Judith Krantz

Judith Krantz was an American author who was best known for writing the bestselling novels Scruples (1978), Princess Daisy (1980), and Till We Meet Again (1988). Krantz was born and raised in New York City. She attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts with the intention to socialize, make friends, date, and get good grades. Krantz excelled in the socializing aspect of college life, but by Sophomore year she was averaging a C in most classes. She subsequently took a short story class that she loved. However, despite turning in qualities stories, Krantz's professor gave her a B due to the fact that she had horrible spelling. The event proved traumatizing to Krantz, and as a result she swore off writing fiction for the next three decades. After college Krantz lived in Paris where she worked in public relations for the fashion industry. While living in the French capital Krantz had the chance to attend glamorous parties. It was at these parties that Krantz had the chance to hobnob with popular celebrities of the day, like Orson Welles. Krantz eventually returned to New York City to become a magazine journalist. She got a job in the fiction department at Good Housekeeping and was soon promoted to fashion editor. However, Krantz left her job at the magazine in 1954 to raise her family. She still wrote, however, and by the mid-1950s all the way through the mid-1970s, Krantz was a respected freelance writer for a variety of prominent women's magazines, including McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal, and Cosmopolitan. Then in 1976, Krantz decided to return to writing fiction for the first time since her sophomore year of college. The first book she wrote in an astounding nine months was Scruples, which shot up to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list when it was released in 1978. At the age of 50, Krantz was a bestselling first time novelist. More bestselling novels followed, including Princess Daisy, Till We Meet Again, and Lovers (1994). Several of her novels were turned into a miniseries, like "Scruples" (CBS, 1980) and "Til We Meet Again" (CBS, 1989). Krantz's last novel, The Jewels of Tessa Kent, was published in 1998. She went on to publish one more book, the autobiography Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl, in 2000. Judith Krantz died at her home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 22, 2019. She was 91.