a unique, 14,000 square foot cage-free facility that opened in 2019, named in memory of their beloved dog, Bianca.

Beth sat down with FIRST to talk about her love of animals, how she stays happy and healthy and Howard’s time out in the “foster room.”

FIRST for Women: How do you feel animals give you a purpose in your day-to-day life?

Beth Stern: I think having a purpose is something to wake up and live by. I don’t have children; I rescue animals and nurture them, get them ready for adoption and I find them wonderful homes. I have seven special needs rescue cats and two rescue rabbits right now. That’s my purpose in life.

FFW: What do you and Howard do to relieve anxiety?

Beth Stern: Whenever my husband is in a bad mood, I send him to the foster room and he comes out five minutes later in a completely different mood.

I also love watching reality television with my husband. That’s one of the things we love to do together with a cat curled up in our laps. He doesn’t have much free time, but we do like watching reality TV.

We’re part of the Bachelor Nation. We love The Bachelor, Beverly Hills Housewives and we’re watching Amy Schumer’s reality TV show too.

FFW: Besides your animals, what else brings you joy on a regular basis?

Beth Stern: My husband. He is not only my rescue partner, but he makes me laugh… he’s my best friend. He laughs at me as he walks by when I’m doing the hydro rowing machine because he says he’s never seen anyone smiling as much when working out.

FFW: What other forms of exercise do you do?

Beth Stern: Every morning, Howard and I walk three or four miles. It’s a wonderful time we spend together. We use that time to talk while we’re exercising and when we get home, we feel really good.

If he has a morning radio show, we walk around 11 a.m. and if he’s not working, we walk around 8 a.m. And we have our nights together. That just brings me joy, knowing throughout my day that we are together at the beginning and the end of the days.

And I have to say, I’ve become almost addicted to my hydro rowing machine because of the way it makes me feel, and I see the results.

FFW: What nutritional staples do you keep in your kitchen?

Beth Stern: I have a bowl of bananas right now. I keep jars of no-salt cashews, no-salt almonds and no-salt pistachios. And I have to admit, they’re not healthy, but I have gummy bears in a basket on the countertop.

I have my breakfast, then at lunch I might have a handful of nuts and a protein bar, then I have a really full dinner! We eat early, around 4:30 or 5. And I eat whatever I want then and don’t starve myself. It could be pasta, pizza, french fries… and then a dessert as well.

FFW: What is your typical morning like?

Beth Stern: I get up at 4 a.m. because of my animals. I call it my morning rounds. I start with my residence cats, one of whom had a spinal cord injury. Then I go into the bunny room, then I start to do the meds for all my other residence cats.

Every day is a little bit different depending on the fosters I have in the house and my residence cats, so it’s a busy morning. But I usually fall asleep around 9 p.m.

FFW: Looking back over your years of modeling, acting and volunteerism, what have you learned about yourself?

Beth Stern: I was insecure about my looks since I was a very little girl and getting into the modeling industry certainly didn’t help because it only made me feel worse about myself. You’re going to 10 different castings and getting rejections, so I always struggled with how I could look better.

Now, as a 51-year-old woman, I look back at that and get sad thinking I spent all that time feeling bad about myself. I wish I could have embraced it all earlier and been okay with who I was. My husband tells me every single day how beautiful I am and commends my work and makes me feel confident.

FFW: How would you describe yourself today?

Beth Stern: Happy, nurturing and peaceful.