Dear Abby

Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips (born July 4, 1918) started writing the Dear Abby syndicated personal advice column in 1956 under the pen name, Abigail Van Buren. Since her retirement in 2002 after an onset of Alzheimer's disease, her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, has been writing the column under the same pen name.

According to Pauline, she had come up with the pen name, Abigail Van Buren, by combining the name of the biblical character, Abigail, in the Book of Samuel with the last name of former U.S. President Martin Van Buren.

According to its publishers, the column is known for its "uncommon common sense and youthful perspective", and is read by more people than any other newspaper column worldwide.

Biography

Pauline was an identical twin: Her sister, Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer, was 17 minutes older than Pauline, and also wrote the internationally syndicated "Ann Landers" personal advice column.

The daughters of Russian Jewish immigrants, the twins grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, and went by the nicknames "Popo" and "Eppie", respectively. They attended Central High School(aka "The Castle on the Hill") in Sioux City, Iowa, and then went on to study at Morningside College. They were very close and had a joint wedding ceremony in 1939 at the age of 21.

As competing columnists, however, the two sisters did not have a happy relationship. They publicly reconciled during 1964, although some suggest that the acrimony endured. Just a few years before Eppie's death in 2002, they were not on speaking terms. It is said that they reconciled before Eppie's death, though the reconciliation is somewhat questionable, considering that Pauline had started suffering from Alzheimer's disease that same year.

Also see: Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer