Laura Catherine Schlessinger (born January 16, 1947) is an American
talk radio host and author. "The Dr. Laura Program," heard weekdays
for three hours on Sirius XM Radio, consists mainly of her responses
to callers' requests for personal advice and often features her short
monologues on social and political topics. Her website says that her
show "preaches, teaches, and nags about morals, values, and ethics."
She is an inductee to the National Radio Hall of Fame in
Chicago.Schlessinger used to combine her local radio career in Los
Angeles with a private practice as a marriage and family counselor,
but after going into national radio syndication, she concentrated her
efforts on The Dr. Laura Program heard each weekday, and on writing
self-help books. The books Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their
Lives and The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands are among her
bestselling works. A short-lived television talk show hosted by
Schlessinger was launched in 2000. In August 2010, she announced that
she would end her syndicated radio show in December 2010. Her show
moved to the "Sirius XM Stars" satellite radio channel on January 3,
2011. Schlessinger announced a "multiyear" deal to be on satellite
radio. On November 5, 2018, her radio program moved to the Sirius XM
"Triumph Channel 111."Schlessinger was born in the New York City
borough of Brooklyn. She was raised in Brooklyn and later on Long
Island. Her parents were Monroe "Monty" Schlessinger, a civil
engineer, and Yolanda (Ceccovini) Schlessinger, a Catholic war bride
from Italy. Schlessinger has said her father was charming and her
mother beautiful as a young woman. She has a sister, Cindy, who is 11
years her junior. Schlessinger has described her childhood environment
as unloving and unpleasant, and her family as dysfunctional. She has
ascribed some of the difficulty to extended family rejection of her
parents' mixed faith Jewish-Catholic marriage. Schlessinger said her
father was "petty, insensitive, mean, thoughtless, demeaning, and
downright unloving". She described her mother as a person with
"pathological pride", who "was never grateful", who "would always find
something to criticize," and who "constantly expressed disdain for
men, sex, and love". She credited her father with giving her the drive
to succeed.Schlessinger attended Westbury High School and Jericho High
School, where she showed an interest in science. She received a
bachelor's degree from Stony Brook University. Moving to Columbia
University for graduate studies, she earned a master's and PhD in
physiology in 1974. Her doctoral thesis was on insulin's effects on
laboratory rats. After she began dispensing personal advice on the
radio, she obtained training and certification in marriage and family
counseling from the University of Southern California, where she
worked in the biology department, and a therapist's license from the
State of California. In addition, she opened up a part-time practice
as a marriage and family therapist. Columbia University
talk radio host and author. "The Dr. Laura Program," heard weekdays
for three hours on Sirius XM Radio, consists mainly of her responses
to callers' requests for personal advice and often features her short
monologues on social and political topics. Her website says that her
show "preaches, teaches, and nags about morals, values, and ethics."
She is an inductee to the National Radio Hall of Fame in
Chicago.Schlessinger used to combine her local radio career in Los
Angeles with a private practice as a marriage and family counselor,
but after going into national radio syndication, she concentrated her
efforts on The Dr. Laura Program heard each weekday, and on writing
self-help books. The books Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their
Lives and The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands are among her
bestselling works. A short-lived television talk show hosted by
Schlessinger was launched in 2000. In August 2010, she announced that
she would end her syndicated radio show in December 2010. Her show
moved to the "Sirius XM Stars" satellite radio channel on January 3,
2011. Schlessinger announced a "multiyear" deal to be on satellite
radio. On November 5, 2018, her radio program moved to the Sirius XM
"Triumph Channel 111."Schlessinger was born in the New York City
borough of Brooklyn. She was raised in Brooklyn and later on Long
Island. Her parents were Monroe "Monty" Schlessinger, a civil
engineer, and Yolanda (Ceccovini) Schlessinger, a Catholic war bride
from Italy. Schlessinger has said her father was charming and her
mother beautiful as a young woman. She has a sister, Cindy, who is 11
years her junior. Schlessinger has described her childhood environment
as unloving and unpleasant, and her family as dysfunctional. She has
ascribed some of the difficulty to extended family rejection of her
parents' mixed faith Jewish-Catholic marriage. Schlessinger said her
father was "petty, insensitive, mean, thoughtless, demeaning, and
downright unloving". She described her mother as a person with
"pathological pride", who "was never grateful", who "would always find
something to criticize," and who "constantly expressed disdain for
men, sex, and love". She credited her father with giving her the drive
to succeed.Schlessinger attended Westbury High School and Jericho High
School, where she showed an interest in science. She received a
bachelor's degree from Stony Brook University. Moving to Columbia
University for graduate studies, she earned a master's and PhD in
physiology in 1974. Her doctoral thesis was on insulin's effects on
laboratory rats. After she began dispensing personal advice on the
radio, she obtained training and certification in marriage and family
counseling from the University of Southern California, where she
worked in the biology department, and a therapist's license from the
State of California. In addition, she opened up a part-time practice
as a marriage and family therapist. Columbia University
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