Jeanne Betancourt

Betancourt was born and raised in rural Vermont.[1] She lived across from a dairy farm; this rural setting would later influence many of her works.[2] During her childhood, she never considered being an author. Instead, she wanted to dance, and studied tap dance.[3] When she grew too tall (at five feet, eight inches) to be a Rockette, she decided to become a religious sister in her junior year of high school.[3] After graduating high school, she moved to Rutland, Vermont where she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph, a teaching order of sisters.[3]

She earned a Bachelor of Science in 1964 from the College of St. Joseph the Provider[1] and a Master of Arts degree[3] in film from New York University in 1974.[4]Women in Focus, her first published work, focuses on her master's degree project.[3]

Betancourt left the Sisters of Saint Joseph and moved to New York City, where she taught public high school.[3] She married and had a daughter, Nicole.[2] She wrote her first children's book, SMILE! How to cope with braces, in 1982 when her daughter Nicole had braces,[2] and soon became a full-time author.[5] She later divorced.[2]

She currently lives either on the top floor of a sixteen-story building near the American Museum of Natural History in New York City or in her home in Connecticut.[2] In her free time she draws, oil paints, gardens, and reads.[1]

In television, Betancourt has garnered the National Psychological Award for Excellence in the Media, two Humanitas Awards, and six Emmy Award nominations.[2] [6]

Betancourt has also won numerous awards for her novels, including a Children's Choice Award from the International Reading Association and the Children's Book Council for Sweet Sixteen and Never... and a Lifetime Achievement Award.[6]

A defaced version of Betancourt's novel Detective Pony was featured in the webcomic Homestuck, as a gift given to one of the characters.[7][8] This inspired an extended fan-edit of the book, which featured extensive re-writing of the story and the inclusion of Betancourt as a self-aware character.[9]

Note: all retrieved from[2] (a complete bibliography)

• Pony Pals series
• My Name is Brain Brian
• Puppy Love
• Home Sweet Home
• The Edge
• Dear Diary
• Cheer USA series

• Autobiography