Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American historian, biographer, author, former sports journalist, and political commentator whose work has reshaped public understanding of several U.S. presidents. Raised in a Catholic Irish‑American family on Long Island, she excelled academically, graduating magna cum laude from Colby College in 1964 with a B.A. in political science before earning a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University in 1968. Goodwin’s early career was marked by a White House Fellowship under President Lyndon B. Johnson, during which she authored a provocative article that kept her in the program despite political controversy. After Johnson’s administration, she taught government at Harvard for a decade, though her tenure was denied, and she assisted Johnson in drafting his memoirs, experiences that informed her first bestseller, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream (1977).**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************, she later became the first woman to enter the Boston Red Sox locker room (1979) and contributed to Ken Burns' Baseball documentary. Goodwin’s Pulitzer‑winning No Ordinary Time (1995) chronicled the Roosevelt partnership during World War II, while Team of Rivals (2005) examined Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet, earning the Lincoln Prize and inspiring Tony Kushner’s screenplay for Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012). Her later works include The Bully Pulpit (2013), Leadership in Turbulent Times (2018), and An Unfinished Love Story (2024). Beyond books, Goodwin produced the miniseries Washington and executive‑produced History Channel’s Abraham Lincoln (2022). A frequent television presence, she has appeared on Meet the Press, Charlie Rose, and even cameoed on The Simpsons and American Horror Story. Despite a 2002 plagiarism controversy that led to her resignation from the Pulitzer board, she remains a respected voice in historical scholarship, celebrated with honors such as the National Humanities Medal (1996) and the Golden Plate Award (1996).