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Cheryl Saban (; born April 30, 1951) is an American psychologist, author, television writer, and philanthropist. She is a former Senior Advisor to the
United States Mission to the United Nations The United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN) serves as the United States' delegation to the United Nations. USUN is responsible for carrying out the nation's participation in the world body. In 1947, the United States Mission was created ...
. She is the author of several children's books, a novel, self-help books, numerous gift books, and many teleplays.


Early life and education

Cheryl Saban was born as Cheryl Lyn Flor on April 30, 1951, in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. Her father worked for the local telephone company. Saban worked as a telephone solicitor, waitressed at a barbecue-pit restaurant, and worked summers as a lifeguard at a Navy training center. Saban attended
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
. In 2005 she earned a doctorate in psychology from
California Coast University California Coast University (CCU) is a private for-profit online university based in Santa Ana, California. It is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission and approved by the State of California. Approximately 8,000 students ...
.


Career

Saban started her career as a model in
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
in 1973 and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
in 1975. She recorded her first album in 1978 under the name Flower. In April 1979, ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' included her in a nude pictorial titled “Disco Queens". Saban accepted a job as an assistant for Israeli-American
Haim Saban Haim Saban (; he, חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an e ...
, a millionaire who later became her husband, in 1986. She wrote for television multiple times, including 19 episodes of ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...
'', produced by Saban. She is the author of four children's books, a thriller, and several self-help books. Saban was nominated as Senior Advisor to the
United States Mission to the United Nations The United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN) serves as the United States' delegation to the United Nations. USUN is responsible for carrying out the nation's participation in the world body. In 1947, the United States Mission was created ...
by President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
in September 2012.


Philanthropy

Saban is the president of Saban Family Foundation. She and her husband both donate through the foundation, which typically focuses on children, education and women's health. Through a $10 million donation, Saban established the Cheryl Saban Self-Worth Foundation for Women & Girls in 2009. The foundation will provide micro-financing programs to women in the U.S. and in Israel. Saban is on the board of directors of the Clinton Foundation. She received an honorary doctorate from the
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...
in Israel in 2014. As of May 2018, they are supporting the building of a museum in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.


Los Angeles Free Clinic

In 1968, Los Angeles Free Clinic opened at 115 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles. The Los Angeles
Free Clinic A free clinic or walk in clinic is a health care facility in the United States offering services to economically disadvantaged individuals for free or at a nominal cost. The need for such a clinic arises in societies where there is no universa ...
is the longest continually running
free clinic A free clinic or walk in clinic is a health care facility in the United States offering services to economically disadvantaged individuals for free or at a nominal cost. The need for such a clinic arises in societies where there is no universa ...
in the nation. In her years of financial difficulty, Cheryl Saban was a patient of the Los Angeles Free Clinic. Later, with her husband, they donated $10 million, and in 2008, it was renamed the Saban Free Clinic. now Saban Community Clinic of Beverly Hills, Rampart Village, Hollywood, Melrose, and Blessed Sacrament.


Personal life

Saban has been married three times. She married her first husband, Ray Lenhart, at the age of 20.Cheryl Saban.com: Biography
retrieved October 4, 2012
They had two daughters, Tifanie Lenhart Chaney and actress Heidi Lenhart Stills, and divorced soon after. She later married and divorced Bobby Ocean. He was a music producer, and struggled to provide for her children. Saban married her third husband, Egyptian-born Israeli-American billionaire
Haim Saban Haim Saban (; he, חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an e ...
in 1987. They had two children through a surrogate (Saban had previously had a hysterectomy): son Ness (Hebrew for Miracle) and daughter Tanya. Ness was the eighth surrogate-born baby in the world and Tanya was the fortieth.What is Your SELF-WORTH? - A Woman's Guide to Validation By Cheryl Saban
retrieved July 17, 2013
Although Cheryl is a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
, she agreed to raise the children
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. The family always puts up a Christmas tree and celebrates Shabbat weekly. Saban told the rabbi who married them: "Think of me as a Christian who believes in Judaism.” They reside in Beverly Hills, California.


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Screenwriting credits


Television

* ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...
'' (1993-1995) * ''
VR Troopers ''VR Troopers'' is a syndicated live action superhero-adventure television series produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. The show tried to profit from the fascination with virtual reality in the mid-1990s as well as th ...
'' (1994) * ''
Sweet Valley High ''Sweet Valley High'' is a series of young adult novels attributed to American author Francine Pascal, who presided over a team of ghostwriters to produce the series. The books chronicle the lives of identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefi ...
'' (1995) * '' Little Mouse on the Prairie'' (1996)


Film

* ''
Au Pair An au pair (; plural: au pairs) is a helper from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a mon ...
'' (1999) * '' Au Pair II'' (2001)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saban, Cheryl 1951 births American children's writers American Lutherans American non-fiction writers American self-help writers American thriller writers California Coast University alumni California Democrats Clinton Foundation people Living people People from Beverly Hills, California People from San Diego San Diego State University alumni Philanthropists from California 1970s Playboy Playmates American women children's writers Women thriller writers Novelists from California American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women