John Gray (American author) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Gray
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Gray in 2016
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| Born | December 28, 1951 |
| Alma mater | Maharishi International University, Columbia Pacific University |
| Occupation | Author |
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Notable work
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Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara De Angelis (div. 1984) Bonnie Gray (1986–2018; her death) |
John Gray (born December 28, 1951) is an American relationship counselor, lecturer, and author. In 1969, he began a nine-year association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi before beginning his career as an author and personal relationship counselor. In 1992 he published the book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, which became a long-term best seller and formed the central theme of his subsequent books and career activities. His books have sold millions of copies.
Contents
Early life and education
Gray was born in Houston, Texas, in 1951 to a father who was an oil executive and a mother who worked at a spiritual bookshop, and grew up with five brothers. His parents were both Christians and taught him Yoga and took him to visit Indian Saint Yogananda during his childhood. The Autobiography of A Yogi inspired him greatly later in life.
He received a bachelor's and master's degree in the Science of Creative Intelligence, though sources vary on whether these degrees were received from either the non-accredited Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in Switzerland or the accredited Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa.
Gray received an unaccredited (but state-approved) PhD in 1982 from Columbia Pacific University (CPU), a now-defunct institution located in San Rafael, California, upon completion of a correspondence course and an honorary doctorate from Governors State University in Illinois after he delivered their commencement address in 2002.
Career
In 1969, Gray attended a Transcendental Meditation lecture. He became a celibate and personal assistant to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for nine years.
Publications
In 1992, Gray published Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, which has sold more than 15 million copies and, according to a CNN report, it was the "highest ranked work of non-fiction" of the 1990s. The book has been published in more than 40 languages.
Business ventures
In 1997, Gray began opening Mars & Venus Counseling Centers, where he trains therapists in his "Mars & Venus technique" in exchange for a one-time licensing fee and monthly "royalty payments". Dorothy Cantor, a former president of the American Psychological Association, has questioned the ethics of creating a franchise for what is essentially a therapeutic process.
In 1997, Gray began marketing his products through Genesis Intermedia, a company led by Ramy El-Batrawi. According to their SEC filing, "A substantial portion of our product revenue has come from our Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus product series authored by John Gray, Ph.D." On December 31, 1997, Genesis sold 116,504 shares of its common stock to Dr. John Gray for $900,000. On November 1, 1998, 29,126 of those shares were surrendered. Royalties paid to Dr. Gray for the years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996 were $0, $50,101, and $423,207, respectively. There were no royalties paid to Dr. Gray during the three months ended March 31, 1999 and 1998. in 2004, a massive class action lawsuit was filed against Genesis Intermedia for stock price manipulation. El-Batrawi settled with the SEC and was barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company for a period of five years.
Gray has been marketing dietary supplements through his Web site since at least 2005. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered him to stop making illegal claims for several products: 2-AEP Membrane Complex, Ionic Silver Water, L-Glutathione, Liposomal DHA – Ultimate Omega-3 Brain Support, Liposomal Methyl B12/Folate, NAC N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, and Vectomega.
Gray is also an early investor in YayYo, Inc, a rental car business for the ride-sharing industry operated by Ramy El-Batrawi. Gray owns 21.44% through his Gray Mars Venus Trust.
Interviews and appearances
Gray has made numerous media appearances including Oprah, The Phil Donahue Show, and Larry King Live. Gray has been profiled in Newsweek, People and Forbes magazine.
In a June 2014 interview with Agence France-Presse, Gray was quoted as saying with regard to feminism, "The reason why there's so much divorce is that feminism promotes independence in women. I'm very happy for women to find greater independence, but when you go too far in that direction, then who's at home?" He also stated that "feminism in America holds back sales of [his] books", while other parts of the world - he cited Australia and Latin America notably - are more in tune with his basic message. ....." ....."
Personal life
Gray married self-help author Barbara De Angelis. They divorced in 1984. Gray married his second wife, Bonnie, in 1986; she died of cancer in 2018.
Gray has a daughter and two stepdaughters. His youngest daughter Lauren markets the Mars Venus brand through her own videos on self-help relationship advice.
Books and other publications
- 1992: Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
- 1993: What You Feel You Can Heal
- 1994: What Your Mother Couldn't Tell You and Your Father Didn't Know
- 1994: Mars and Venus in Love
- 1995: Mars and Venus in the Bedroom
- 1997: Mars and Venus on a Date
- 1997: Mars and Venus Starting Over
- 1999: How To Get What You Want and Want What You Have
- 2000: Children Are from Heaven
- 2000: Mars and Venus: 365 Ways to Keep Passion Alive
- Men, Women and Relationships
- Mars and Venus Together Forever: A Practical Guide to Creating Lasting Intimacy
- Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus Book of Days
- Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus: Nine Principles for Lasting Love, Increasing Success, and Vibrant Health in the Twenty-first Century
- 2002: Mars and Venus in the Workplace, ISBN: 0732911141
- Truly Mars & Venus
- 2003: The Mars & Venus Diet and Exercise Solution
- 2007: Why Mars and Venus Collide: Improving Relationships by Understanding How Men and Women Cope Differently with Stress
- 2010: Venus on Fire, Mars on Ice – Hormonal Balance – The Key to Life, Love, and Energy
- 75 Ways To Say I Love You (co-author Darren Stephens), ISBN: 9780957974012
- How To Release Stress Through Relaxation (co-author Darren Stephens), ISBN: 9780957974005
- Work with Me: The 8 Blind Spots Between Men and Women in Business (co-author Barbara Annis), ISBN: 9780230341906
- 2017: Beyond Mars and Venus
See also
In Spanish: John Gray (psicólogo) para niños
- Essentialism
- Symposium (Plato)#Aristophanes
