Stephanie Klein (1) (1975–)

A foodie who sometimes abuses hair-care products, Stephanie Klein is an acclaimed author and photographer with a cultlike following. Her work has been published internationally, and her site stephanieklein.com was recently ranked the 26th most powerful blog in the world by The Observer in the UK.

With a fearless and surprisingly wise voice, Stephanie puts into words what so many of us feel but cannot ourselves articulate. A new mother of twins and an authority on body issues and relationships, Stephanie Klein is also the acclaimed author of the wildly popular Straight Up and Dirty--which has been optioned by NBC Universal—and of her newest release Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp. A former red-carpet photographer, Ms. Klein’s photographs currently hang in all the rooms and corridors of the Hotel Gansevoort in NYC. She and her blog have been profiled on the cover of the New York Times Style Section, and she’s appeared on 20/20, The TV Food Network, and The Today Show, among others.

She’s a person to whom many turn for advice, to think about their own lives and choices. A former food-critic who has “survived” an obese childhood, divorce, miscarriage, an abortion, and the premature birth of her boy-girl twins, there’s plenty of material and people who relate to her gut-wrenchingly honest musings, which are always filled with equal parts humor and heart. Whether you’re looking for advice, to laugh, or to commiserate, one thing’s for sure: Stephanie Klein will always make you think.