David Oliver Cohen (born June 9, 1980) is an American writer, actor and entrepreneur based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He is one of the authors of the ''White Girl Problems'' book series, and a founder of Swish Beverages.

Early life and education

Cohen grew up in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

.Scott Eidler
"Twitter's 'White Girl Problems' equal parts therapy, humor,"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', December 30, 2011. He attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, where he studied acting.Diana Cooper
"White Girl Problems Founders Talk Babe Walker's Success, New Book 'Psychos' and Turning the Book Into a Film,"
'' Life & Style'', May 6, 2014. He is

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish.

Career

Writing

In 2010, Cohen, his brother

Tanner Cohen Tanner Cohen is an American stage, film and television actor, and singer. Career In 2006, Cohen appeared as Tad Becker in five episodes of the American soap opera ''As the World Turns''. He appeared in the 2007 thriller ''The Life Before Her Eyes ...

and Lara Schoenhals created a

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account called White Girl Problems, writing under the pseudonym Babe Walker, a fictional 20-something socialite.Marah Eakin
"The two dudes behind White Girl Problems justify their existence,"
''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'', June 28, 2016. They signed a deal to turn the Twitter feed into a book series, with the first novel, ''White Girl Problems'', published in 2012 under the pen name Babe Walker. It became a ''New York Times'' best-seller the following month. The follow-up, ''Psychos'', was published in 2014, and ''American Babe'', the final novel in the trilogy, was published in 2016. The film rights to ''White Girl Problems'' were purchased by

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

in 2013.Anita Busch
"Lauren Palmigiano Set To Direct Lionsgate's 'White Girl Problems',"
''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'', August 15, 2016. In 2016, it was announced that the film was in development, to be directed by Lauren Palmigiano and produced by

Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Irene Banks (; February 10, 1974) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for playing chaperone Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and an ICCA commentator in the ''Pitch Perfect'' ...

and Max Handelman, and to star Danielle Macdonald. Under the pseudonym Taylor Bell, a fictional college freshman, Cohen and his brother co-wrote the 2015 novel ''Dirty Rush''. In 2015, it was announced that TriStar had purchased the rights to ''Dirty Rush'', with the film to be produced by Banks and Handelman. Credited to The Fat Jew, the 2015 book ''Money Pizza Respect'' was written by Josh Ostrovsky and Cohen, as a collection of comedic personal essays based on Ostrovsky's life.

Acting

Cohen starred as Daniel McDaniel on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

show '' Taina'' for two years, starting in 2001.Dorkys Ramos
"The Cast of Nickelodeon's 'Taina': Where Are They Now?"
Vivala, February 25, 2016. Following that, he performed as the lead, narrator and filmmaker Mark Cohen, in the national tour of the musical ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

''. From 2006 to 2007, he portrayed Kip Lonegan on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

soap opera ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

''.

Film

Cohen produced the documentary ''

Sex Positive The sex-positive movement is a social and philosophical movement that seeks to change cultural attitudes and norms around sexuality, promoting the recognition of sexuality (in the countless forms of expression) as a natural and healthy part of t ...

'', which profiles safe sex activist Richard Berkowitz and premiered at the 2008

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

. He directed and produced the 2010 documentary ''Fast Boy'', about a young man's struggle with cancer.

Wine

In 2015, Cohen, Josh Ostrovsky,

and Alexander Ferzan co-founded the company Swish Beverages, producer of several wines including White Girl Rosé and Babe Rosé With Bubbles.Olivia Sterns
"Meet 'White Girl Rose,' the Wine-on-Demand From 'The Fat Jew' and 'White Girl Problems',"
''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'', June 12, 2015.

Personal life

Cohen lives in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

with his wife Cristi Andrews, an actress, and their two children. Cohen's younger brother is actor and writer

Bibliography

* ''White Girl Problems'' ( Hyperion Books, January 31, 2012, ) - as Babe Walker * ''Psychos: A White Girl Problems Book'' (

Gallery Books Gallery Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster which houses the imprints Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Scout Press, Gallery 13, and Saga Press. Jen Bergstrom is the Senior Vice President and Publisher. ...

, April 29, 2014, ) - as Babe Walker * ''Dirty Rush'' (Gallery Books, January 13, 2015, ) - as Taylor Bell * ''Money Pizza Respect'' (

Grand Central Publishing Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Kinney National Company acquired the New York City-based Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publis ...

, November 3, 2015, ) - with Josh Ostrovsky * ''American Babe: A White Girl Problems Book'' (Gallery Books, June 28, 2016, ) - as Babe Walker * ''Babe Walker: Thirsty'' (

Pocket Star Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...

, May 29, 2017, e-book) - as Babe Walker

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

*
Babe Walker website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, David Oliver Living people 1980 births Writers from Annapolis, Maryland Writers from New York City Novelists from Washington, D.C. Male actors from Maryland Male actors from New York City New York University alumni American people in the wine industry Jewish American male actors Jewish American novelists Businesspeople from New York City Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Maryland 21st-century American Jews