Eppie Lederer | |
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![]() Publicity photo in 1961 | |
Born | Esther Pauline Friedman July 4, 1918 Sioux City, Iowa, U.S. |
Died | June 22, 2002 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 83)
Other names | Ann Landers |
Alma mater | Morningside College |
Occupation(s) | Personal advice columnist, author, radio host |
Spouse | |
Children | Margo Howard |
Relatives | Pauline Phillips (twin sister) |
Esther Pauline "Eppie" Lederer (née Friedman; July 4, 1918 – June 22, 2002), better known by the pen name Ann Landers, was an American advice columnist and eventually a nationwide media celebrity. She began writing the "Ask Ann Landers" column in 1955 and continued for 47 years, by which time its readership was 90 million people. A 1978 World Almanac survey named her the most influential woman in the United States.[1] She was the identical twin sister of Pauline Phillips, who wrote the similarly popular "Dear Abby" advice column as Abigail Van Buren.
Lederer was a profile-raiser for several medical charities, and in 1977 President Jimmy Carter appointed her to a six-year term on a cancer advisory board.