Olivia Goldsmith, (Randy Goldfield), American novelist (born 1949, New York, N.Y.—died Jan. 15, 2004, New York City), used her own bitter divorce experience as the basis of her best-known work, The First Wives Club (1992), in which three women whose wealthy husbands divorce them in order to acquire young trophy wives get their revenge; a popular film version was released in 1996. She had earlier had a successful business career, becoming one of the first women to gain a partnership at the Booz Allen Hamilton consulting firm, and she also wrote children’s books under the name Justine Rendal, which she had taken after her divorce. Goldsmith died as a result of a heart attack she suffered after being given anesthesia for cosmetic surgery.
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100 Women Trailblazers
Meet extraordinary women who dared to bring gender equality and other issues to the forefront. From overcoming oppression, to breaking rules, to reimagining the world or waging a rebellion, these women of history have a story to tell.
