Olivia Goldsmith (January 1, 1949 – January 15, 2004) was an American author, known for her first novel ''The First Wives Club'' (1992), which was adapted into the 1996 film of the same name.
Biography
She was born Randy Goldfield and grew up in
Dumont, New Jersey
Dumont is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 17,479,Profile latimes.com, January 17, 2004; accessed February 28, 2015. She took up writing following a divorce in which she said her husband got almost everything (including her Jaguar and the country house).
A graduate of
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, th ...
, she was a partner at the management consultants
Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...
in New York prior to becoming a writer. Controversially, in late 1996 Goldsmith said, in response to an ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' reporter's question, that her favorite event of 1996 was when Bob Dole fell off a stage during a campaign function. She also wrote several books for children, which were published under the name Justine Rendal.
Death
Goldsmith died as a result of complications (heart attack) from cosmetic surgery. Her final two books were published posthumously. The song " Edith Wharton's Figurines" from Suzanne Vega's 2007 studio album ''
Beauty & Crime
''Beauty & Crime'' is the seventh studio album by singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. It is her first album of new material since 2001's '' Songs in Red and Gray'' and her first for Blue Note Records. It was released on July 17, 2007. ''Beauty & Cr ...
'' is dedicated to Goldsmith.
Bibliography
* ''
The First Wives Club
''The First Wives Club'' is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. The film stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton as three divorcées who seek retribution ...
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...
in 1996. The story deals with three friends who have been left by their husbands for younger women. After a friend (also a "first wife") kills herself due to her ex-husband's abuse, they decided to exact revenge on all four ex-husbands.
* ''Fashionably Late'' (1993) in which a young designer tries to handle her fashion house while dealing with her troubled marriage, adopting a child, and finding her birth mother.
* ''Flavor of the Month'' (1994), a satire of Hollywood following three stars of a hit TV show. One is a talented but plain actress who gets plastic surgery to look younger and beautiful; the second is a dirt-poor Southern girl fleeing an abusive father; the third is the spoiled child of actors.
* ''Marrying Mom'' (1996), in which three thirty-something New Yorkers try to get a husband for their widowed mother so she'll stop interfering in their lives.
* ''The Bestseller'' (1996), tracking five people with novels as they adjust to the publishing game and try to see their books succeed.
* ''Switcheroo'' (1998), where a wife discovers that her husband is having an affair. When she meets the mistress, they're stunned to realize that, but for a twenty-year age gap, they look exactly alike. With makeup and surgery, they switch places to try and teach him a lesson.
* ''Young Wives'' (2000), a sort of flip side of ''The First Wives Club'' where three twenty-something women discover their husbands are up to no good, from affairs to drug-dealing, and band together to get payback.
* ''Bad Boy'' (2001) in which a trendy Seattle reporter does an 'extreme-makeover' job on her best friend – a nerdy male computer programmer – to transform him 'from zero to hero.'
*''Insiders'' (2002), smart and sassy Wall Street tycoon, Jennifer, agrees to take the rap for her boss' shady dealings. But after her fiancé lawyer fails to get her off the hook, Jennifer ends up in a harsh women's prison where her designer clothes and education count for nothing. On the inside, Jennifer discovers that working together, with unlikely partners in crime, is the only way out.
*''Dumping Billy'' (2004), in which a woman notices that every time a woman is dumped by "Billy" she marries the next guy she meets. She thus attempts to set up a friend with him, hoping she'll be next after the breakup. Also released as "Uptown Girl".
* ''Wish Upon a Star'' (2004), a low-level secretary is invited to go to London with one of her firm's top partners, only to be cheated upon by him there, forcing herself to carve a new life for herself in a strange city.