Overview
Gail Collins (born November 25, 1945) is an American journalist, op-ed columnist and author, most recognized for her work with The New York Times. Joining the Times in 1995 as a member of the editorial board, she served as the paper's Editorial Page Editor from 2001 to 2007 and was the first woman to attain that position. Starting in 2014, she also co-wrote a blog with the conservative columnist Bret Stephens called "The Conversation," featuring bi-partisan political commentary. In 2025, Collins stepped away from her role as a weekly columnist, though she continues to publish in the Times as a contributing writer.
Biography
Born in Cincinnati in 1945 as Gail Gleason, Following graduation from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, she wrote for Connecticut publications, including the Hartford Advocate, and, in 1972, founded the Connecticut State News Bureau, a news service providing coverage of the state capital and Connecticut politics. When she sold the bureau in 1977, it had grown into the largest service of its kind in the United States. From 1982 to 1985 Collins covered finance as a reporter for United Press International. She also wrote the introduction for the 2013 50th-anniversary edition of The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. In 2019, her book No Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in American History was published.
Bibliography
* With Dan Collins: * * * * As Texas Goes...: How the Lone Star State Hijacked the American Agenda. New York: Liveright Publishing Corp., 2012. * William Henry Harrison: The American Presidents Series: The 9th President, 1841. New York: Times Books, 2012. * "Introduction" (2013), in: Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique. 50th anniversary edition. New York: W.W. Norton. . * No Stopping Us Now: A History of Older Women in America. Little, Brown and Company, 2019
External links
* Gail Collins' page at the New York Times *Gail Collins author page at W.W. Norton *Gail Collins page at NPR * *Booknotes interview with Collins (December 14, 2003), concerning her book, America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines