Judith Newman

Judith Newman
Born	1961 (age 52–53)
Occupation	Journalist, author
Language	English
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Columbia University Wesleyan University
Notable work(s)	You Make Me Feel Like an Unnatural Woman: The Diary of a New (Older) Mother

Judith B. Newman (born 1961)^[1][2] is an American journalist and author. She writes about entertainment, relationships, parenthood, business, beauty, books, science, and popular culture. Her work has run in more than fifty publications, including The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Harper's, The Wall Street Journal, Allure (where she served as Contributing Editor) and Vogue.^[3] Newman's books include the 2004 memoir You Make Me Feel Like an Unnatural Woman: The Diary of a New (Older) Mother.^[4][5]

Early life and education

Newman was raised in Scarsdale, New York.^[6] Her father, Edmund Newman, was a beer salesman^[7] and later an executive for the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company,^[8] and her mother, Frances (née Fiorillo; 1926–2011), was a doctor.^[9] Newman graduated from Scarsdale High School^[10] in 1977^[11] and received a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1981.^[12] She received a Master of Arts degree in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University in 1984.^[13]

Journalism career

Since the 1980s, Newman has written for magazines, newspapers and periodicals. Her articles include: "At Your Disposal – The Funeral Industry Prepares for Boom Times" (Harper's, 1997),^[14] "I Have Seen Cancers Disappear" (Discover, 2001),^[15] "Chasing Britney" (Allure, 2007),^[16] "How the Kardashians Made $65 Million Last Year" (Hollywood Reporter, 2011)^[17] and "Making Waves with No Apology" (The New York Times, 2011).^[18]

Newman has been described as "one of the most successful freelance journalists today".^[19] Her article "I Have Seen Cancers Disappear" was selected for inclusion in The Best American Science and Nature Writing.^[3][20] On the other hand, Newman's writing has found critics: a review in Jezebel of her article "Chasing Britney" commented that she squandered "an opportunity to question the common wisdom that it is Britney [Spears] who is insane, not those around her."^[21]

Newman has written a regular column for Ladies Home Journal ("My Life as a Mom") and has written sex columns for Mademoiselle and American Health. She wrote a relationship column for the defunct teen girls' magazine YM, and an etiquette column ("Manner Up") for Parade. Newman contributes book reviews to People^[22] and The New York Times Book Review.^[23] Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul said, "Judith Newman could review a potato peel and it would be wry, insightful, and entertaining."^[24]

Newman's approach to narrative and criticism has occasionally irritated some of the prominent people about whom she writes. In response to a Vanity Fair story about the downfall of Rosie O'Donnell's' Rosie magazine, O'Donnell, from the witness stand during a trial, stated that Newman was like "the nebbishy Jewish girl who worked for the audiovisual club in high school."^[25] Publisher Judith Regan criticized Newman following the publication of Newman's 2005 story, "The Devil and Miss Regan," in Vanity Fair.^[26] The Daily Telegraph wrote that "Regan would happily knock the teeth out of Judith Newman."^[27]

In January 2014, Newman's essay "Wikipedia, What Does Judith Newman Have to Do to Get a Page?" appeared in The New York Times. In the essay, Newman questioned Wikipedia's editorial policies, including its criteria for selecting and deleting articles, and requested that Wikipedia editors help with creating an article about her.^[28] That same day, a Wikipedia article was written on Newman.^[29]

Books

In 1993, Newman wrote Bath (Chic Simple), and the following year she wrote Body (Chic Simple), both for the Chic Simple Components series.^[30][31] In 1994, she also authored Tell Me Another One: A Woman’s Guide to Men’s Classic Lines, which focuses on male pick-up lines.^[32] The idea for the book came to Newman after she was jilted.^[33] The next year, Newman wrote Parents from Hell: Unexpurgated Tales of Good Intentions Gone Awry.^[34]

In 1996, Newman co-wrote Just Between Us Girls: Secrets About Men from the Madam Who Knows with "Mayflower Madam" Sydney Biddle Barrows.^[35] In 2013, she collaborated with Samantha Geimer on The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski.^[36] A reviewer in The Guardian wrote, "[The Girl] might be the most important and invaluable book of the century so far ... an emotional rollercoaster ... smart and articulate".^[37]

Newman's memoir, You Make Me Feel Like An Unnatural Woman: Diary of a New (Older) Mother, was published in 2004.^[5] It details the challenges of getting pregnant at the age of 40, after "seven years of science," $70,000, and nine months of nausea. A Publishers Weekly review noted: "While humorless and/or politically correct readers may bristle at Newman's antics, everyone else will be rolling in the aisles, reading out funny parts to perfect strangers."^[4]

Personal life

Newman lives in New York City. She is married and has twin sons, Henry and Augustus,^[38] born in 2001.^[7] Newman and her husband maintain separate apartments in Manhattan.^[39]

References

External links

• Newman's Facebook page
• New York Post feature on "power wives," including Newman