Liz Murray
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liz Murray (born September 23, 1980 in The Bronx, New York) is known for being the homeless girl who became a student at Harvard University. Her story was told in an Emmy-nominated Lifetime TV movie. Her memoir, Breaking Night, was recently published. Murray is currently an inspirational speaker, represented by the Washington Speakers Bureau.
[edit] Her story
Murray was the child of poor, drug-addicted, HIV-infected parents. She became homeless at age 15 when her mother died and her father moved to a shelter. Her life turned around when she began attending the Humanities Preparatory School in Greenwich Village. Though she started high school at a late age and remained without a stable home, she was able to graduate in two years. She was awarded a New York Times scholarship for needy students and accepted into Harvard for the fall of 2000.
Murray's life was the subject of the 2003 made-for-TV movie Homeless to Harvard - The Liz Murray Story, which aired on Lifetime. Thora Birch played Liz. Murray had a part in the movie, playing a social worker and was also a co-executive producer.
Murray's memoir Breaking Night is scheduled to be published by Hyperion Books in 2008 (ISBN 0-7868-6891-0).
[edit] External links
- Lifetime: Homeless to Harvard (2003)
- Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story at the Internet Movie Database
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Keynote Speakers - Liz Murray - for 2006?
- Washington Speakers Bureau: Liz Murray
- Interview: Liz Murray On Movie About Her Life, Plans For Future
- New York Times television review; A Girl on the Street Finds a Path to the Ivy League
- THRIVEnet Story - "From Homeless to Harvard - Liz Murray's Story"
