Frances Ann Lebowitz (; born October 27, 1950) is an American author, public speaker, cultural critic, and actor. She is known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York City sensibilities and her association with many prominent figures of the New York art scene of the 1970s and 1980s, including Andy Warhol, Martin Scorsese, Jerome Robbins, Robert Mapplethorpe, David Wojnarowicz, Candy Darling, and the New York Dolls.
Lebowitz gained fame for her books Metropolitan Life (1978) and Social Studies (1981), which were combined into The Fran Lebowitz Reader in 1994. She 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).
The New York Times has called Lebowitz a modern-day Dorothy Parker.
Early life and education
Lebowitz was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey. She has one sister, Ellen. Her parents were Ruth and Harold Lebowitz, who owned Pearl's Upholstered Furniture, a furniture store and upholstery workshop. She developed a love of reading from an early age, to the point that she would surreptitiously read during class and neglect her homework. Lebowitz describes her "Jewish identity [as] ethnic or cultural or whatever people call it now. But it's not religious." She did not have a bat mitzvah, but did go to Sunday school until 15 and had a confirmation. She worked at a Carvel ice cream store.
As an adolescent, Lebowitz was deeply affected by James Baldwin: "James Baldwin was the first person I ever saw on television who I heard talk like that—by which I mean, he was the first intellectual I ever heard talk... And I was just flabbergasted. That made me read him." She also enjoyed watching television appearances by Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, though she did not agree with Buckley. and then in 1969 moved to New York City. Her father agreed to pay for her first two months in the city on the condition that she live at the women's-only Martha Washington Hotel. To support herself, she worked as a cleaner, and that she "can't smile at people for money".
At age 21, Lebowitz worked for Changes, a small magazine "about radical-chic politics and culture" founded by Susan Graham Ungaro, the fourth wife of Charles Mingus. She sold advertising space, Andy Warhol then hired Lebowitz as a columnist for Interview magazine, where she wrote two columns: "The Best of the Worst", which reviewed bad movies, and "I Cover the Waterfront". During these years, she made friends with many artists, including photographers Peter Hujar, whom she met in 1971, and Robert Mapplethorpe, who often gave her photos, many of which she threw away in the 1970s.
In 1978, her first book, Metropolitan Life, was published. The book was a collection of comedic essays mostly from Mademoiselle and Interview, After its publication, Lebowitz became a local celebrity, frequenting Studio 54 and regularly appearing on television talk shows. This was followed by Social Studies (1981), another collection of comedic essays in which she explored topics such as teenagers, films, and room service. Years later, The Fran Lebowitz Reader (1994) was published, which included both books.
Writer's block and public persona
Since the mid-1990s, Lebowitz has been known for her decades-long writer's block. but has yet to be completed. When discussing her writer's block, she said: "My editor—who, whenever I introduce him as my editor, always says, 'easiest job in town'—he says that the paralysis I have about writing is caused by an excessive reverence for the written word, and I think that's probably true." She tours as a public speaker, represented by the Steven Barclay Agency. In addition, she has made several appearances on Late Night with David Letterman white shirts, cowboy boots, Levi's jeans, and tortoiseshell glasses. She often speaks of her treasured pearl-grey 1979 Checker cab, the only car she has ever owned, which she describes as "the only monogamous relationship I've ever had in my life". In September 2007, Lebowitz was named one of the year's most stylish women in Vanity Fair<nowiki>'</nowiki>s 68th Annual International Best-Dressed List. An annual event, FranCon, celebrates Lebowitz's sartorial sense, with participants dressing in her signature style.
Lebowitz is also known for her massive book collection, 10,000 volumes in all, including at least one shelf of soap-carving books, and her refusal to use many technologies, including cellphones and computers. A heavy smoker, Lebowitz is an advocate for smokers' rights. She has not otherwise used drugs or alcohol since she was 19, which she says is because she reached her "lifetime supply" of both by that age.
In 2010, Lebowitz was introduced to a new generation of audiences, when she was featured in the Public Speaking, an HBO documentary about her directed by Martin Scorsese that contains interviews and clips from her speaking engagements. On November 17, 2010, she returned to the Late Show with David Letterman after a 16-year absence to promote the documentary. She discussed her years-long writer's block, which she jokingly called a "writer's blockade". Lebowitz also made an appearance as a judge in Scorsese's 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street. She collaborated with Scorsese again on the 2021 Netflix series Pretend It's a City, in which Scorsese interviews her about New York City and other subjects.
Views
New York City
Lebowitz has been critical of the gentrification and changing culture of New York City. She explained that the main difference between "Old New York" and "New New York" is the influence and dominance of the culture of money. While New York was always an expensive city, people who were not rich could live in Manhattan and "you didn't have to think about money every second." This was because, among other reasons, "there were a zillion bad jobs. That doesn't exist any more. I mean, I could wake up one afternoon with zero money—I don't just mean in the house, I mean to my name—and know that by the end of the day, I would have money."
She has been critical of New York mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg for making New York more "suburban" and accelerating gentrification in Manhattan. She has also been critical of the large numbers of wealthy people in New York City, as she believes they do not create anything of value but only consume things. Of Bloomberg, she said: