Biography for
Laura Schlessinger More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

16 January 1947, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Birth Name

Laura Catherine Schlessinger

Height

5' 3" (1.60 m)

Mini Biography

As one of the most popular talk show hosts in radio history, Dr. Laura Schlessinger offers no-nonsense advice infused with a strong sense of ethics, accountability, and personal responsibility; she's been doing it successfully for more than 30 years, reaching approximately 8.25 million listeners weekly. Her internationally syndicated radio program is also heard on XM Satellite Radio, CelleCast, and is streamed on the Internet and podcast via StreamLink.

She's a best selling author of eleven adult books and four children's books, which range from the provocative (New York Times chart topper "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands") to the poignant (children's book title "Why Do You Love Me?"). Her support of children and family values is legendary, and she is, indeed, "her kid's mom." She writes a monthly column for NewsMax, a twice-weekly column for The Santa Barbara News-Press, and a daily blog.

She has received an award from the Office of the Secretary of Defense for her Exceptional Public Service, and among her numerous other honors, has been the first and only woman ever to win the National Association of Broadcasters' prestigious Marconi Award for Network/Syndicated Personality.

In addition, Dr. Laura holds multiple trophies for sailboat racing, and is a Black Belt in martial arts. In the last several years, she has designed and handcrafted elegant jewelry for charitable causes, most recently for Operation Family Fund, which provides financial assistance to families of military personnel severely injured or killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has raised over $1 million for Operation Family Fund from the sale of her jewelry on her website, and from the proceeds from her 2007 Birthday Bash.

Her eleventh and newest book, "Stop Whining, Start Living" was released by HarperCollins in March, 2008, and became an instant New York Times bestseller.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Spouse

Dr. Lew Bishop	(1985 - present) 1 child
Michael F. Rudolph	(1972 - 1976) (divorced)

Trivia

Taught at USC and Pepperdine.

All of her books ("The Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives", "How Could You Do That?!: The Abdication of Character, Courage & Conscience", "The Ten Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives" and "The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life") have been on the New York Times Bestseller List. [April 2000]

Her Ph.D. is in Physiology from Columbia University. She holds post-doctoral certification and licensing in marriage and family therapy from USC.

Hosted a syndicated television talk show. [2000]

She used to end each hour of her program with the sign-off of "Now go take on the day." As of mid-1999, she switched to the more profound directive of, "Now go do the right thing."

Dr. Laura and her son, Deryk (b. 5 November 1985), have black belts in karate.

One year, as a present for fellow radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's birthday, she sent him an expensive humidor which had once been owned by John Wayne.

Her TV show was cancelled. She said that gay rights activists got her show moved to the late night hours and then no one was able to watch, causing Paramount to pull the plug. However, she said that she is proud of the quality of the show and wishes it had had more of a chance. [April 2001]

Natural brunette.

Dr. Laura's estranged mother Yolanda Schlessinger, 77 was found dead in her Beverly Hills, California condominium. A neighbor called the Beverly Hills Police after having not seen or heard from her for quite some time. Yolanda had broken ties with her family and had not spoken to her daughter for years. [December 16, 2002]

She is an LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) in California. Her license is inactive primarily because she does not do private practice anymore and focuses on her internationally syndicated radio show.

At Pepperdine University, she was a member of the graduate psychology faculty.

She is half Italian.

Has a black belt in Aikido form of karate.

Books: The proper care and feeding of husbands and The proper care and feeding of a marriage.

Personal Quotes

Life does not have meaning through mere existence or acquisition or fun. The meaning of life is inherent in the connections we make to others through honor and obligation.

Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door

The reward for doing right is mostly an internal phenomenon: self-respect, dignity, integrity, and self-esteem.

Go do the right thing.

Where Are They Now

Hosts internationally-syndicated radio program

(1996) Release of her book, "How Could You Do That?: The Abdication of Character, Courage and Conscience".

(1998) Release of the book, "A Closer Look at Dr. Laura" by Tom Allen.

(1999) Release of the book, "Dr. Laura: The Unauthorized Biography" by Vickie L. Bane.

(2000) Release of her book, "Parenthood by Proxy: Don't Have Them If You Won't Raise Them".

(2003) Release of her book, "Dr. Laura Schlessinger's Where's God?".

(2006) Release of her book, "Bad Childhood, Good Life: How to Blossom and Thrive In Spite of an Unhappy Childhood".

(2009) Release of her book, "In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms".