Discover the defining moments in the early life of Marianne Williamson. From birth to education, explore key events.
Marianne Williamson is an American author, speaker, and political activist known for her spiritual teachings and self-help books. Her book, *A Return to Love*, became a New York Times Best Seller, boosting her prominence. She gained wider recognition through appearances on *The Oprah Winfrey Show*, where she served as a spiritual advisor. Williamson has also been involved in political activism.
On July 8, 1952, Marianne Deborah Williamson was born. She is an American author, speaker, and political activist.
In 1973, Williamson dropped out of college and lived "a nomadic existence" during what she calls "her wasted decade".
In 1976, Williamson, initially uninterested, developed an interest in Helen Schucman's book "A Course in Miracles", exploring spirituality, metaphysics, and meditation. She reconciled the Course with her Jewishness.
In 1979, Marianne Williamson was briefly married to a Houston businessman, with Williamson stating the marriage lasted "for a minute and a half."
In 1979, Williamson returned to Houston, where she ran a metaphysical bookstore coffee shop, sang Gershwin standards in a nightclub, got married and divorced "almost immediately", and underwent a "spiritual surrender".
In 1983, Williamson moved to Los Angeles and got an apartment in Hollywood, where her roommate was 17-year-old Laura Dern. Dern has stated that Williamson "held prayer groups in our living room."
In 1987, Marianne Williamson founded the Center for Living, an organization involved with charity work.
In 1987, Williamson began lecturing monthly in New York. Eventually, she was invited to speak throughout the U.S. and Europe.
In 1989, Marianne Williamson founded Project Angel Food, an organization involved with charity work.
In 1990, Marianne Williamson gave birth to a daughter.
In 1998, Marianne Williamson founded the Peace Alliance, an organization involved with charity work.
In 2013, Marianne Williamson reported having assets estimated to be valued between $1 million and $5 million (not including personal residences).
On November 4, 2018, Williamson gave a keynote address to several hundred Muslim and Jewish women at the Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom conference in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
In a 2022 interview, Marianne Williamson described herself as a "Jewish woman."
As of 2023, Marianne Williamson lives in Washington, D.C.