Annabelle Gurwitch

  • Actress and Comedian
  • New York Times Bestselling Author

Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress, activist and New York Times Bestselling author. Most recently, her collection of essays on family, Wherever You Go, There They Are, stories about my family you might relate to, was called "a vivacious, madcap memoir" by O Magazine. Her book I See You Made an Effort was a New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize for American Humor finalist. Her book You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up (coauthored with Jeff Kahn) is also a play that has toured in over 30 cities to date. Fired! was also a Showtime Comedy Special. Gurwitch gained a loyal following during her long stint co-hosting Dinner & a Movie on TBS and years as a regular commentator on NPR. She’s written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, McSweeney's, The Hollywood Reporter, O Magazine, Real Simple, Lenny Letter, Salon, Time.comand many other publications. Gurwitch was the news anchor on HBO's Not Necessarily the Newshosted three seasons of WA$TED on The Planet Green network. 

 


Annabelle  Gurwitch headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
  • Services for the Underserved
  • JCC Greenwich
  • The Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel Valley
  • Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)
  • Los Angeles Bar Association
  • UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Rave Reviews About Annabelle Gurwitch as a Speaker
“Quick wit, intelligent humor, heart and soul—just what the many doctors at our event ordered!”

Keynote - Eureka, Insanity or Inspiration | TEDxCoconutGrove [14:20] - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Annabelle Gurwitch
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Sustainability

For three season, Annabelle Gurwitch trolled through other people's garbage as host of Wasted for the Planet Green Network, where she brought her irreverent wit and personality to the very serious discussion about the state of our environment. A passionate environmental activist, TIME featured her i ...

For three season, Annabelle Gurwitch trolled through other people's garbage as host of Wasted for the Planet Green Network, where she brought her irreverent wit and personality to the very serious discussion about the state of our environment. A passionate environmental activist, TIME featured her in their cover story "Ten 10 Ideas That Are Changing the World."

How I Learned to Love my Muffintop and Other Stories from the Edge of 50

O, The Oprah Magazine, calls Annabelle Gurwitch "entertaining and slyly subversive" and she covers both the hilarious and wonderful opportunities that face the women d'un certain age with her trademark wit and cultural commentary. Gurwitch tells stories included in her memoir, I See You Made an Effo ...

O, The Oprah Magazine, calls Annabelle Gurwitch "entertaining and slyly subversive" and she covers both the hilarious and wonderful opportunities that face the women d'un certain age with her trademark wit and cultural commentary. Gurwitch tells stories included in her memoir, I See You Made an Effort, that range from planning her future retirement in an elder hostel in Costa Rica to navigating the extensive anti-aging offerings in the department store beauty counter, negotiating acceptable behavior with her teenage son, to aiding in the assisted suicide of her best friend that Bill Maher says are "unexpected, imaginative... her observations just plain crack me up." “You'll wish Annabelle lived next door, laugh really hard & won't feel alone in your secret thoughts!” -Julia Sweeney.

One Jewish Girl's Journey from the Stage to the Page

Annabelle Gurwitch's unlikely career has taken her from performing Linda in Death of a Salesman at age thirteen at Temple Beth Shalom in Miami Beach (mercifully, no videotape exists of this performance) to her accidental career in comedy, including her numerous years hosting HBO's Not Necessarily th ...

Annabelle Gurwitch's unlikely career has taken her from performing Linda in Death of a Salesman at age thirteen at Temple Beth Shalom in Miami Beach (mercifully, no videotape exists of this performance) to her accidental career in comedy, including her numerous years hosting HBO's Not Necessarily the News and Dinner and a Movie on TBS, to her transformation into a New York Times bestselling author. Her work off-Broadway has earned her inclusion in the New York Times' Top Ten Performances of the Year. With her tenure at NPR and now with three books to her name, she is the ultimate re-inventor and she's a Jewish mother to boot. “Razor sharp wit, intelligent humor, heart, laughter and neshama!” — Rabbi Zoe Klein, Temple Isaiah, Los Angeles

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Biography

Annabelle Gurwitch grew up hoping that she was the long lost daughter of Joni Mitchell or the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess. Neither of those things turned out to be true. She explores this theme of family in her collection of essays, Wherever You Go, There They Are (Blue Rider Press, April 4th, 2017). She is the author of The New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize Finalist for Humor Writing 2015, I See You Made an Effort; You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up (co-written with husband Jeff Kahn); and Fired! which was also a Showtime Comedy Special.

Annabelle was the original co-host of Dinner & a Movie for 6 seasons on TBS, host of Planet Green’s sustainability series, WA$TED, and the news anchor of HBO’s award winning news satire, Not Necessarily The News. Other acting credits include Seinfeld, Dexter, and Boston Legal. Her theater credits include the world premiere of Donald Margulies’ A Coney Island Christmas, Wendy Macleod’s Women in Jeopardy at E.S.T. Santa Barbara, and the 20th Anniversary production of Wendy Wasserstein’s Uncommon Women and Others at Second Stage Theatre. Annabelle has adapted I See You Made an Effort into a solo show which has played Los Angeles, Edinburgh Theater Fest and performing arts centers around the country.

Annabelle has been recognized in Time Magazine’s “Ten Ideas That are Changing the World” annual issue as well as both The New York Times and Los Angeles Times’ annual round up of “Top Ten Performances of the Year in Theater.”

Her essays and satire have appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Marie Claire, The Nation, Men’s Health, Glamour, and Salon.com. She was a regular commentator on NPR for numerous years. She performs at arts venues across the country, including with The Moth, New York Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Fest, Uprights Citizen’s Brigade and Carolines on Broadway. Annabelle is a Jewish mother, a reluctant atheist, and an avid environmentalist. She is empty nesting in Los Angeles.