Atoosa Rubenstein (born Atoosa Behnegar, fa, آتوسا بهنگار; ) is an
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian-American former magazine editor. She was the editor-in-chief of ''
Seventeen
Seventeen or 17 may refer to:
*17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18
* one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017
Literature
Magazines
* ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine
* ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
'' magazine and the founding editor of ''
CosmoGirl
''CosmoGirl'', also stylized as ''CosmoGIRL!'', was an American magazine based in New York City, published from 1999 until 2008. The teenage spin-off of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine, it targeted teenage girls and featured fashion and celebrities. It ...
''. She went on to found Big Momma Productions, Inc. and ''Atoosa.com'' before becoming a stay at home mother.
Early life and education
Born as Atoosa Behnegar in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, her father Mansoor Behnegar was a colonel in the
Iranian Air Force * Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
, patron =
, motto = , "Skyhigh is my place"
, colours = Ultramarine blue
, colours_label =
, march ...
, and immigrated with the family to
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, when she was three. The family later relocated to
Malverne, on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
.
As an undergraduate student at
Barnard College
Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
, Rubenstein became a
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
intern
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...
at Lang Communications, the company that bought ''
Sassy'' magazine. She worked at
Carvel and retail stores to pay her bills. Rubenstein dropped out of
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega (, also known as Alpha Chi or A Chi O) is a national women's Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded on October 15, 1885.
As of 2018, there are 132 collegiate and 279 alumnae chapters represented across ...
sorority
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
and took night classes to take part in her second magazine internship, which led to a position in the editorial department of ''
American Health'' magazine.
Honors and awards
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
honored Rubenstein in 2004 by naming her one of the top 250 alumni through the ages. She was also recognized by the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York as a Woman of Distinction. Rubenstein has been featured in ''
Crain's New York Business
Crain Communications Inc is an American multi-industry publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 non-US subsidiaries.
History
Gustavus Dedman (G.D.) Crain, Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain, Jr.; 1885–1973), pre ...
'' "40 Under 40" and ''
Folio
The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...
s "30 Under 30".
She is a member of the
Candie’s Foundation Board of Directors, which helps educate young people about the consequences of teen pregnancy.
Career
In 1993, Rubenstein became a fashion assistant at ''
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
'' and five years later was made the senior fashion editor. This led to Hearst Magazines president
Cathleen Black asking Rubenstein to come up with a concept for a new magazine. Forty-eight hours later Rubenstein presented the idea of ''CosmoGIRL!'' and was offered the position of editor-in-chief. This made Rubenstein, who was 26 years old at the time, the youngest editor-in-chief in Hearst Magazine's 100-year history. Rubenstein went on to make ''CosmoGIRL!'' a success with a circulation of 1.25 million readers.
In May 2003, Hearst Magazines bought ''Seventeen'' magazine and gave Rubenstein the position of editor-in-chief. Rubenstein reversed a five-year decline in ''Seventeen's'' newsstand sales and delivered total newsstand growth of 23% by the end of 2005.
In the fall of 2005, a series that Rubenstein conceived titled ''
Miss Seventeen'', debuted on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. The series featured seventeen girls competing for the honor of being Miss Seventeen – an award that included a college scholarship, an internship at ''Seventeen'', and a cover and spread for the publication. Rubenstein was the creator and an executive producer on the series.
She appeared in several episodes of the reality show series ''
America's Next Top Model
''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...
''.
On 7 November 2006, she announced that she would be leaving ''Seventeen'' to launch her own teen-centered web business, write a book, and start a consulting firm specializing in the youth market. Her replacement was
Ann Shoket
Ann Shoket is an American magazine writer and editor. She is the author of ''The Big Life'' and the former editor-in-chief of '' Seventeen'' magazine.
Education
Shoket received her BA from New York University.
Career
She is the author of ''The Bi ...
. In December 2006, Rubenstein started Big Momma Productions, Inc.
Personal life
Rubenstein was married to Ari Rubenstein, the founder and managing partner of Global Trading Systems LLC, a stock, commodity and foreign currency trading company.
[ They divorced in 2021.
In 2008, Rubenstein gave birth to a daughter. She later gave birth to twins.]
References
External links
Atoosa.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubenstein, Atoosa
1972 births
American advice columnists
American women columnists
Barnard College alumni
American magazine editors
American women editors
Women magazine editors
Living people
American people of Iranian descent
People from Malverne, New York
Iranian editors
Iranian women editors
Iranian emigrants to the United States
21st-century American women