Jacqueline Susann(1918-1974)

Jacqueline Susann was an extraordinarily successful writer who turned her dynamic charm, chutzpah, and personality into a formidable marketing machine. Despite a less than spectacular career as an actress, singer, and playwright, she never lost confidence in herself. Blessed with sensual looks and unbounded confidence, Susann went from unknown to the best selling author of the 1960s. Her marriage to public relations/publicity guru Irving Mansfield was a a union of great advantage. Their only child, Guy, was born autistic. Despite a stormy life together, marked by her constant affairs, Mansfield was devoted to his wife. Her scandalous private life included passionate involvement with Ethel Merman, the basis for "Helen Lawson" in "Valley of the Dolls", and numerous actors and writers. After her mastectomy, she apparently ended her philandering, but became even more determined to find fame. By the time of her death, she had become one of the cultural icons of the 1960s and had set numerous publishing records.