Laura Schlessinger Biography
Laura Schlessinger is an American author and radio host working for Sirius XM Radio as a radio host. She joined Sirius XM Radio on January 3, 2011, after previously working for KFI.
Laura Schlessinger Career
Schlessinger attended Westbury High School and Jericho High School, demonstrating an early interest in science. Later, she pursued higher education, earning a bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University. For her graduate studies, she moved to Columbia University, where she obtained a master’s and Ph.D. in physiology in 1974, focusing her doctoral thesis on insulin’s effects on laboratory rats. After transitioning into providing personal advice on the radio, she furthered her education by obtaining training and certification in marriage and family counseling from the University of Southern California. During this time, she also worked in the biology department. Additionally, she secured a therapist’s license from the State of California and initiated a part-time practice as a marriage and family therapist.
She made her first appearance on radio in 1975 when she called into a KABC show hosted by Bill Ballance. Impressed by her quick wit and sense of humor, Ballance began featuring her in a weekly segment. This led to Schlessinger hosting her own shows on various small radio stations, and by 1979, she had a slot on KWIZ in Santa Ana, California. Here, she aired on Sunday evenings from 9:00 to midnight. The Los Angeles Times described her show as addressing various emotional problems, with a particular focus on intimacy therapy. In the late 1980s, she filled in for Barbara De Angelis’ relationship-oriented talk show in Los Angeles on KFI and worked weekends at KGIL in San Fernando. Her breakthrough came when she became the regular substitute for Sally Jessy Raphael’s evening personal advice show.
This led to her hosting a daily show on KFI, which gained national syndication in 1994 through Synergy, a company owned by Schlessinger and her husband. In 1997, the rights were sold to Jacor Communications, Inc., for $71.5 million. After several corporate changes, the show became a collaborative effort between Take on the Day (production), Talk Radio Network (syndication and marketing), and Premiere Radio Networks (satellite facilities and advertising sales). At its height, The Dr. Laura Program was the second-highest-rated radio show, following The Rush Limbaugh Show, and was broadcast on over 450 radio stations. As of September 2009, she broadcast the show from her home in Santa Barbara, California, with KFWB as her flagship station. Podcasts and live streams of the show were available on her website for a monthly fee, and the show was also on XM Satellite Radio.
In 2010, which was her final year on terrestrial radio, she maintained the fifth position among radio shows. By May 2002, her show still had an audience of over 10 million but experienced a decline in listenership over the previous two years due to being dropped by affiliates like WABC and moving from day to night in certain cities. These losses were attributed in part to her shift from relationship advice to discussing morality and conservative politics. This led to pressure from gay rights groups and the loss of several sponsors. By 2006, her show was broadcast on approximately 200 stations, and as of 2009, it was tied for third place with The Glenn Beck Program and The Savage Nation. She used songs like “Hot Talkin’ Big Shot” by Nikki Hornsby and “New Attitude” by Patti LaBelle as cue music for her radio program.
On August 17, 2010, during an appearance on Larry King Live, she announced the end of her radio show, expressing the desire to “regain her First Amendment rights” and speak her mind without interference. The decision came after losing affiliates and major sponsors following her on-air use of a racial epithet on August 10. She moved her show exclusively to Sirius XM Radio on January 3, 2011, and currently offers a short podcast of the “Call of the Day” from her SiriusXM daily show, ranking in the top 25 “Kids and Family” podcasts on iTunes. In 1999, she signed a deal with Paramount Domestic Television to produce a syndicated talk show titled “Dr. Laura.” The show was carried by CBS’s owned and operated stations in major markets and in 96% of the nation’s markets overall for the fall of 2000.
Paramount viewed this as a significant move to establish itself as a daytime syndication powerhouse. Leading up to the September 11, 2000, premiere, controversy surrounded Dr. Laura. She made statements about homosexuality being a “biological error” and expressed views on adopting older children, causing criticism from the LGBT community. An online campaign, StopDrLaura.com, was launched to convince Paramount to cancel the show. Protests were organized in various cities, and an advertiser boycott was initiated. Despite the controversy, Dr. Laura premiered to low ratings and negative reviews. Critics and viewers felt that the format lacked the appeal of Schlessinger’s radio show and that her demeanor seemed overly harsh for daytime television.
The show failed to generate the same energy and interest as her radio program. The credibility suffered further when it was revealed that show staff had posed as fake guests, leading to advertisers pulling support and stations considering dropping or moving the series to late-night slots. By November 2000, advertisers had withdrawn support due to plummeting ratings, and CBS, along with other stations, considered dropping or moving the show to less prominent slots. Dr. Laura aired its last first-run episode on March 30, 2001, with reruns continuing until September 2001. In 2004, she described her television experience as “terrible,” emphasizing that while the money and celebrity were greater, it lacked the meaningful and intimate connection she felt with radio.
Schlessinger maintains a website that offers tips for stay-at-home parents, features her blog, provides a reading list, and offers streaming audio of her shows (accessible through subscription only). Upon its launch, the website experienced overwhelming traffic, with 310,000 people attempting to access it simultaneously, causing a temporary crash. Certain aspects of feminism are frequently addressed on her website. Although she identified as a feminist in the 1970s, she currently expresses opposition to feminism. She has garnered numerous accolades and acknowledgments for her significant contributions to the radio industry. In 1997, she made history as the first woman to win the Marconi Award for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year.
Additionally, she received the Genii Award from the American Women in Radio & Television in 1998. Her presence on the Forbes Top 100 list in 2000, with an estimated earning of $13 million, further highlighted her success. Notably, Talkers magazine ranked her as the seventh-greatest radio talk show host of all time in September 2002. Her achievements extend to awards such as the National Heritage Award from the National Council of Young Israel in 2001 and the National Religious Broadcasters Chairman’s Award. The Office of the Secretary of Defense recognized her with the Exceptional Public Service Award in 2007, and in 2008, Talkers honored her with an award for outstanding community service by a radio talk-show host.
A significant milestone in her career occurred in 2018 when she, along with Nanci Donnelan, became the first two women with their own national radio shows to be inducted into the prestigious National Radio Hall of Fame.
Laura Schlessinger Salary
Schlessinger earns an annual salary of about $47,000-$120,000.
Laura Schlessinger Net Worth
Schlessinger has an estimated net worth of about $5 Million – $13 Million which she has earned through her career as a radio host.
Laura Schlessinger Age
Schlessinger was born on January 16, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. She is 77 years old as of 2024, and she celebrates her birthday on the 16th of January every year.
Laura Schlessinger Height and Weight
Schlessinger stands at a height of 5 feet 5 inches tall, and she weighs 125 lbs (75kgs).
Laura Schlessinger Family
Schlessinger is the daughter of Yolanda Ceccovini and Monroe Schlessinger who is a civil engineer. She also has a younger sister called Cindy.
Laura Schlessinger Husband and Children
Schlessinger was married to Michael F. Rudolph who is a dentist. They tied the knot in 1972 they separated and their divorce was finalized in 1977. In 1975, while working in the laboratories at USC, she crossed paths with Lewis G. Bishop, a married professor of neurophysiology with three children. Bishop separated from his wife that same year, and he and Schlessinger began living together. Despite Schlessinger’s outspoken disapproval of unmarried couples living together and having children out of wedlock, she lived with Bishop for about nine years before they officially married.
The divorce between Bishop and his previous wife was finalized in 1979. Schlessinger and Bishop eventually got married in 1985. Together, they are blessed with a son, whom they named Deryk, born in November 1985. Tragically, Lewis G. Bishop passed away on November 2, 2015, after battling illness for 1.5 years. She resides in Santa Barbara, California together with her family.
Laura Schlessinger Publications
For several years, Schlessinger wrote a weekly column syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, appearing in numerous newspapers and Jewish World Review. She discontinued the column in July 2000, citing time constraints due to her upcoming television show. From 2002 to 2004, she wrote a monthly column for WorldNetDaily, with one entry in 2006. In 2006, she joined the Santa Barbara News-Press, contributing biweekly columns covering Santa Barbara news, general news, and cultural issues discussed on her radio show. She suspended the column in mid-2007, resumed it later, and ultimately discontinued it in December 2008. Currently, she writes columns on her blog, addressing a variety of topics.
She has authored 13 books for adults and four for children. Some follow the pattern of her successful “Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives,” offering advice for men, couples, and parents. Others lean toward moral guidance. She also published a monthly magazine, “Dr. Laura Perspective,” for several years, where she served as the editor, her husband contributed as a photographer, and her son acted as the creative consultant. The magazine is no longer in publication. In 1994, she was invited to the editorial board of Skeptic magazine for her stance against recovered memory therapy. However, she abruptly resigned in 1998 after the magazine published an issue of “The God Question.” She insisted to publisher Michael Shermer that there could be no question about God’s existence.
Social Media Platform
Schlessinger is very active on her Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages. She has 23.4K followers on Twitter 11.6k followers on Instagram and 1.6M followers on Facebook.