Fran Lebowitz

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran_Lebowitz

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]

Contents [show] Life and career[edit] Lebowitz was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey.[5]

After being expelled from high school and receiving a GED, Lebowitz worked 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 famous, 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 sport tailored suits by the Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard. On November 17, 2010, Fran 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 Lebowitz 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 currently has a 2015 publication date.[14]

An automobile enthusiast, Lebowitz owns and drives a vintage pearl-gray 1979 Checker Marathon, which she keeps in a high-end garage in the East Village in Manhattan.[15]

Books[edit] Metropolitan Life, Dutton, 1978. ISBN 978-0-525-15562-1 Social Studies, Random House, 1981. ISBN 978-0-394-51245-7 The Fran Lebowitz Reader, Vintage Books, 1994, ISBN 978-0-679-76180-8 Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas, Knopf, 1994. ISBN 978-0-679-86052-5 Progress Exterior Signs of Wealth