Jeanne Phillips
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeanne Phillips writes the "Dear Abby" column under the pen name Abigail Van Buren which was used by her mother, Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips. Jeanne's aunt (Pauline's identical twin sister) is Ann Landers.
Her column is syndicated in many newspapers around the world and there are known to be many loyal readers of her column. She reportedly receives five to ten thousand letters per week. "Dear Abby" answers letters dealing with an enormous variety of topics. Jeanne Phillips has said that one of the most important qualities of an advice columnist is empathy.
Jeanne Phillips began assisting her mother with the column at the age of 14, when she needed to earn an allowance. She has written the majority of the column since the early 1990s, even though her mother did not publicly acknowledge her as co-writer of the column until 2000. Jeanne took the column over completely in 2002 when her mother had to retire due to Alzheimer's disease.
Her mother was widely considered liberal and Jeanne Phillips is considered by some to be even more liberal than her mother was. Some conservatives strongly criticize some of her advice. For example, Concerned Women for America once criticized her for "spreading false information about homosexuality". She has also been criticized by pro-life activists for giving advice in support of abortion rights.
Phillips also receives non-political criticism. Advice columnist Amy Alkon, also known as the Advice Goddess, says she frequently disagrees with Phillips's advice and once referred to Phillips as a "blithering incompetent." Jeanne Phillips frequently prints letters which she receives from readers who criticize and disagree with her advice; and sometimes, she admits to making mistakes.
Many loyal readers of Phillips' column sincerely believe that she keeps her advice as unbiased as possible. Although Phillips' column is printed in thousands of newspapers worldwide, Phillips says that she writes her advice for the people who wrote to her and that the same advice is not necessarily appropriate for every reader of her column.
Phillips has appeared on many television talk shows such as CNN's Larry King Live. She has been awarded by many prestigious national organizations for her advice and efforts to educate her readers on topics related to health, safety, and acceptance of diversity, among many other things.
Phillips has lent her continued support to a project started by her mother known as Operation Dear Abby through which letters can be sent by way of emails to soldiers stationed overseas.
On December 1, 2005, Phillips made her first live radio broadcast ever, by way of internet radio. In her press release regarding that broadcast, she said that she sometimes calls the people who write to her, and that she feels like, in many cases, it is easier to give advice to people over the phone than in written letters.
Jeanne Phillips has largely kept her personal life to herself. Of the many websites which archive information on notable people, very few have any information on Phillips.
However, she sometimes makes references to her personal life when she is giving advice to others and she sometimes mentions personal things about herself in interviews. For example, she sometimes mentions her husband, but she has never disclosed his identity. During her 2005 web-radio broadcast, she mentioned that her husband was younger than she was, although her date of birth has never been made public. According to a 2002 interview, Phillips and her husband have no children.
Her parents were Jewish and Jeanne has also mentioned that she is Jewish; she has never publicly stated anything more than that about her religious practice, and in her column, she writes holiday greetings to people of all religions, and sometimes gives advice to people based on their religion.
