Cecily von Ziegesar

Cecily Brooke von Ziegesar (/ˌvɒn zɪˈɡeɪzər/ VON zi-GAY-zər; born June 27, 1970)[2] is an American author best known for the young adult Gossip Girl series of novels.

Cecily von Ziegesar
Ziegesar at the 2012 Brooklyn Book Festival
BornCecily Brooke von Ziegesar
(1970-06-27) June 27, 1970
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
EducationNightingale-Bamford School
Colby College (BA)
University of Arizona (dropped out)
Period2002–present
GenreDrama, comedy, short, romance
Notable worksGossip Girl series
The It Girl series
SpouseRichard Griggs[1]
Children2
ParentsFranz Albrecht von Ziegesar
Olivia James

Early life and education

Cecily von Ziegesar was born in New York City into a German noble family. She is the daughter of Franz Albrecht von Ziegesar, the CEO and Chairman of Bowne & Co., and his second wife, Olivia James. She is the half-sister of writer Peter von Ziegesar.[3] Her childhood dream was to grow up to be a ballerina; she began lessons at age three and auditioned for the School of American Ballet at age eight, but was rejected.[4] As a teenager, she commuted to Manhattan at 6:00 a.m. every day to attend The Nightingale-Bamford School.[5] After graduating from Nightingale, Ziegesar attended Colby College. Then she spent a year in Budapest working for a local radio station. She then returned to the United States to study creative writing at the University of Arizona, only to drop out shortly thereafter.[5]

Career

Book series

In New York City, while working at book-packaging firm Alloy Entertainment, she became inspired to create the Gossip Girl series, which presents a view of high-end teenage lifestyles. The series climbed to the top of The New York Times Best-Sellers list in 2002. A spin-off book series, The It Girl, made the list in 2005.

The Constance Billard [sic] School for Girls is based on an exaggerated version of Ziegesar's own alma mater, Nightingale.

In October 2011, Ziegesar released a spin-off of her first novel: Psycho Killer.

Television series

Gossip Girl was adapted for television in 2007. The show premiered to mixed reviews and lost more than a million viewers from episode one to two, from 3.65 million[6] to 2.55 million.[7] The rest of the season's viewers went up and down, the highest being 3 million viewers for the season finale and the lowest being 1.80 million viewers for episode eleven.

Controversy and criticism surrounding the show surfaced due to the fact that it failed to show much of the books' plots, character personalities, and other major and minor facts, thus disappointing many fans of the novels. However, Ziegesar told ABC News that her major plot lines were there and that "at least it takes place in New York City".[8]

In early 2011, The CW renewed the series for a fifth season. On May 16, 2011, Ziegesar herself made a cameo appearance in the fourth season finale.[9]

Graphic novel series

In December 2009, Yen Press announced that it was working with South Korean artist Baek Hye-Kyung to create a graphic novel adaptation of the series titled Gossip Girl: For Your Eyes Only. Rather than adapting the original novels, however, the graphic novels will feature original stories with the same characters. It will be serialized in the company's anthology magazine Yen Plus, with the first chapter appearing in the January 2010 issue.[10]

Personal life

Von Ziegesar resides in the Columbia Street Waterfront District, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, with her husband Richard, who is Chief Operating Officer of the Judd Foundation,[11] and their children Agnes Belle von Ziegesar Griggs and Oscar von Ziegesar Griggs.[12]

Books

Gossip Girl
Main article: Gossip Girl (novel series)
  1. Gossip Girl (2002)
  2. You Know You Love Me (2002)
  3. All I Want Is Everything (2003)
  4. Because I'm Worth It (2003)
  5. I Like It Like That (2004)
  6. You're the One That I Want (2004)
  7. Nobody Does It Better (2005)
  8. Nothing Can Keep Us Together (2005)
  9. Only in Your Dreams (2006) (written by ghost-writer)
  10. Would I Lie To You? (2006) (written by ghost-writer)
  11. Don't You Forget About Me (2007) (written by ghost-writer)
  12. I Will Always Love You (2009) (written by ghost-writer)
  • PREQUEL It Had To Be You (2007)
  • Psycho Killer (Spin-Off the original first novel; October 2011)

The It Girl
Main article: The It Girl (book series)

This series was written by a ghost-writer, with guidance from Cecily von Ziegesar.

  1. The It Girl
  2. Notorious
  3. Reckless
  4. Unforgettable
  5. Lucky
  6. Tempted
  7. Infamous
  8. Adored
  9. Devious
  10. Classic

Gossip Girl: The Carlyles
Main article: Gossip Girl: The Carlyles

This series is actually written by Annabelle Vestry, though Cecily von Ziegesar's name is on the spine and front.

  1. Gossip Girl: The Carlyles (2008)
  2. You Just Can't Get Enough (2008)
  3. Take A Chance on Me (2009)
  4. Love the One You're With (2009)

Cum Laude
  1. Cum Laude (June 1, 2010 from Hyperion)[13][14] republished under the name "Class" in 2011.

References
  1. "Colby Magazine". Colby Magazine.
  2. "So What Do You Do, Cecily von Ziegesar, Creator of Gossip Girl". Mediabistro. October 20, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  3. https://observer.com/2008/11/igossip-girli-creators-halfbrother-writing-family-memoir-for-st-martins/
  4. Ziegesar, Cecily von (December 18, 2008). "At 'Nutcracker' With My Family, a Duck Amid the Swans". The New York Times.
  5. "Psst, Serena is a slut. Pass it on". NYMag.com.
  6. http://www.abcmedianet.com/Web/progcal/dispDNR.aspx?id=092507_06%5B%5D
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Gonzalez, Sandra (May 16, 2011). "'Gossip Girl' author Cecily von Ziegesar guests on season finale – EXCLUSIVE PHOTO". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  10. "Yen Press to Adapt von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl Novels". Anime News Network. December 4, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  11. "About - Judd Foundation".
  12. "Colby Magazine". Colby Magazine.
  13. Lee, Felicia R. (June 6, 2008). "'Gossip Girl' Author Aims Older". The New York Times.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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