She attended Morningside College, where she studied journalism and psychology, coursework that would define her adult career. It was here that she had her first advice column, which she co-wrote with her twin sister Esther (see Trivia below).
In 1956, she moved to San Francisco. Looking for work, she called the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, stating that she could write a better advice column than what they were running at the time. Impressed by her boldness, the editor gave her a trial run and soon put her on staff. It was during this time that she adopted her pen name of Abigail Van Buren (see Trivia below) and the column that would become synonymous with her - Dear Abby.
Her column proved incredibly popular and was syndicated later that year, eventually appearing in more than 1,400 newspapers worldwide. In 1987, daughter Jeanne began co-writing the column with her mother, eventually joining the byline in 2000. Two years later, she assumed full responsibility for "Dear Abby," which she still runs to this day.
In the early 2000s, Phillips was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which ultimately took her life on January 16, 2013. She was 94 years old. She was laid to rest in the Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery in her home state of Minnesota.
Rest in peace.
Trivia
In the early 2000s, Phillips was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which ultimately took her life on January 16, 2013. She was 94 years old. She was laid to rest in the Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery in her home state of Minnesota.
Location: Section #3, Block #17, Lot #2, Grave #6
Trivia
- If you want to learn more about Dear Abby, aka Abigail Van Buren, aka Pauline Esther Phillips, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon. It's all in books.
- The headstone, which she shares with her husband, contains three sets of Hebrew text:
* Pasha, Daughter of Abraham and Rebecca, Nephi, 5th Shevat, 5773
* Moshe Aril, Son of Yitzhak and Rachel, Deceased, Menachem Av 5777
* May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life - As mentioned above, Phillips was the identical twin sister of fellow advice columnist Ann Landers, aka Esther Pauline Lederer. Ann was the older of the two siblings by 17 minutes, and she preceded Abby in death by 11 years. Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes were scattered in Lake Michigan.
- Phillips chose the name "Abigail" from the Old Testament and "Van Buren" after our eighth president, Martin Van Buren.
- In 1964, Abby appeared as herself on an episode of the curiously popular sit-com Mister Ed. You know, the show about a talking horse. The plot has Ed moving out on his own and leaving his owner Wilbur behind, following bad advice from Abby herself. Hilarity ensues.
- In 1999, Hollywood produced a made-for-TV movie about the twins, entitled Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story, starring Wendie Malick in a dual role. You can rent or buy the film from YouTube.
