Fran Lebowitz

Frances Ann Lebowitz, known as Fran Lebowitz, is an American author, public speaker, and actor. She is prominently known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York City sensibilities. Lebowitz has associated with many prominent figures from the New York art scene of the 1970s and 1980s. She gained fame for her books Metropolitan Life (1978) and Social Studies (1981), which were combined into The Fran Lebowitz Reader in 1994. Lebowitz has been the subject of two projects directed by Martin Scorsese, the HBO documentary film Public Speaking (2010), and the Netflix docu-series Pretend It's a City (2021). Lebowitz was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey. She developed a love of reading from an early age. She identifies her Jewish identity as cultural, but not religious, and has been an atheist since age 7. Lebowitz was a poor student, particularly in algebra, which she failed six times. She worked at a Carvel ice cream store. After being expelled from high school, Lebowitz moved to New York City to live with her aunt. There, she survived by writing papers for students. She is known for her trademark style which consists of clever quips and observational humor on a range of topics, including New York City, gentrification, art, literature, and politics. Additionally, Lebowitz often speaks about her love for her 1979 Checker cab and her advocate for smokers' rights.