Cecily von Ziegesar
Encyclopedia
Cecily von Ziegesar is an American
author
best known for the young adult Gossip Girl books.
. Her childhood dream was to grow up to be a ballerina
; she began lessons at age 3 and auditioned for the School of American Ballet
at age 8, but was rejected. As a teenager, she commuted to Manhattan
at 6 a.m. to attend The Nightingale-Bamford School. After graduating from Nightingale, Von 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.
, while working at book-packaging
firm Alloy Entertainment
, she became inspired to create the Gossip Girl series, which present a view of high-end teenage lifestyles. The series climbed to the top of The New York Times
Best-Sellers list in 2002. The spin-off, The It Girl
, made the list in 2005.
The Constance Billard School for Girls is based on an exaggerated version of her alma mater, Nightingale.
In October 2011, von Ziegesar will release a spin-off of the first novel: Psycho Killer.
in 2007. The show premiered to mixed reviews and lost more than a million viewers from episode one to two, from 3.65 million to 2.55 million. 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, von Ziegesar told ABC News
that her major plot lines were there and that "at least it takes place in New York
".
In early 2011, The CW renewed the series for a fifth season. On May 16, 2011, Ziegesar herself made a cameo for the fourth season finale.
announced that it was working with 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.
with her husband Richard, the Deputy Director of the Public Art Fund, their children, Agnes and Oscar, and their two Cornish Rex cats. Von Ziegesar also owns an Appaloosa
horse, Golden Rain. She is dreaming of a 'ranch full of cattle' when retiring, but so far she has got her hands full writing on her first novel: Psycho Killer.
Note: This series is Ghostwritten.
Note: This series is actually written by Annabelle Vestry, though Cecily von Ziegesar's name appears on the spine and front cover.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
best known for the young adult Gossip Girl books.
Early life and education
Von Ziegesar was born in Norwalk, ConnecticutNorwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
. Her childhood dream was to grow up to be a ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
; she began lessons at age 3 and auditioned for the School of American Ballet
School of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the...
at age 8, but was rejected. As a teenager, she commuted to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at 6 a.m. to attend The Nightingale-Bamford School. After graduating from Nightingale, Von Ziegesar attended Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
. Then she spent a year in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
working for a local radio station.She then returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to study creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, only to drop out shortly thereafter.
Book series
In New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, while working at book-packaging
Book-packaging
Book-packaging is a publishing activity in which a publishing company outsources the myriad tasks involved in putting together a book—writing, researching, editing, illustrating, and even printing—to an outside company called a book-packaging company...
firm Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment is a book-packaging division of the Alloy Media + Marketing company—an American provider of media programs. Alloy is a leading producer of "chick lit"-style novels created for teenage and young adult audiences...
, she became inspired to create the Gossip Girl series, which present a view of high-end teenage lifestyles. The series climbed to the top of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Best-Sellers list in 2002. The spin-off, The It Girl
The It Girl
The It Girl is the first book in The It Girl series. It was written in 2005 by a ghostwriter with suggestions from Cecily von Ziegesar. Aimed toward young adults, it is a spin-off from the bestselling Gossip Girl series....
, made the list in 2005.
The Constance Billard School for Girls is based on an exaggerated version of her alma mater, Nightingale.
In October 2011, von Ziegesar will release a spin-off of the first novel: Psycho Killer.
Television series
Gossip Girl was adapted for televisionGossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
in 2007. The show premiered to mixed reviews and lost more than a million viewers from episode one to two, from 3.65 million to 2.55 million. 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, von Ziegesar told ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
that her major plot lines were there and that "at least it takes place in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
".
In early 2011, The CW renewed the series for a fifth season. On May 16, 2011, Ziegesar herself made a cameo for the fourth season finale.
Manga Series
In December 2009, Yen PressYen Press
Yen Press is the manga and graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group. In addition to their regular book releases, Yen Press produces a monthly anthology called Yen Plus. The company's varied list demonstrates an interest in publishing a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and other...
announced that it was working with Korean artist Baek Hye-Kyung to create a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
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
Yen Plus
Yen Plus is an American monthly anthology magazine of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and Original English-language manga published by Yen Press. The first issue went on sale on July 29, 2008 with five manga titles originally published by Gangan Comics, four manhwa titles, and two OEL manga titles...
, with the first chapter appearing in the January 2010 issue.
Personal life
She resides in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
with her husband Richard, the Deputy Director of the Public Art Fund, their children, Agnes and Oscar, and their two Cornish Rex cats. Von Ziegesar also owns an Appaloosa
Appaloosa
The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...
horse, Golden Rain. She is dreaming of a 'ranch full of cattle' when retiring, but so far she has got her hands full writing on her first novel: Psycho Killer.
Gossip Girl
- Gossip Girl
- You Know You Love Me
- All I Want Is Everything
- Because I'm Worth It
- I Like It Like That
- You're the One That I Want
- Nobody Does It Better
- Nothing Can Keep Us Together
- Only In Your Dreams
- Would I Lie To You
- Don't You Forget About Me
- It Had to Be You
- I Will Always Love You
- Psycho Killer (Spin-Off the original first novel; October 2011)
The It Girl
- The It Girl
- NotoriousNotorious (novel)Notorious is the second book in The It Girl series, released in 2006. It was written by a ghostwriter with suggestions from Cecily von Ziegesar. Aimed toward young adults, it is a spin-off from the bestselling Gossip Girl series.-Synopsis:...
- RecklessReckless (novel)Reckless is the third book in the The It Girl novels by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series is ghostwritten from the original idea by von Ziegesar. The series, aimed toward young adults, is a spin-off from the bestselling Gossip Girl series...
- UnforgettableUnforgettable (novel)Unforgettable is the fourth book in The It Girl series, released in 2007. It was written by a ghostwriter with suggestions from Cecily von Ziegesar. Aimed toward young adults, it is a spin-off from the bestselling Gossip Girl series....
- LuckyLucky (novel)Lucky is the fifth book in The It Girl series, released in 2007. It was written by a ghostwriter with suggestions from Cecily von Ziegesar...
- TemptedTempted (novel)Tempted is the sixth book in The It Girl series, released in 2008. It was written by a ghostwriter with suggestions from Cecily von Ziegesar...
- InfamousInfamous (novel)Infamous is the seventh book in The It Girl series, released in 2008. It was written by a ghostwriter with suggestions from Cecily von Ziegesar. Aimed toward young adults, it is a spin-off from the bestselling Gossip Girl series....
- AdoredAdored (novel)Adored is a young adult novel by Cecily von Ziegesar. It is the eighth book in The It Girl series. It was released on June 1, 2009.-Plot introduction:Brett Messerschmidt is organizing Waverly Academy's annual holiday ball and secret gift exchange...
- DeviousDevious (novel)Devious is the ninth book in The It Girl series created by Cecily von Ziegesar. It was released 1 November 2009.-Plot introduction:It's January, and a new semester at Waverly Academy means one thing: new students. Make that hot new students...
- ClassicClassic (novel)Classic created by Cecily von Ziegesar is the 10th and last book in the #1 bestselling It Girl series. It was released in June 2010....
Note: This series is Ghostwritten.
Gossip Girl: The Carlyles
- Gossip Girl: The Carlyles
- You Just Can't Get Enough
- Take A Chance On Me
- Love the One You're With
Note: This series is actually written by Annabelle Vestry, though Cecily von Ziegesar's name appears on the spine and front cover.
Cum Laude
- Cum Laude (June 1, 2010 from Hyperion)
- Class (August 1, 2011 from Hyperion)