Lisa Birnbach
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Lisa R. Birnbach (born 1957/1958) is an author best known for co-authoring ''
The Official Preppy Handbook ''The Official Preppy Handbook'' (1980) is a Satire, satirical reference guide edited by Lisa Birnbach and written by Jonathan Roberts (writer), Jonathan Roberts, Carol McD. Wallace, Mason Wiley, and Birnbach. It discusses an aspect of North Amer ...
'', which spent 38 weeks at number one on the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' best-seller list in 1980.


Early life and education

Birnbach was born to a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family on the
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...
of New York, the daughter of Naomi (née Salit) and Maks Birnbach. Her father immigrated from Germany to
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...
prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
where he was a member of the
Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
and then later immigrated to the United States where he worked as a diamond importer; her mother worked for the
Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...
. Her maternal grandfather, Norman Salit, was a rabbi and served as president of the
Synagogue Council of America The Synagogue Council of America was an American Jewish organization of synagogue and rabbinical associations, founded in 1926. The Council was the umbrella body bridging the three primary religious movements within Judaism in the United States. It ...
. Birnbach attended the Birch Wathen Lenox School from 1962 to 1971 and the
Riverdale Country School Riverdale Country School is a co-educational, independent, college-preparatory day school in New York City serving pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is located on two campuses covering more than in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, Ne ...
(class of 1974). She went on to study at
Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
of
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
for her first year, before transferring to
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
where she graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree with Honors in
Semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...
in 1978.


Career

After graduation, Birnbach toured
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and worked for an advertising agency. From April 1979, Birnbach worked as a staff writer at ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'', where she co-wrote the ''Scenes'' column. Since ''
The Official Preppy Handbook ''The Official Preppy Handbook'' (1980) is a Satire, satirical reference guide edited by Lisa Birnbach and written by Jonathan Roberts (writer), Jonathan Roberts, Carol McD. Wallace, Mason Wiley, and Birnbach. It discusses an aspect of North Amer ...
'' Lisa has written an additional 15 books, for newspapers such as the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,'' and for magazines such as '' Glamour, ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'',
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
,'' and ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
.'' She was the deputy editor of ''
Spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
'' magazine. Birnbach worked as a technical consultant on the movie ''
Dead Poets Society ''Dead Poets Society'' is a 1989 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman. The film, starring Robin Williams, is set in 1959 at a fictional elite boarding school called Welton Academy, and tells ...
.'' She has co–hosted '' Good Night America'' and was a correspondent on ''
The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...
,'' hosting the segment, "Yikes! I'm a Grownup!" She is co–creator and co–host of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
'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.'' In 2010, she wrote ''True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World'' with
Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for Cover art, book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington, Pennsylvania, Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by Am ...
. She appeared on the ''
Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show foc ...
'' on 13 September 2010. In 2022, Lisa Birnbach appeared in the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
docu-series ''
The Andy Warhol Diaries ''The Andy Warhol Diaries'' is the dictated memoir of the American artist Andy Warhol and edited by his longtime friend and collaborator Pat Hackett. The book was published posthumously by Warner Books with an introduction by Hackett. The 807-p ...
'', in which she retroactively criticized ''The Official Preppy Handbook'' for passages encouraging
gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is in ...
and
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
. In her interview in the series, Birnbach noted that two of the contributors to the book were gay men.


Personal life

Birnbach resides 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 ...
. She was married to film producer
Steven Haft Steven Haft is an American media executive, attorney and film producer. Biography Haft was born in Manhattan and raised in Flushing, Queens, the son of Helen (''née'' Urdang) and Nathan "Nuddy" Haft. He is a graduate of Hofstra University Scho ...
known for the production of ''
Jakob the Liar ''Jakob the Liar'' is a 1999 American-made Holocaust film directed by Peter Kassovitz, produced by Steven Haft and Marsha Garces Williams. It is written by Kassovitz and Didier Decoin based on the 1969 German novel '' Jacob the Liar'', by Je ...
'' and ''
Dead Poets Society ''Dead Poets Society'' is a 1989 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman. The film, starring Robin Williams, is set in 1959 at a fictional elite boarding school called Welton Academy, and tells ...
.'' Haft and Birnbach have since divorced. Birnbach was contacted by E. Jean Carroll about an alleged act of violent
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
by former U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, and suggested pressing charges. On political grounds, Birnbach also criticized former President Trump and his political allies such as
Mark Meadows Mark Randall Meadows (born July 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 29th White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021 under the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the U.S. representat ...
and
William Barr William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as United States Attorney General, United States attorney general in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and again in the first adminis ...
on her official social media.


Authored books

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Birnbach, Lisa Living people 1956 births American women non-fiction writers Brown University alumni Jewish American non-fiction writers People from the Upper East Side Writers from Manhattan The New Yorker people Birch Wathen Lenox School alumni Riverdale Country School alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women