History of Heather Armstrong in Timeline

Heather Armstrong, also known as Dooce, was a pioneering American blogger who gained significant popularity in the early 2000s with her website dooce.com. Her candid and personal writing attracted millions of readers. While her blog's popularity waned with the emergence of social media, she remained active online until her death by suicide in 2023. Armstrong's work is often credited with influencing the development of personal blogging and internet culture.

Sections (3)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements

July 19, 1975: Heather Armstrong's Birth

On July 19, 1975, Heather Brooke Armstrong, née Hamilton, was born. She later became a well-known blogger under the pseudonym Dooce.

1975: Birth and Upbringing

In 1975, Heather Hamilton (later Armstrong) was born in Bartlett, Tennessee, and raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

1997: Graduation and Departure from the Church

In 1997, Heather Armstrong graduated from Brigham Young University and subsequently left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, moving to Los Angeles for work.

February 2001: dooce.com Launch

In February 2001, Heather Armstrong started dooce.com with a post about Carnation Milk, marking the beginning of her blogging journey.

2001: Blogging Career Start

Around 2001, Heather Armstrong began actively blogging, marking the start of her career as an internet personality.

2001: Blog Launch

In 2001, Heather Armstrong started her blog, which later caused her to lose her job the following year.

2002: Controversial Firing

In 2002, Heather Armstrong was allegedly fired from her job for writing satirical accounts of her experiences at a dot-com startup on her blog, sparking debate about privacy issues.

2004: Advertising on Dooce

In 2004, Armstrong's blog began running ads, marking a turning point in its monetization.

2004: Acceptance of Text Advertisements

In 2004, Heather Armstrong controversially accepted text advertisements on her website for the first time.

2004: Peak of Dooce.com Readership

In 2004, Heather Armstrong's website, dooce.com, reached its peak with nearly 8.5 million monthly readers.

2004: First Child's Birth and Shift to Parenting Blog

In 2004, after the birth of her first child, Leta Elise, Heather Armstrong started focusing her blog on parenting, becoming a popular "mommyblogger."

2005: Book Deal Negotiations

In late 2005, Heather Armstrong entered negotiations with Kensington Books to publish two books, one of which was to be a memoir of early parenthood.

May 2006: Negotiations with Kensington Books Break Down

In May 2006, negotiations between Heather Armstrong and Kensington Books broke down, leading to a lawsuit over an unsigned contract.

October 2006: Settlement Reached with Kensington Books

In October 2006, Heather Armstrong and Kensington Books reached a settlement, allowing her to seek another publisher.

April 29, 2008: Publication of "Things I Learned About My Dad: In Therapy"

On April 29, 2008, Kensington Books published "Things I Learned About My Dad: In Therapy," a book of essays edited by Heather B. Armstrong.

2008: Lifetime Achievement Award

In 2008, Heather Armstrong received a lifetime achievement award from The Weblog Awards for her work on Dooce.com.

March 24, 2009: Publication of "It Sucked and Then I Cried"

On March 24, 2009, Heather Armstrong's book, "It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita," was published.

April 12, 2009: Bestseller List

On April 12, 2009, Heather Armstrong's book, "It Sucked and Then I Cried," reached #16 on The New York Times Bestseller List.

December 10, 2009: "Dooced" Definition on Jeopardy!

On December 10, 2009, the definition of "Dooced" as "getting fired for something you've written on your website" was used on Jeopardy!.

2009: Twitter Incident

In 2009, Heather Armstrong gained media attention for using Twitter to get her washing machine fixed.

2009: Recognition and Financial Success

In 2009, Heather Armstrong's blog, Dooce, had 8.5 million monthly viewers and she reportedly earned over $100,000 annually from ads. She also appeared on Oprah and was featured by Forbes.

2009: Birth of Second Child

In 2009, Heather and Jon Armstrong's second child, Marlo Iris, was born.

2009: HGTV Partnership Announced

In late 2009, Heather Armstrong announced a partnership with HGTV to create innovative convergence programming.

February 2010: HGTV Design Happens Blog Contributions Begin

In February 2010, Heather Armstrong began contributing weekly content to HGTV's Design Happens blog.

September 2010: Last post on Design Happens

In September 2010, Heather Armstrong made her last post on Design Happens.

2011: Comments about Hate Sites

In 2011, Jon Armstrong joked that traffic from hate sites had been better for the family business than the birth of their second child two years earlier. By then the revenue from Dooce paid salaries not only to the Armstrongs but an assistant and two full-time babysitters.

2012: Separation Announcement

In 2012, Heather and Jon Armstrong announced their separation, which came as a surprise to many readers.

2013: Divorce Finalized

In 2013, Heather and Jon Armstrong's divorce was finalized, with Jon moving to New York City.

2015: Return to Blogging

After treatment, Armstrong returned to blogging as regularly as she had before 2015, and also published The Valedictorian of Being Dead, a book about her experience.

2015: Jon Armstrong Running Armstrong Media, LLC

As of 2015, Jon Armstrong was running Armstrong Media, LLC, a web design, advertising, and content-generation business, without Heather Armstrong.

2017: Experimental Treatment and Resumption of Posting

After a successful experimental treatment in 2017, Heather Armstrong resumed her Internet posting, though to a smaller audience, and began working as an influencer.