Minerva of the Month

Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin – September 1, 1939

Actress, comedian, singer, writer, philanthropist, and recipient of numerous awards, Lily Tomlin soon will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in recognition of her amazing career and humanitarian contributions.  Pretty impressive for a young woman from Detroit... Read More...

Georgia O’Keefe

Georgia O’Keefe  –  November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986

Georgia O’Keefe became one of America’s, and the world’s, most recognized women artists.  Known best for her dramatic and intimate focus on flowers, cow skulls, and the New Mexico landscape surrounding her Ghost Ranch home, she also painted New York... Read More...

Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews – October 1, 1935

This is quite a year for Julie Andrews who celebrates her 90th birthday today, October 1.  Earlier this year, she toasted the 50th anniversary for the much-loved Sound of Music in which she played Maria Von Trapp, a role earning her a second Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination.

Although... Read More...

Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen – July 8, 1953

Author of Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, iMinerva’s Book of The Month, Anna Quindlen is known for her personal perspective columns in the New York Times and Newsweek, as well as for being a talented, best-selling novelist.  One of my favorite Quindlen novels is Still Life with Bread Crumbs, a... Read More...

Vera Wang

Vera Wang – 6.27.49

America’s favorite wedding gown designer and fashion icon, Wang has been the choice of the girl-next-door as well as such famous brides as Chelsea Clinton, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, the Kardashians and hundreds more.  Her design empire has grown to include china and crystal, jewelry, fragrance, and even... Read More...

Phylicia Rashad

June 19, 1948

America was first introduced to Phylicia Rashad in her Emmy Award-winning role as the soft-spoken, highly intelligent mother, and wife of Bill Cosby, Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show from 1984-1992.  Since then, the uber-talented actress, singer, stage director has gone on to star in numerous television shows, movies and Broadway... Read More...

Lidia Bastianich

February 21, 1947 Happy 67th Lidia. I hope someone is preparing a fabulous dinner for you to celebrate.

If you love Italian food, you have to love Lidia.  A favorite on television cooking shows, she won the Daytime Emmy for “Lidia’s Italy” in 2013, and is often seen as a guest judge on “Master Chef.”  Bastianich... Read More...

Agnes Zhelesnik

January 12, 1914

Happy 100th Birthday, Granny!

That’s what the kids at school call Agnes Zhelesnik, the country’s oldest working teacher.

Agnes didn’t start teaching until she was 81.  Nineteen years later she continues as a full-time home ec teacher with classes on cooking and sewing for pre-schoolers through... Read More...

Bette Midler

December 1, 1946

The Divine Miss M certainly stays busy as she celebrated her 67th birthday with a hit Broadway show, I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers, being performed in Los Angeles during December.  The award-winning singer/song-writer, actress, film producer, entrepreneur and environmentalist, also recently announced... Read More...

Danielle Steel

Danielle Steel – August 14, 1947

Currently, the best-selling author alive and the fourth best-selling author of all time (according to Wikipedia), Danielle Steel continues to be a most prolific writer as she celebrates her 66th birthday.  Her 91 novels have been translated into 28 languages and have sold more than 800 million copies. ... Read More...