Liz Smith was born Mary Elizabeth Smith in Fort Worth, Texas on February 2, 1923. She received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas and moved to New York in 1949. She took a series of jobs at Modern Screen magazine, at Newsweek, and as an assistant to actress and singer Kaye Ballard. In 1959, Igor Cassini, who wrote the Cholly Knickerbocker gossip column for The New York Journal-American, hired her to interview celebrities at nightclubs and to write the column during his vacations.
Her column, Liz Smith, ran in The Daily News, New York Newsday, Newsday, The New York Post, and eventually online in the New York Social Diary. It was syndicated for years in 60 to 70 other newspapers. She was also a commentator for the local Fox channel in New York and E! Entertainment Television. She developed ideas for Allen Funt's television show Candid Camera; wrote for Ladies' Home Journal, Vogue, Sports Illustrated, and other magazines; and was entertainment editor of Cosmopolitan. Her memoir, Natural Blonde, was published in 2000. Her book of reminiscences and recipes, Dishing: Great Dish - and Dishes - From America's Most Beloved Gossip Columnist, was published in 2005. She died on November 12, 2017 at the age of 94.
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