Jeannette Walls (born April 21, 1960) is an American author and journalist widely known as former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com and author of '' The Glass Castle'', a memoir of the nomadic family life of her childhood. Published in 2005, it had been on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for 421 weeks as of June 3, 2018. She is a 2006 recipient of the

Alex Awards The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Essentially, the award is a listing by the American Library Association parallel to its annual Best Books for Young A ...

and

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organizatio ...

Early life and education

Walls was born on April 21, 1960, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, to Rex Walls and Rose Mary Walls. Walls has two sisters, Lori and Maureen, and one brother, Brian.Henry, Diana
"Sister Inspires Space Strip,"
''The Daily Register'' (Shrewsbury, New Jersey) (May 10, 1982), p. 15. Walls' family life was rootless, with the family shuttling from Phoenix to California (including a brief stay in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco), to

Battle Mountain, Nevada Battle Mountain is an unincorporated town in and the county seat of Lander County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,635 at the 2010 census. Its primary economic base is gold mining and, to a lesser extent, legalized gambling. The t ...

, and to

Welch, West Virginia Welch is a city located in McDowell County in the State of West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,590 at the 2020 census, however the 2021 census estimate put the population at 1,914, due to the McDowell Prison complex in the north ...

, with periods of homelessness. When they finally landed in Rex's

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

n hometown of Welch the family lived in a three-room house without plumbing or heat. Walls moved to New York at age 17 to join her sister Lori (at that point a waitress and soon working as an artist for

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. With the aid of grants, loans, scholarships and a year spent answering phones at a

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

law firm she was thereafter able to complete a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts 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 ...

Education

Walls graduated from

in 1984 with honors.

Career

Early in her career Walls interned at a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

newspaper called ''The Phoenix'' and eventually became a full-time reporter there. From 1987 to 1993 she wrote the "Intelligencer" column for ''

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 * '' ...

'' magazine. She then wrote a gossip column for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', from 1993 to 1998, then contributed regularly to the gossip column "Scoop" at MSNBC.com from 1998 until her departure to write full-time in 2007. Walls has contributed to ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', and has appeared on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

'', CNN, ''

Primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

'', and ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...

''. Her 2000 book, ''Dish: The Inside Story on the World of Gossip'', was a humorous history of the role gossip has played in U.S. media, politics and life. In 2005, Walls published the best-selling memoir '' The Glass Castle'', which details the joys and struggles of her childhood. It offers a look into her life and that of her dysfunctional family. ''The Glass Castle'' was well received by critics and the public. It has sold over 4 million copies and has been translated into 31 languages. It received the

, the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Essentially, the award is a listing by the American Library Association parallel to its annual Best Books for Young A ...

(2006), and the Books for Better Living Award. Paramount bought the film rights to the book, and in March 2013 announced that actress

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people ...

would play Walls in the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

. On October 9, 2015, it was reported that Lawrence withdrew from the film and she would be replaced by actress

Brie Larson Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers (born October 1, 1989), known professionally as Brie Larson, is an American actress. Known for her supporting roles in comedies as a teenager, she has since expanded to leading roles in independent films and blockb ...

. In 2009, Walls published her first novel, '' Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel'', based on the life of her grandmother Lily Casey Smith. It was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Walls'novel, ''The Silver Star'', was published in 2013. Her novel, ''Hang the Moon: A Novel'', is scheduled for publication in March, 2023.

Works cited

* * * * ''The Silver Star''. Scribner, 2013.

Personal life

Walls married Eric Goldberg in 1988; they divorced in 1996. She married fellow ''

'' writer John J. Taylor in 2002, and the couple now lives outside

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the 2020 census, up from 16,379 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper C ...

, on a 205-acre farm.

In popular culture

Her memoir has been adapted into a film with the same name '' The Glass Castle'', where actress

portrayed Walls.

References

External links

Publisher's biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walls, Jeannette 1960 births Living people American memoirists American television journalists American non-fiction writers Barnard College alumni Journalists from West Virginia People from Culpeper County, Virginia People from Welch, West Virginia Writers from Phoenix, Arizona Writers from Nevada Writers from Virginia Writers from West Virginia American women memoirists Journalists from Virginia American women television journalists 21st-century American women