Eve Ensler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids V
V in March 2011
Born	Eve Ensler (1953-05-25) May 25, 1953 (age 72) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Playwright Author Performer Activist
Spouse(s)	Richard McDermott ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 1988)​

V, whose original name was Eve Ensler (born May 25, 1953), is an American playwright, author, performer, and activist. V is widely recognized for her play The ... Monologues. In 2006, a writer for The New York Times called The ... Monologues "probably the most important piece of political theater of the last decade."

In 2011, V received the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 65th Tony Awards. This award honors someone from the theater world who has given a lot of their time and effort to humanitarian or charitable causes. V earned this award for creating the V-Day movement. This non-profit group raises money and teaches people about violence against women, gender-diverse individuals, and the Earth, working to stop it.

She writes for The Guardian newspaper. V has also been featured in films like V-Day's Until the Violence Stops, the PBS documentary What I Want My Words to Do to You, and the Netflix documentary City of Joy. She often appears in interviews on TV, radio, and podcasts.

About V's Life

V was born in New York City. She was the second of three children. Her father worked in the food industry, and her mother was a homemaker. She grew up in Scarsdale, a suburb north of New York City. Her father was Jewish and her mother was Christian. V identifies as a Nichiren Buddhist and practices chanting and yoga.

V has shared that she had difficult experiences during her childhood, between the ages of five and ten. She has described herself as "very sad, very angry, very defiant" during her youth.

V attended Middlebury College in Vermont. After graduating in 1975, she faced some challenging relationships. In 1978, she married Richard Dylan McDermott. He encouraged her to seek help for personal struggles. She adopted Mark Anthony McDermott, her husband's 16-year-old son. Their relationship became very close. V said it taught her "how to be a loving human being." After V had a miscarriage, Mark took the name she had planned for her baby, Dylan. V and Dylan's father separated in 1988. She said she "needed the independence, the freedom." She has homes in New York and Paris but travels often.

In June 2010, V wrote an article in The Guardian about receiving treatment for uterine cancer. She wrote about this experience in her book, In The Body of the World. In 2012, V shared that she had been cancer-free for two and a half years.

Why V Changed Her Name

In 2019, V published her book The Apology. In this book, she wrote about the difficult experiences she had with her late father. After writing it, she decided she wanted to use a different name. She preferred to be called by the single name V, to distance herself from her father's surname.

V's Creative Works

V's memoir In the Body of the World was released on April 30, 2013. Booklist reviewed the book, calling it "a ravishing book of revelation and healing." They described it as "warm, funny, furious, and astute, as well as poetic, passionate, and heroic." In February 2018, she performed a stage version of her memoir. This solo show was directed by Diane Paulus at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City.

She contributed a piece called "Theater: A Sacred Home for Women" to the 2003 book Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium. This book was edited by Robin Morgan.

V also helped write the book for Wicked. This musical is one of the longest-running Broadway shows ever.

From October 2005 to April 2006, V toured with her play The Good Body. This play explores why women from different cultures feel pressure to change their appearance. They often feel this pressure to be accepted by society.

V's play, The Treatment, opened on September 12, 2006. It was performed at the Culture Project in New York City. This play looks at the emotional challenges faced by people involved in military conflicts. Her adoptive son, Dylan McDermott, starred in it.

In 2006, V released her first major book written just for reading. It was called Insecure at Last: Losing It In Our Security-Obsessed World. In this book, she explores how people live today. She looks at the steps people take to feel safe. She also discusses how people can find freedom by letting go of the idea of "protection." In 2006, V also helped edit A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer. This book is a collection of writings about violence against women.

V's work I Am An Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around The World was released in February 2010. It is a collection of monologues (speeches) for and about girls. It aims to inspire girls to take charge of their minds, bodies, hearts, and curiosities. The book became a New York Times Best Seller. A stage production of the piece, called Emotional Creature, debuted in the United States in June 2012.

V was a consultant on women's issues for the 2015 action film Mad Max: Fury Road.

In 2019, V published The Apology. In this book, she imagines what her late father would say if he could apologize for the difficult experiences he caused her as a child. After finishing the book, V said she no longer felt bitterness towards her father. She also decided she no longer wanted to use his last name, asking people to call her V.

V's Activism and Advocacy

V is an activist who works to address violence against women and girls. In 1998, her experiences performing The ... Monologues led her to create V-Day. This is a worldwide movement dedicated to stopping violence against women and girls. V-Day raises money and awareness through yearly performances of The ... Monologues.

By 2010, over 5,400 V-Day events had taken place in more than 1,500 locations globally. As of 2014, the V-Day movement had raised over $100 million. It has taught millions about violence against women and efforts to end it. The movement has also launched educational campaigns and reopened shelters. It has funded over 12,000 local anti-violence programs and safe houses. These safe houses help women find safety from abuse. .....

In February 2004, V, along with Sally Field, Jane Fonda, and Christine Lahti, protested. They asked the Mexican government to re-investigate the killings of hundreds of women in Ciudad Juárez. This city is located along the Texas border.

V supports the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). She visited Afghanistan when the Taliban were in power. She supports Afghan women and has organized many programs for them. One event she organized was called the "Afghani Women's Summit For Democracy."

Since 1998, V has led a writing group at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women. This group was featured in the film What I Want My Words To Do To You.

In 2011, V-Day and the Fondation Panzi (DRC) opened the City of Joy. This is a new community for women who have survived gender violence in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The City of Joy helps up to 180 Congolese women each year. They can get group therapy, self-defense training, and education on health and family planning. They also learn about economic empowerment, storytelling, dance, theater, and gardening. Congolese women themselves run and direct the City of Joy. The story of the City of Joy, including V's involvement, is shown in the documentary City of Joy on Netflix.

In 2012, V and the V-Day movement created One Billion Rising. This is a global protest campaign to end violence and promote fairness for women. On February 14, 2013, which was V-Day's 15th anniversary, people around the world held dance events. They demanded an end to violence against women and girls.

In 2016, V signed a letter to Ban Ki-moon. The letter called for a more humane drug policy. Other signers included Warren Buffett, John Legend, and Elizabeth Warren.

In 2017, V wrote an opinion piece in The Guardian. She criticized the newly elected president of the United States, Donald Trump.

In 2020, V supported Senator Bernie Sanders for President of the United States in the 2020 election.

Awards and Recognitions

V has received many awards for her artistic and humanitarian work:

• Tony Award – In 2011, V received the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 65th Tony Awards. This award honors individuals in theater who have given significant time and effort to humanitarian causes.
• Guggenheim Fellowship Award in Playwriting, 1999
• OBIE award for The ... Monologues in 1997
• Olivier Award nomination for West End Production of The ... Monologues
• Lion of Judah by the United Jewish Communities, 2002

Selected Works by V

Plays

• Conviction
• Lemonade
• The Depot
• Floating Rhoda and the Glue Man
• Extraordinary Measures
• The ... Monologues
• The Good Body
• Necessary Targets
• The Treatment
• Emotional Creature
• O.P.C.
• In the Body of the World
• Wild (book)

Books

• The ... Monologues New York: Villard, 1998. ISBN: 9780375750526
• Necessary Targets New York, NY: Dramatists Play Service, 2003. ISBN: 9780822218951
• The Good Body New York: Villard, 2004. ISBN: 9780375502842
• ... Warriors New York: Bulfinch Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780821261842
• Insecure at Last: Losing It in Our Security Obsessed World New York: Villard, 2006. ISBN: 9781400063345
• The treatment, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 2007. ISBN: 9780822222026
• A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer New York: Villard, 2007. ISBN: 9780345497918
• I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World New York: Villard Trade Paperbacks, 2010. ISBN: 9780812970166
• In the Body of the World: A Memoir New York: Metropolitan Books, 2013. ISBN: 9780805095180
• The Apology Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2019. ISBN: 9781635574388
• Reckoning Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2023. ISBN: {{{1}}}

Filmography

• City of Joy (2016)
• Until the Violence Stops (2004)
• What I Want My Words to Do to You: Voices From Inside a Women's Maximum Security Prison (2003)
• The ... Monologues (2002)
• Fear No More: Stop Violence Against Women (2002) – interviewee

See also

In Spanish: Eve Ensler para niños