Erica Kennedy (March 24, 1970 – June 13, 2012) was an American author, blogger,

news correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

, fashion journalist, and singer. Her 2004 novel '' Bling'', became a ''New York Times'' bestseller. In 2010, she was named to the list of 100 most influential

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s, as published by ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' magazine and known as the "Ebony Power 100".

Personal background

Erica Kennedy Johnson was born on March 24, 1970. Her father died when she was 17 years old. Her mother, Mary Mobley Johnson, was an

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

er. She was raised in

Bayside, Queens Bayside is a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fr ...

, with her brother, Kirk Johnson. Kennedy attended

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

and

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, earning her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in liberal arts from Sarah Lawrence in 1992. Kennedy was the best friend of model and television personality

Kimora Lee Simmons Kimora Lee Simmons (née Perkins; May 4, 1975) is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, television personality and former fashion model. As a teenager, she was signed with Chanel, where she became a model. Simmons has walked the runway ...

, serving as the maid of honor at her wedding to

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has p ...

and godmother to their daughters, Ming and Aoki.

Professional background

Following her college graduation, Kennedy started her career working as a publicist with various top fashion designers including

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

and

Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...

. She worked as a special news correspondent for the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' before writing on fashion and entertainment for ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'', ''

InStyle ''InStyle'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith, and started originally as a brand extension of ''People (magazine), People'' before carving out its own ide ...

'', ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

'', and '' Elle UK''. Kennedy received her job at ''

'' because

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

(then known as The Artist) requested that he be interviewed by an African-American woman. She had sent clips in to the magazine before, but they only called her at Prince's request. She also wrote a popular blog for the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

''. Kennedy published two novels. Her first novel, '' Bling'', was published by

Miramax Books Miramax Books was an American publishing company started by Bob and Harvey Weinstein of Miramax Films to publish movie tie-ins. Between 2000 and 2005, while Jonathan Burnham was its president and editor-in-chief, the imprint published the memoir ...

in 2004 and reached 35th on the

New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

;

the Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...

optioned the book for film adaptation. Her second novel, '' Feminista'', was published by

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

in 2009.

Death

On June 18, 2012, the

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

police department confirmed to news media that Kennedy's body had been found in her home on June 13. She was 42 years old. Kennedy's cause of death has never been publicly announced.

Published works

* Kennedy, Erica. ''Bling'',

, 2004. * Kennedy, Erica. ''Feminista'',

, 2009.

References

External links

*
Profile
at

xoJane ''xoJane'' (also known as ''xoJane.com'') was an American online magazine from 2011 to 2016 geared toward women and founded by Jane Pratt and co-published by Say Media. Pratt was the founding editor of '' Sassy'' and '' Jane'' magazines. In l ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Erica 1970 births 2012 deaths 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers African-American women journalists African-American journalists American bloggers American fashion journalists American women novelists People from Miami Beach, Florida People from Bayside, Queens Sarah Lawrence College alumni Novelists from Florida Writers from Queens, New York Novelists from New York City 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers Journalists from New York City 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers African-American novelists American women bloggers 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers