Contemporary Classic Authors: Judy Blume
© Susan Jensen
Judy Sussman was born on February 12, 1938, in Elizabeth, New York. Her father worked as a dentist, while her mother stayed at home. In Presenting Judy Blume, Judy describes her mother as quiet and conservative, the exact opposite of herself. At school, Judy proved to be a good student, with a love for the arts. She loved drama, dancing, singing, reading, painting and roller skating. She dreamed of being an actress.
Judy began her college career at Boston University. Although she wanted to obtain a teaching degree, her primary purpose at the college was to find a man with whom she could have a family. That dream crumbled when Judy contracted mono, and had to return home. When she recovered from the illness, she continued her schooling at New York University, where she received her bachelor's degree in 1960. She also met a man, John Blume, whom she married a year before she graduated. By the time she reached her 25th birthday, she had two children, a boy and a girl.
John Blume wrote for a living, and Judy's responsibilities included supporting him, rearing her children, and keeping the house up. Although she loved her children, she found the life of a housewife dull. When she received a flyer for a writing class at NYU, she signed up, and her writing career began.
After 16 years of marriage, John and Judy Blume divorced. Judy later married Tom Kitchens, a physicist. That marriage also ended in divorce in 1979. She is now married to George Cooper, also a writer; the two wed in 1987.
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