Lisa Birnbach

Lisa R. Birnbach is an author best known for co-authoring The Official Preppy Handbook, which spent 38 weeks at number one on the New York Times bestseller list in 1980.[2][3]

Lisa Regine Birnbach
Born1957/1958 (age 62–63)[1]
New York City
NationalityUnited States
EducationB.A. Brown University
OccupationAuthor
Spouse(s)Steven Haft (divorced)
Children3
Parent(s)Naomi Salit Birnbach
Maks Birnbach
RelativesNorman Salit (grandfather)

Early life and education

Birnbach was born to a Jewish family[4] on the Upper East Side of New York,[5] the daughter of Naomi (née Salit) and Maks Birnbach.[6] Her father immigrated from Germany to Palestine prior to World War II where he was a member of the Irgun and then later immigrated to the United States[7] where he worked as a diamond importer; her mother worked for the Jewish Museum.[6] Her maternal grandfather, Norman Salit, was a rabbi and served as president of the Synagogue Council of America.[6] She attended the Birch Wathen Lenox School from 1962 to 1971 and the Riverdale Country School (class of 1974).[5][6] She went on to study at Barnard College for first year, before transferring to Brown University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in Semiotics in 1978.[5]

Career

After graduation, Birnbach toured Europe and worked for an advertising agency. From April 1979, Birnbach worked as a staff writer at The Village Voice, where she co-wrote the Scenes column. Since The Official Preppy Handbook Lisa has written an additional 15 books, for newspapers such as the New York Times, and for magazines such as Glamour, Parade, Rolling Stone, and TV Guide. She was the deputy editor of Spy magazine.[3][8]

Birnbach worked as a technical consultant on the movie Dead Poets Society. She has co–hosted Good Night America and was a correspondent on The Early Show, hosting the segment, "Yikes! I'm a Grownup!" She is co–creator and co–host of ABC's Zero Hour, co–writer of the off–Broadway revue, Loose Lips, and until 2007, she hosted the comedy radio program, The Lisa Birnbach Show.[3]

In 2010, she wrote True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World with Chip Kidd.[9][10] She appeared on the Colbert Report on 13 September 2010.[11]

Personal life

Birnbach resides in Manhattan.[1] She was married to film producer Steven Haft[6][12] known for the production of Jakob the Liar and Dead Poets Society. Haft and Birnbach have since divorced.[1]

Authored books
  • The Official Preppy Handbook. New York: Workman. 1981. OCLC 681897418.
  • Lisa Birnbach's College Book. New York: Ballantine Books. 1984. ISBN 9780345309181.
  • Going to Work. New York: Villard. 1988. ISBN 9780394758749.
  • Kurt Andersen; Lisa Birnbach; Jamie Malanowski (1995). Loose lips : real words, real people, real funny. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780684803401.
  • 1,003 Great Things About Getting Older. New York: MJF Books. 1997. ISBN 9781567313581.
  • Lisa Birnbach; Ann Hodgman; Patricia Marx (1998). 1,003 Great Things About Kids. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Pub. ISBN 9780836269642.
  • 1,003 Great Things About Friends. New York: MJF Books. 1999. ISBN 978-1567313949.
  • Barbie Live. New York: Rizzoli. 2000. ISBN 978-0789304872.
  • 1,003 Great Things About Teachers. New York: MJF Books. 2002. ISBN 978-1567315073.
  • Lisa Birnbach; Ann Hodgman; Patricia Marx (2002). 1,003 Great Things About America. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Pub. ISBN 9780740729492.
  • Lisa Birnbach; Ann Hodgman; Patricia Marx (2003). 1,003 Great Things About Moms. New York: MJF Books. ISBN 978-1567315899.
  • Lisa Birnbach; Ann Hodgman; Patricia Marx (2005). 1,003 Great Things About Being a Woman. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Pub. ISBN 9780740750137.
  • Lisa Birnbach; Ann Hodgman; Patricia Marx (2005). 1,003 Great Things to Smile About. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Pub. ISBN 9780740741647.
  • 1,003 Great Things About Being Jewish. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Pub. 2006. ISBN 9780740755293.
  • Lisa Birnbach; Ann Hodgman; Patricia Marx (2009). 40% off is the new black : reasons why less is more. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Pub. ISBN 9780740785313.
  • Lisa Birnbach; Chip Kidd (2011). True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0375712012.

References
  1. Minzsheimer, Bob (2 September 2010). "Lisa Birnbach and Chip Kidd". USA Today. Birnbach, 52, editor and co-author...
  2. Maslin, Janet (30 August 2010). "BOOKS OF THE TIMES; Preppily Perplexed? A New Guidebook". The New York Times.
  3. "Lisa Birnbach". Random House Speakers Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  4. Diamond, Jason (5 October 2010). "Jewcy Interviews: Lisa Birnbach, Author of "True Prep"". Jewcy.
  5. Lehrer, Linda J. (April 1981). "The World According to Prep". Brown Alumni Monthly. pp. 36–41. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  6. "Lisa Birnbach, Author to Marry in September". The New York Times. 19 July 1987.
  7. Bernstein, Fred A. (9 February 2011). The Jewish Mothers' Hall of Fame. Doubleday; 1st edition. ISBN 9780307767165.
  8. "Lisa Birnbach bio". Huffington Post.
  9. Birnbach, Lisa; Chip Kidd (2010). True prep: it's a whole new old world. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0375712012.
  10. Rich, Motoko (4 April 2010). "Rejoice, Muffy and Biff: The Preppy Primer Is Getting an Update". The New York Times.
  11. Stephen Colbert (Cast Member) (25 April 2013). "Lisa Birnbach". The Colbert Report. Episode 6114. Comedy Central. 30 Minutes minutes in. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  12. Knutsen, Elise (29 November 2011). "Preppy Handbook Author Sells Upper Crust UES Spread". The New York Observer.
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