Known for movies
Short Info
Date Of Birth | January 4, 1943 |
Spouse | Richard N. Goodwin |
Fact | Winner of 1995 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction for book "No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II." |
Doris Kearns Goodwin is an American historian, biographer, and political commentator. She is the author of several bestselling books, including The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism and Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
Goodwin was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 4, 1943. Her father, Joseph Kearns, was an attorney, and her mother, Doris Kearns, was a homemaker. She has two sisters, Judy and Jane.
Goodwin attended Colby College in Maine, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in government in 1964. She then went on to earn a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University in 1968.
Goodwin began her career as a White House Fellow during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. She then served as a staff member for Johnson’s biographer, Doris Kearns Goodwin.
In 1976, Goodwin published her first book, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. The book was a bestseller and earned Goodwin a Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
OTD 75 years ago, Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly. A citizen wrote: The greatest human tribute is that because one man died 130 million feel lonely. @nytimes reported: Strangers stopped to commiserate with one another. Over and over the same lament ‘We have lost our friend.’
— Doris Kearns Goodwin (@DorisKGoodwin) April 12, 2020
Goodwin has since published several other bestselling books, including The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga (1987), No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (1994), and Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (2005).
Goodwin is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations. She has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Goodwin has been married to Richard Goodwin since 1975. The couple has two sons, Joe and Michael.
Goodwin is five feet four inches tall and has blue eyes.
General Info
Full Name | Doris Kearns Goodwin |
Date Of Birth | January 4, 1943 |
Profession | Journalist, Author, Historian |
Education | Bates College, Colby College, Harvard University |
Nationality | American |
Family
Spouse | Richard N. Goodwin |
Children | Joe Kearns Goodwin, Michael Kearns Goodwin |
Parents | Helen Witt Kearns, Michael Francis Aloysius Kearns |
Accomplishments
Awards | Lincoln Prize, Pulitzer Prize for History, Ambassador Book Award for Biography & Autobiography |
Nominations | National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story - Programs |
Movies | Lincoln |
Social profile links
Quotes
# | Quote |
---|---|
1 | [on the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft] Taft was Roosevelt's handpicked successor. I didn't know how deep the friendship was between the two men until I read their almost four hundred letters, stretching back the to early '30s. It made me realize the heartbreak when they ruptured was much more than a political division. |
2 | Roosevelt coined the phrase 'bully pulpit' for the platform a president has to influence public sentiment. I think after Sandy Hook, when Obama went out and he talked a lot about gun control and met with the parents, there was a sense that something was going to happen. But then, I guess, the power of special interests was greater than public sentiment. |
3 | Those who knew Lincoln described him as an extraordinarily funny man. Humor was an essential aspect of his temperament. He laughed, he explained, so he did not weep. His 'eyes would sparkle with fun', one old-timer remembered, 'and when he had reached the point in his narrative which invariably invoked the laughter of the crowd, nobody's enjoyment was greater than his'. His ability to counter criticism with humor was legendary. When told that he was two-faced, he instantly responded, 'If I had two faces, do you think I'd be wearing this face?' |
4 | Although Lincoln's voice was 'thin' and 'high-pitched', reporter Horace White recalled, it had 'much carrying power' and 'could be heard a long distance in spite of the bustle and tumult of the crowd'. While he seemed awkward at first, when he 'hit his stride', White observed, he grew 'very impassioned' and 'seemed transfigured' by the strength of his words. |
5 | Lincoln's singular way of walking, contemporaries observed, gave the impression his long, gaunt frame needed oiling. He would plod forward in an awkward manner, his hands hanging at his sides or folded, behind his back. His step had no spring, his law partner William Herndon recalled. He lifted his whole foot at once and then thrust it down on the ground rather than landing on his heel. 'His legs', another observer noted, 'seemed to drag from the knees down, like those of a laborer going home after a hard day's work'. |
6 | A lot of times when people are on campaigns, it can be like a movie set. |
Facts
# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | Working on book about Abe Lincoln, after public controversy over plagiarism charges [June 2002] |
2 | Concord, Massachusetts; Author and historian [November 2011] |
3 | Mother of Michael Goodwin and Joseph Kearns Goodwin; Mother-in-law of Victoria Anne Bonney Goodwin;. |
4 | Former assistant to President Lyndon Johnson. |
5 | Favorite songs: "Don't Be Cruel" & "Smoke Gets Your Eyes" by Elvis Presley; "Blowing in the Wind" by Peter Yarrow, N. Paul Stookey and Mary Allin Travers (aka Peter, Paul and Mary); "Moondance" by Van Morrison. |
6 | In 1999, she was consulted by Steven Spielberg as part of his research about a film he wanted to make about Abraham Lincoln. Goodwin revealed that she was working on a book, entitled "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln". Spielberg immediately expressed interest in using this book as the basis for his film, and Dreamworks Pictures finalized the film rights in 2001. The book itself was not published until 2005. |
7 | Received the 2006 Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement from the Lincoln Forum. |
8 | Winner of 1995 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction for book "No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II." |
9 | In the wake of accusations over plagiarism in her "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys", history book in 1987, Goodwin resigned from board of Pulitzer Prize judges, 31 May 2002. Had been a member of the board since 1999. Resignation followed a probe since January, 2002 of possible plagiarism in other books of hers. She acknowledged she had long before made cash payment to author Lynne McTaggart to settle dispute over charges that Goodwin had plagiarized from her book, "Kathleen Kennedy". |
10 | Historian and author, she also serves as professor at Harvard where she earned her Ph.D. in political science. Is one of country's foremost presidential historians. She and her husband Dick, a famous speechwriter in Kennedy and Johnson administrations, have three sons. Besides her love for politics, is a major Boston Red Sox fan since childhood. As a child, she began writing about baseball games for her father. They live in Boston. |
11 | Also took leave from role as frequent TV commentator on "Newshour with Jim Lehrer," while some universities cancelled invitations for her speaking engagements. |
12 | Has a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Political Science. She is one of our country's foremost Presidential historians. She and her husband have three sons. Besides her love for politics, she has been a major baseball fan since her childhood. She is a big Boston Red Sox fan. As a child, she began writing about baseball games for her father. She is also a Harvard Professor of Government. Her husband, Richard N. Goodwin, worked as a presidential speechwriter. They live in Boston. |
13 | Historian and author. |
Pictures
Movies
Miscellaneous
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History | 2014 | TV Series documentary advisor - 7 episodes | |
Looking for Lincoln | 2009 | TV Movie consultant | |
American Experience | TV Series documentary advisor - 8 episodes, 1991 - 2001 creative consultant - 2 episodes, 1994 |
Writer
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Lincoln | 2012 | book "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" - in part | |
The Kennedys of Massachusetts | 1990 | TV Mini-Series book - 3 episodes |
Actress
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
American Horror Story | 2016 | TV Series | Doris Kearns Goodwin |
A Tribute to Tim Russert: Newhouse Mirror Awards | 2008 | Video short |
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
The Hobby: Collecting America's Pastime | 2016 | Documentary | |
Meet the Press | 2006-2016 | TV Series | Herself - Panelist / Herself - Presidential Historian / Herself / ... |
Morning Joe | 2016 | TV Series | Herself |
The Simpsons | 2016 | TV Series | Herself |
CBS This Morning | 2012-2016 | TV Series | Herself |
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | 2015-2016 | TV Series | Herself |
Charlie Rose | 1994-2015 | TV Series | Herself - Guest / Herself |
The Daily Show | 2005-2015 | TV Series | Herself |
Ask This Old House | 2015 | TV Series | Herself - Presidential Historian |
Bombs Away: LBJ, Goldwater and the 1964 Campaign That Changed It All | 2014 | TV Movie documentary | Herself - Biographer, Historian |
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History | 2014 | TV Series documentary | Herself - Historian |
The Colbert Report | 2006-2014 | TV Series | Herself - Guest / Herself |
Overheard | 2014 | TV Series | Herself - interviewee |
Fox News Sunday | 2014 | TV Series | Herself - Power Player of the Week |
Face the Nation | 2012-2013 | TV Series | Herself / Herself - Baseball Panelist |
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | 2013 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
CBS News Sunday Morning | 2013 | TV Series documentary | Herself - Guest |
The Journey to Lincoln | 2013 | Video documentary short | Herself - Author 'Team of Rivals' |
60 Minutes | 2013 | TV Series documentary | Herself - Historian (segment "Lincoln") |
Today | 2013 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
Hardball with Chris Matthews | 2012 | TV Series | Herself |
CBS This Morning: Saturday | 2012 | TV Series | Herself |
20/20 | 2011 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
The Start of Dreams | 2010 | Documentary | Herself |
Baseball | 1994-2010 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself |
The Kennedy Brothers: A Hardball Documentary | 2009 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
All In: The Poker Movie | 2009 | Documentary | Herself |
Looking for Lincoln | 2009 | TV Movie | Herself |
American Experience | 1991-2009 | TV Series documentary | Herself / Herself (interviewee) |
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | 2008 | TV Series | Herself |
Pritzker Military Library Presents | 2006 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
Texas Monthly Talks | 2006 | TV Series | Herself - Interviewee |
Late Night with Conan O'Brien | 1998-2005 | TV Series | Herself |
Late Show with David Letterman | 2001-2002 | TV Series | Herself |
The Century: America's Time | 1999 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself - Historian |
Robert F. Kennedy: A Memoir | 1998 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
The Ten Thousand Day War | 1980 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself (biographer of LBJ) (as Doris Kearns) |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
60 Minutes | 2013 | TV Series documentary | Herself - Historian (segment "Lincoln") |
Awards
Nominated Awards
Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | USC Scripter Award | USC Scripter Award | Lincoln (2012) |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia