Susan Orlean Bio | Wiki
Susan Orlean is an American television writer, authore, and journalist. She is the bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book. Susan has been serving as a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992. She has contributed articles to many magazines including Esquire, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Outside.
Susan joined the writing team of the HBO comedy series titled How To with John Wilson in 2021. She became a public figure after publishing the 1998 book titled The Orchid Thief. In 2002, the book was adapted into the film Adaptation where Meryl Streep won an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Orlean.
Susan Orlean Age
She was born on October 31, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Susan is 66 years old.
Susan Orlean Height
She is a woman of average stature. Susan stands at a height of 5 ft 5 in ( Approx 1.65m).
Susan Orlean Family
She was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Her parents were Edith (née Gross 1923–2016) and Arthur Orlean (1915–2007). Susan has two siblings, one sister and a brother. She comes from a Jewish family. Her mother’s family is from Hungary while her father’s family is from Poland. Arthur was an attorney and businessman.
Susan Orlean Education
She attended and graduated from the University of Michigan with honors in 1976. Susan studied literature and history. She moved to Portland, Oregon, after college and was planning on going to law school when she started writing for Willamette Week.
Susan Orlean Husband
She married her ex-husband, lawyer Peter Sistrom in 1983. Peter was born in 1955. The couple divorced after 16 years of marriage. Peter died in 2021. Susan was introduced to author and businessman John Gillespie by a friend. They started dating shortly after and married each other in 2001. Susan gave birth to their son in 2004. John has a son from his previous marriage and now Susan is his stepmother.
Susan Orlean Author
In 1998, Susan wrote an article titled the Women’s Outside article “Life’s Swell.” The article featured on a group of young surfer girls in Maui and was the basis of the film Blue Crush. She co-wrote The Skinny: What Every Skinny Woman Knows About Dieting (And Won’t Tell You!) in 1999 under her married name, Susan Sistrom.
Susan Orlean Rin Tin Tin
Susan’s previously published magazine stories have been compiled in two collections, i.e My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who’s Been Everywhere, as well as The Bullfighter, Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People. In 2005, Susan served as editor for Best American Essays and Best American Travel Writing in 2007. She also contributed to the Ohio chapter in State By State in 2008. In 2011, Susan published a biographical history of the dog actor Rin Tin Tin titled Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend.
Susan Orlean On Animals
On October 12, 2021, Susan published a book titled On Animals. In this book, Susa says “How we interact with animals has preoccupied philosophers, poets, and naturalists for ages,” Susan has been drawn to stories about how people live with animals, and how those animals abide by people. In her book, On Animal, Susan examines animal-human relationships through the compelling tales she has written over the course of her celebrated career.
Susan Orlean The Library Book |Son
Her son chose a librarian for his school assignment to interview a city employee, they both visited the Studio City branch of the Los Angeles Public Library system. This reignited her own childhood passion for libraries. The Library Book was released in October 2018 following an immersive project involving 3 years of research and 2 years of writing on the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Library.
Susan hired a fact-checker to ensure the book was accurate, stating “I don’t want a substantial error that changes the meaning of my book, but I also don’t want silly errors”. Susan collaborated on the adaption of the book for television. She joined the writing staff of the television series How To with John Wilson in 2021 for the show’s second season on HBO.
Susan Orlean Saturday Night | New Yorker
She has published stories in Spy, Outside, Vogue, Esquire, and Rolling Stone. Susan became a staff writer for the Boston Phoenix in 1982. She later became a regular contributor to the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. Her first book titled Saturday Night was published in 1990. She started writing for The New Yorker magazine shortly after she moved to New York City from Boston. Susan started contributing to The New Yorker in 1987 and in 1992, she became a staff writer.
Susan Orlean The Orchid Thief | Adaptation
She authored a book titled The Orchid Thief, a profile of Florida orchid grower, breeder and collector John Laroche. The Orchid Thief formed the basis of Charlie Kaufman’s script for the Spike Jonze film Adaptation. Susan was, in effect, made into a fictional character. She was portrayed by Meryl Streep who won a Golden Globe for the performance. The movie portrayed Susan as becoming Laroche’s lover and partner in a drug production operation. In this operation, orchids were processed into a psychoactive substance.
Susan Orlean Books | Books In Order
– 1997 Saturday Night,
– 1998 The Orchid Thief
– 2001 The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People
– 2004 My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who’s Been Everywhere
– 2011 Animalish (Kindle Single)
– 2011 Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend
– 2016 The Floral Ghost
– 2016 The Library Book (Simon and Schuster).
– 2021 On animals.
Susan Orlean Salary
From her writing career, Susan means a reasonable salary of $70,492 per year.
Susan Orlean Net Worth
She is an American television writer, authore, and journalist. Susan has accumulated an estimated net worth of $2,596,825.
How Old Is Susan Orlean
Susan is 66 years old. She was born on October 31, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
Is Susan Orlean Married
She married her ex-husband, lawyer Peter Sistrom in 1983 but divorced after 16 years of marriage. Peter died in 2021. Susan became romantically engaged to businessman John Gillespie and married each other in 2001. She gave birth to their son in 2004.
Who Is Susan Orlean
Susan is an American television writer, authore, and journalist. She is the bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book. Susan has been serving as a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992. She has contributed articles to many magazines including Esquire, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Outside.