Iris Krasnow was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. A graduate of Stanford University, she became the fashion writer for the Dallas Times Herald, then moved to United Press International in Washington, D.C. to become the national feature writer. In her several years at UPI, Krasnow specialized in celebrity profiles, including Yoko Ono, Billy Graham, Ted Kennedy, Normal Mailer and Queen Noor of Jordan.

Iris is the author of Surrendering to Motherhood, the New York Times bestsellers Surrendering to Marriage, Surrendering to Yourself, published by Miramax Books, I Am My Mother's Daughter (Basic Books) and The Secret Lives of Wives: Women Share What It Really Takes To Stay Married (Gotham/Penguin Books.) Her newest book, published by Gotham is: Sex After...Women Share How Intimacy Changes As Life Changes.

Her writing has been featured in many national publications, including Parade, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and AARP The Magazine. Krasnow has been a guest on numerous national television and radio programs including Oprah, Good Morning America, Today, All Things Considered, and has been featured on CNN several times. Interviews with Krasnow, and reviews of her work, have appeared in Time, O The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, The New Yorker, U.S. News & World Report, and Redbook. She is a regular contributor to Huffington Post.

Iris is a longtime professor of journalism and women’s studies at American University, in Washington, D.C. She is the wife of an architect and the mother of four sons, and is a frequent keynote speaker to business groups and women’s organizations, focusing on work-family issues, sustaining intimate relationships, and the life cycle of women.