Jillian Lauren (born August 16, 1973) is an American writer, performer, adoption advocate, and former
call girl
A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...
for
Jefri Bolkiah, Prince of Brunei
Jefri Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III (born 6 November 1954), is a member of the Brunei Royal Family. His elder brother is the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. Prince Jefri was the finance minister of his oil-rich country from 1986 t ...
; about whom she wrote her first memoir, ''
Some Girls: My Life in a Harem''.
Writing
Jillian Lauren is the author of the New York Times bestselling
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...
books ''Everything You Ever Wanted'', released May 2015, ''Some Girls: My Life in a Harem'', released in 2010,
and the 2011 novel ''
Pretty
Pretty may refer to:
*Beauty, the quality of being pleasing, especially to look at
**Physical attractiveness, of a person's physical features
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Pretty'' (advertisement), a 2006 television advertisement for Nike ...
'', all published by
Plume/Penguin. ''Some Girls'', which chronicles her time spent in the harem of the Prince of Brunei, has been translated into eighteen languages.
Lauren's true crime book ''Behold the Monster: Facing America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer'' was published by Dutton in 2020. The book is based on the author's extensive interviews with serial killer
Samuel Little
Samuel Little (born Samuel McDowell; June 7, 1940 – December 30, 2020) was an American serial killer who confessed to murdering 93 women between 1970 and 2005. In 2014 he was convicted of the murders of Linda Alford, Guadalupe Duarte Apodaca, ...
. Her work attempting to seek justice for Little's victims and match cold cases to him is chronicled in the 2021 five-part documentary series, ''
Confronting a Serial Killer''.
Lauren has an
MFA in creative writing from
Antioch University
Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. Founded in 1852 as Antioch College, its first president was politician, abolitionist, and education reformer Horace Mann. It changed its n ...
. Her writing has appeared in ''
New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...
'', ''
The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
Vanity Fair'', ''
Los Angeles Magazine
''Los Angeles'' magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to covering Los Angeles. Founded in the spring of 1961 by David Brown, the magazine is currently owned and published by Hour Media Group, LLC. Los Angeles magazine's combination of feat ...
'', ''
Elle
''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
'', ''
Flaunt Magazine
''Flaunt'' is an American fashion and culture magazine based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with an office in New York.
History
The magazine was founded in 1998 by the current C.E.O. Luis Barajas, and Creative Director Jim Turner, who had previousl ...
'', ''
The Rumpus
''The Rumpus'' is an online literary magazine launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as original fiction and poetry. The site runs two subscription-base ...
'', and ''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
'', among others. Her work has also been widely anthologized, including ''
The Moth Anthology
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' and ''
True Tales of Lust and Love ''True Tales of Lust and Love'' is a popular monthly storytelling show where local LA comedians and writers sample their material or read from their upcoming books. It's similar in format to The Moth but features only women, some of whom read rather ...
''.
Lauren is a regular storyteller with ''
The Moth
The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring ...
'' and has performed at numerous spoken word and storytelling events across the United States. She did a
TEDx Talk
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
about
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
and identity at
Chapman University
Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...
in 2014. She has been interviewed on such television programs as ''
The View'', ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', and ''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
'', among others.
Lauren has blogged at MSNBC Today Moms and ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''.
Personal life
Lauren grew up in
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,366, reflecting an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the ...
, and graduated in 1991 from
Newark Academy
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Col ...
.
She later moved to New York City, where she briefly studied acting at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Lauren is married to
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
bassist
Scott Shriner
Scott Gardner Shriner (born July 11, 1965) is an American musician best known as a member of the rock band Weezer, with whom he has recorded twelve studio albums. Joining the band in 2001, Shriner is the band's longest serving bass guitarist.
Prio ...
. They live in Los Angeles and adopted a boy from
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
on January 23, 2009.
References
External links
Official siteWTF with Marc Maron Podcast – Episode 234 – Jillian Lauren
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauren, Jillian
American women writers
Living people
1973 births
American prostitutes
21st-century American women