Background

Lisa Birnbach was born in 1957.

Education

Birnbach attended Riverdale Country School and graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978.

Career

Early in her career, Birnbach worked at Village Voice in New York City as a writer. She served as a correspondent on CBS’s (Columbia Broadcasting System) The Early Show for three years, and hosted The Lisa Birnbach Show, a daily syndicated radio show. Additionally, Birnbach was a long time contributing editor at Parade and New York magazines, and served as the deputy editor of the hilarious and influential Spy magazine.

Birnbach was co-writer and co-executive producer of Me Me Me, a comedy pilot for UPN (United Paramount Network) and 20th Century Fox, and co-writer for the HBO (Home Box Office) pilot, Uptown, Down There.

Birnbach has consulted with various global lifestyle brands, including Brooks Brothers and Tommy Hilfiger, Inc. and was the etiquette expert at Brides magazine, with a monthly column from early 2011 to mid-2012. Birnbach worked as a technical consultant on the movie Dead Poets Society and was a correspondent on The Early Show, hosting the segment “Yikes! I'm a Grownup!”.

Birnbach also serves as a creative director for The Field, a New York City-based marketing and communications agency, working primarily on cause-related issues. She has co-hosted the show Good Night America and is co-creator and co-host of ABC's Zero Hour, co-writer of the off-Broadway revue, Loose Lips.

Birnbach is the author of twenty books, including her bestsellers titled The Official Preppy Handbook and True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World. She has been working as a writer for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Parade, Rolling Stone, New York and other periodicals, in addition to Yahoo!

Though Birnbach has gained considerable wealth and popularity from The Official Preppy Handbook, the book was not her original idea. According to Ray Walters in the New York Times Book Review, “she was tapped for the assignment by an old friend and Workman author Richard Smith”. Drawing upon her own experiences and the accumulated wisdom of her numerous preppy friends, Birnbach hosted a fruitful brainstorming session, from which she assembled and edited the observations and ideas that make up The Official Preppy Handbook. From the proper vacation spots to the right schools to the requisite dance and riding lessons, the book outlines, "in somewhat tongue in cheek fashion".

The book dissects the relevant components that make a preppy and thus unmasks its mystique. Part of the appeal of Birnbach’s book can be found in its accessibility. By following the instructions in Birnbach’s handy guide, anyone can become a preppy—and many people did. When she traveled to Charlottesville, South Carolina, Birnbach was welcomed by the mayor who bad “proclaimed it Preppy Day”, recounted Henry Fairlie in the New Republic. The book reflects distinctively democratic ideals. According to Fairlie, “the Preppy sits at the top of an upwardly mobile society; [while the English] aristocrat potters around at the top of a static society.”

Achievements

• Birnbach is a popular author and journalist, mostly known for her The New York Times bestsellers The Official Preppy Handbook and True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World. The Official Preppy Handbook spent 38 weeks at number one on the New York Times bestseller list in 1980. Her books have been translated into various languages.

Works

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• book

  • Lisa Birnbach's New and Improved College Book

    (A guide to colleges offers information on cost; financial...)

    1990
  • Going to Work

    (Based on research at corporations across the country, the...)

    1988
  • 1,003 Great Things About Teachers

    (Teachers are the special breed of people who strive to in...)

    2000
  • 1,003 Great Things About America

    (1,003 Great Things About America is full of the humor and...)

    2002
  • 1003 Great Things About Moms

    (This book is for moms and kids of every age and generation.)

    2002
  • 1,003 Great Things About Getting Older

    (Stories about getting old.)

    1999
  • True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World 2010
  • 1,003 Great Things About Being Jewish 2006
  • The Official Preppy Handbook 1980
  • 1,003 Great Things to Smile About 2004

Connections

Birnbach is married to Steven Haft, a film producer.

husband:

Steven Haft