Who Am I? September 2023

I’m a Gen X baby who was born in San Diego. 3 of my grandparents were Ashkenazi-Jews from Eastern Europe. My parents were teachers and documentary film makers. I am a distant relative of Israel’s national poet, a man who is a celebrated literary and cultural hero. Being a family member entitles me to gratis entry to his 1925 house which has been transformed into a museum in Tel Aviv on a street named in his honor.

I graduated from North Hollywood High School. There I performed in school plays and found that I really loved acting. I lucked out and got TV gigs as a child actress. Over the years I developed into a bona fide actress on TV, in films and as a voice-over in cartoons and other productions. I am also an author and occasional game show host though most of you know me from an NBC sitcom that ran in the early 1990’s where I played a teen living with my dad and 2 older brothers. You may also know me from the “twenty-tens” where I starred in a CBS sitcom in the role of a neuroscientist. This second role wasn’t too big of a stretch for me to play because I had earned a B.S. and a Ph.D in neuroscience at U.C.L.A. I bet you thought I was just a pretty face!

Truth be told, I ended my academic career of doing research and teaching when parenthood arrived. I wanted to be able to breast feed on demand and be around for my kids’ formative years. I also homeschooled my kids and I am a promoter of “attachment parenting” which advocates raising a security-attached child. It stresses ”extreme parental sensitivity and development of close physical and psychological ties with youngsters.”

I also have a degree in Hebrew and Jewish studies. I’m quoted as saying, “Judaism helps me feel a purpose. It gives me structure and ritual and I am always interested in learning new things because I am really into Yiddishkeit and the traditions.”

I’ve authored 4 books. One dealt with the “struggles and ways girls grow up by showing the scientific ways their bodies change. Another dealt with “analyzing the science and anatomy and mentality of growing up as a boy and discusses the mental and physical changes and challenges boys face from adolescence to adulthood.”

I wear many hats. I develop scripts, write screenplays and do charity work. I am a certified Lactation Education Counselor and a co-founder of the youth branch of the Jewish Free Loan Association, Genesis.

I served as a writer and director on a film starring Dustin Hoffman and Candace Bergen that was shot in Lyndhurst and Rutherford, New Jersey. Though I am a vegan and have published a book of vegan recipes I stopped at the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock in June 2021 where I enjoyed the rye bread and the pickled tomatoes. Did any of you see me there? I’m sure you all know who I am by now. That’s me in the photos below.

(1a)Who Am I? (1b)Who was my celebrated literary distant relative? (1c) What is the origin of my first name and who was I named after? (2a)What is the name and address of the museum referred to above? (2b)What was the name of my NBC sitcom? (2c)What was the name of my CBS sit-com? (3a)What are the titles of the 2 books I have written about girls and, later on, of boys growing up? (3b)What was my association with Dr. David Saltzberg? (3c)What was I doing at the Descanso Gardens at the end of August in 2003? (4a)Describe the theme of my bat-mitzvah. (4b)After I was described as being “frumpy” and “dumpy” two individuals came forward to do a make-over on me. What are their names? (4c)I founded a lifestyle site to “facilitate deep and wide-ranging conversations of different people and backgrounds about contemporary issues.” What is the name of that website? (5)What film did I shoot in Lyndhurst and Rutherford?