Laura Schlessinger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Schlessinger
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Schlessinger in 2007
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| Born |
Laura Catherine Schlessinger
January 16, 1947 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
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| Other names | Dr. Laura |
| Education | Stony Brook University (B.S.) Columbia University (PhD) |
| Occupation | Physiologist, marriage and family therapist, radio talk show host |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Known for | Advice on relationships, moral and ethical issues, counsellor, political commentator, talk radio host, columnist, author |
| Spouse(s) |
Michael F. Rudolph
(m. 1972; div. 1977)Lewis G. Bishop
(m. 1985; died 2015) |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | NAB Marconi Radio Award, Genii, National Heritage, National Religious Broadcasters, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Exceptional Public Service |
Laura Catherine Schlessinger (born January 16, 1947), known as Dr. Laura, is an American talk radio host and author. Her show, The Dr. Laura Program, is heard on Sirius XM Radio. She gives advice to callers about personal and ethical issues. She also shares her thoughts on social and political topics. Her website says her show focuses on "morals, values, and ethics." She is a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago.
Before becoming a national radio star, Dr. Laura worked as a marriage and family counselor in Los Angeles. After her show became popular across the country, she focused on The Dr. Laura Program and writing self-help books. Some of her most popular books include Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives and The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. She also had a short-lived TV talk show in 2000. In 2010, she moved her radio show to Sirius XM Stars satellite radio. Her program moved again in 2018 to the Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Laura Schlessinger was born in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up there and later on Long Island. Her father, Monroe Schlessinger, was a Jewish American civil engineer. Her mother, Yolanda Schlessinger, was a Catholic from Italy. Laura has a younger sister named Cindy. She has described her childhood as difficult.
Laura attended Westbury High School and Jericho High School. She was very interested in science during her school years. She earned a bachelor's degree from Stony Brook University. Then, she went to Columbia University for graduate studies. She received her master's and PhD in physiology in 1974. Her doctoral research was about how insulin affects laboratory rats. Later, she also got training and a license in marriage and family counseling.
Her Radio Career
Dr. Laura first appeared on radio in 1975. She called into a show on KABC hosted by Bill Ballance. He was impressed by her quick thinking and humor. Ballance started featuring her in a weekly part of his show. This led to her having her own shows on smaller radio stations. By 1979, she had a show on KWIZ in Santa Ana, California. Her show focused on emotional problems, especially relationships.
In the late 1980s, she filled in for other radio hosts. Her big chance came when she was chosen to be a regular substitute for a national personal-advice show. Schlessinger started her daily show on KFI, which became nationally available in 1994. At its most popular, The Dr. Laura Program was one of the highest-rated radio shows in the country. It was heard on over 450 radio stations.
Many people liked her show because she offered clear advice in a world that often seemed confusing. She was seen as a guide for what was right and wrong. By 2010, her show was still very popular. However, over time, her audience changed. Some listeners left when she started focusing more on morality and politics. Also, some groups protested her views, which led to sponsors leaving her show.
Dr. Laura used the song "Hot Talkin' Big Shot" by Nikki Hornsby as her show's theme music for several years. She also used "New Attitude" by Patti LaBelle.
On August 17, 2010, Dr. Laura announced that she would end her syndicated radio show. She said she wanted to be able to speak freely without groups trying to silence her. This announcement came after a controversy where she used an offensive racial term on air. Her show then moved to Sirius XM Radio on January 3, 2011. She continues to offer a short podcast of her "Call of the Day" from her daily SiriusXM show.
Television Show Experience
In 1999, Dr. Laura signed a deal to create a TV talk show called Dr. Laura. It was planned to air in many major cities starting in fall 2000. Before the show began, Dr. Laura caused some controversy with her comments about certain groups of people. This led to protests and online campaigns asking for the show to be canceled.
Dr. Laura premiered with low ratings and was not well-received by critics. Viewers felt the show was too harsh compared to other daytime talk shows. The strong opinions that worked on radio did not translate well to television. The show also faced issues when it was reported that some guests were actually staff members pretending to be callers.
By November 2000, many advertisers had stopped supporting the show because of its low ratings. The show aired its last new episode on March 30, 2001. Reruns continued until September 2001. Dr. Laura later said that while television offered more money and fame, it was not as meaningful as radio for her. She called her TV experience "terrible."
Helping Others: Charitable Work
In 1998, Dr. Laura started the Laura Schlessinger Foundation. This foundation aimed to help children who had been abused or neglected. She often asked her radio listeners to donate items for "My Stuff" bags. These bags were given to children in need. The foundation also received donations from other people and groups. The money not used for running the foundation went to organizations that support families. In September 2004, Dr. Laura announced that she was closing the foundation. She said it had become too difficult to manage.
In 2007, Dr. Laura began raising money for Operation Family Fund. This group helps families of soldiers who were seriously injured or died in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2008, she helped raise over $1 million for this organization.
More recently, starting in 2017, Dr. Laura has been donating money from her handmade jewelry and glass art. These donations go to the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation. This charity provides college scholarships to children whose parents died while serving in the military.
Recognitions and Awards
Dr. Laura was the first woman to win the Marconi Award for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year in 1997. In 1998, she received the Genii Award from American Women in Radio & Television. In 2000, Forbes magazine listed her among the top 100 celebrities. In 2002, Talkers magazine named her the seventh-greatest radio talk-show host of all time.
She also received a National Heritage award in 2001. She was given the Chairman's Award by the National Religious Broadcasters. In 2002, she was the main speaker at Hillsdale College and received an honorary degree. In 2007, she received an Exceptional Public Service award from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In 2008, Talkers gave her an award for outstanding community service.
Most recently, Dr. Laura was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2018. She and Nanci Donnelan were the first two women with their own national radio shows to receive this honor.
Personal Life and Beliefs
Laura Schlessinger married Michael F. Rudolph in 1972 while attending Columbia University. They divorced in 1977. In 1975, she met Lewis G. Bishop, a professor. They married in 1985. Their son, Deryk, was born in November 1985. Lewis Bishop passed away on November 2, 2015.
In the late 1980s, Dr. Laura began training in Hapkido, a Korean martial art. She earned a black belt in 1993.
Dr. Laura was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. She was not raised with a specific religion. In 1996, she began practicing Conservative Judaism. In 1998, she, her husband, and their son converted to Orthodox Judaism. During this time, she sometimes used Jewish teachings to advise her callers. In July 2003, she announced that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew, but still considered herself Jewish.
Controversies and Public Statements
In August 2010, during her radio show, Dr. Laura used an offensive racial term multiple times while discussing its use. This caused a significant public outcry. Many of her radio stations and sponsors stopped supporting her show. Following this event, she announced that she would end her syndicated radio show at the end of 2010. She stated that she wanted to regain her freedom to speak her mind without pressure from special interest groups. Her show then moved exclusively to Sirius XM Radio in 2011.
Fictional Appearances
Dr. Laura has been portrayed or parodied in several TV shows.
- In 1992, she played herself in an episode of Quantum Leap.
- In 1999, she was parodied as "Dr. Nora" on the sitcom Frasier. This character had very strict social views and was shown to be distant from her mother.
- A brief, non-speaking cartoon version of Dr. Laura appeared in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror X".
- In 2000, the TV show The West Wing featured a fictional character named "Dr. Jenna Jacobs." This character was criticized by the President for her views on certain topics.
- A cartoon version of Dr. Laura appeared as a character in the 2000 animated series Queer Duck.
- In 2001, she was portrayed in the claymation show Celebrity Deathmatch in a fight against Ellen DeGeneres.
Images for kids
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Schlessinger in 2007
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Schlessinger with Nikki Hornsby in 2009. Schlessinger used Hornsby's song "Hot Talkin' Big Shot" for several years as theme music
