Fran Lebowitz

Not to be confused with the American photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Fran Lebowitz

Fran Lebowitz in 2011
Born Frances Ann Lebowitz
(1950-10-27) October 27, 1950
Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation Author, writer, public speaker
Nationality American
Notable works Metropolitan Life
Social Studies
The Fran Lebowitz Reader

Frances Ann "Fran" Lebowitz (born October 27, 1950) is an American author[1] and public speaker.[2] Lebowitz is known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York City sensibilities.[3] Some reviewers have called her a modern-day Dorothy Parker.[4]

Life and career

Lebowitz was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey.[5]

After being expelled from high school and receiving a GED, Lebowitz worked in many odd jobs before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for Interview.[6] This was followed by a stint at Mademoiselle.[7] Her first book was a collection of essays titled Metropolitan Life, released in 1978,[4] followed by Social Studies in 1981,[4] both of which are collected in The Fran Lebowitz Reader.[8]

She has been known, in part, for Exterior Signs of Wealth, a long-overdue, unfinished novel,[5] purportedly about rich people who want to be artists, and artists who want to be rich.[1] She also made several appearances on Late Night with David Letterman[5] and had a recurring role as Judge Janice Goldberg on the television drama Law & Order from 2001 to 2007.[3]

A heavy smoker, Lebowitz is known for her advocacy of smokers' rights.[5][9][10]

In September 2007, Lebowitz was named one of the year's most stylish women in Vanity Fair's 68th Annual International Best-Dressed List;[11] she is known to wear tailored suits by the Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard. On November 17, 2010, she returned to The Late Show with David Letterman after a 16-year absence. She discussed her years-long writer's block, which she jokingly referred to as a "writer's blockade." On November 22, 2010, HBO debuted Public Speaking, a documentary about her by Martin Scorsese containing interviews and clips from speaking engagements.[12]

Lebowitz's upcoming book, Progress, was first excerpted in Vanity Fair in 2004[13] and in 2012 had a 2015 publication date.[14]

An automobile enthusiast, in 2011 Lebowitz owned and drove a vintage pearl-gray 1979 Checker Marathon, which she kept in the East Village in Manhattan.[15]

Books

References

  1. 1 2 George Plimpton; James Linville (Summer 1993). "Fran Lebowitz, A Humorist at Work". Paris Review.
  2. ↑ Detrick, Ben (November 17, 2010). "Infallibility Has Its Upside". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 Bennett, Bruce (November 23, 2010). "The Vulture Transcript: Fran Lebowitz on Sarah Palin, Keith Richards, Her Side Career as a Law & Order Judge, and Much More". New York.
  4. 1 2 3 Collins, Glenn (August 23, 1981). "The sour cream sensibility". The New York Times.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Morris, Bob (August 10, 1994). "At Lunch With: Fran Lebowitz; Words Are Easy, Books Are Not". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Coughlan, Thomas (November 7, 2012). "Fran Lebowitz goes road-tripping". The Daily Californian.
  7. ↑ Alfano, Elysabeth (September 28, 2012). "Quintessential New Yorker and Social Commentator, Fran Lebowitz, Comes to Chicago". The Huffington Post.
  8. ↑ Callahan, Dan (February 21, 2011). "Fran Lebowitz in Public Speaking". Slant Magazine.
  9. ↑ "VF editor gives up smoke fight". New York Post. February 19, 2005.
  10. ↑ "Female Celebrity Smoking List – Lebowitz". Smokingsides.com.
  11. ↑ "The 68th Annual International Best-Dressed List". Vanity Fair. September 2007.
  12. ↑ "Public Speaking". HBO. 2010.
  13. ↑ Lebowitz, Fran (October 2004). "Is Everything Sacred?". Vanity Fair.
  14. ↑ Massara, Kathleen (October 19, 2012). "Fran Lebowitz, Frank Rich at Town Hall: Pair Debate State Of The Union". The Huffington Post.
  15. ↑ M. Grynbaum, Michael (June 27, 2011). "Nothing Gets Between Fran Lebowitz and Her Checker". The New York Times.

External links

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