Mary Ellen Greenfield (December 27, 1930 – May 13, 1999), known as Meg Greenfield, was an American editorial writer who worked for the Washington Post and Newsweek. She was also a Washington, D.C., insider, known for her wit. Greenfield won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.
Meg Greenfield
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| Born | Mary Ellen Greenfield (1930-12-27)December 27, 1930
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
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| Died | May 13, 1999(1999-05-13) (aged 68) |
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| Occupation | Editorial writer |
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A book she authored was published posthumously.[1][2]
Greenfield was born in Seattle, the daughter of Lorraine (Nathan) and Lewis James Greenfield.[3] Her family was Jewish. She attended The Bush School and graduated summa cum laude from Smith College in 1952. She also studied at Cambridge University as a Fulbright Scholar and was friends there with Norman Podhoretz, who also went on to a career in journalism.
From 1954 until her death in 1999, she was married to James Greenfield.
She became influential in a male-dominated world and a close confidante of Post publisher Katharine Graham. She spent 20 years as the editorial page editor for The Washington Post and 25 years as a columnist for Newsweek. She influenced generations of Washington Post writers.[4]
When diagnosed with cancer, Greenfield partly retired to Bainbridge Island in her native Washington, where she wrote a posthumously published memoir entitled Washington. She died of the disease, at age 68.[5][6]
Greenfield was portrayed by Carrie Coon in 2017 film, The Post.