Christina McDowell (born March 14, 1985) is an American author, actress, and filmmaker, best known for her debut novel, ''After Perfect''.

Early life

McDowell was born on March 14, 1985, in Washington, D.C., to Gayle L. (née McDowell) Prousalis and Thomas T. Prousalis, Jr., a prominent Washington, D.C., securities attorney and former decorated Air Force fighter pilot. McDowell had a privileged upbringing as the middle of three sisters, and the family resided in the wealthy Washington, D.C., suburb of McLean, Virginia around the corner from "Hickory Hill," the well-known Kennedy Estate. McDowell was an honors graduate of St Andrew's Episcopal High School a private school in suburban Washington, D.C. McDowell attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, but did not graduate, withdrawing from the university after her freshman year due to her father's legal troubles, resulting in her family's financial collapse.

Writing

On December 26, 2013, McDowell penned an op-ed for the ''LA Weekly'' criticizing the Hollywood film '' The Wolf of Wall Street'' and lambasting

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for glorifying greed and "psychopathic behavior" that destroyed families like her own. Her ''LA Weekly'' op-ed went viral receiving more than 3.7 million page views and generating international coverage, including a piece in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Less than a month after McDowell's op-ed was initially published, publishing houses expressed interest in McDowell writing a book about the events of her life, her father's legal troubles, and her subsequent downward spiral. Her 2015

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

, ''After Perfect'', details her family's implosion and her personal experience with poverty, depression, drug addiction, and redemption. ''People'' magazine wrote that it was "a brutally honest, cautionary tale about one family's destruction in the wake of the Wall Street implosion." The book was listed as a must-read in publications and digital journals including the ''Village Voice'', ''PopSugar'', Oprah's ''O'' magazine, and ''People Magazine''. In interviews, McDowell has discussed the transformative power of writing and how crafting her memoir was a form of catharsis. McDowell's second book, ''The'' ''Cave Dwellers'', about high society in Washington, D.C., was released by Simon and Schuster in 2020.

Awards and accolades

* ''The Village Voice:'' 15 Books You Need to Read in 2015 * ''PopSugar:'' Best of June * ''O Magazine:'' Season's Best Biography and Memoir * ''People Magazine:'' Twelve Best Summer Beach Books * Bliss, Beauty, and Beyond: Bachelorette Poolside Picks * Brit and Co: 15 Must Read Books Coming Out This June

Other work

In the years since her author debut, McDowell has become an advocate for restorative justice and criminal justice reform. McDowell is the co-producer (with Matthew Cooke) of the 2018 documentary, ''Survivor's Guide to Prison'' about mass incarceration in America. Additionally, she is involved with the non-profit InsideOUT Writers (a creative writing organization for incarcerated youth), and POPS (an LA-based non-profit that provides support for kids and teens with family members in prison). In 2004, McDowell featured as the love interest in the music video for the song ”Pain” by

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Miscellaneous

McDowell owned a small Havanese dog named Zelda Fitzgerald.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Christina 1985 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Novelists from Washington, D.C. Filmmakers from Washington, D.C. American women film directors Loyola Marymount University alumni 21st-century American memoirists American women memoirists 21st-century American women writers