Jennifer Finney Boylan
A pioneering author and activist who gave a powerful public face to the transgender experience through memoir, advocacy, and leadership.
Born 1958 (age 68)·American author·Birthday: June 22·Baby Boomers
Biography
Jennifer Finney Boylan built a career as a successful novelist before publicly transitioning in 2000, an experience she chronicled in her bestselling memoir 'She's Not There.' That book became a landmark, offering a candid, witty, and deeply human account for a wide audience at a time when such narratives were rare in mainstream publishing. As a professor at Barnard College and a former columnist for the New York Times, she has consistently used storytelling and commentary to bridge understanding. Her advocacy work reached a new zenith when she was elected president of PEN America, placing her at the helm of the nation's foremost organization defending free expression and supporting writers, a role that underscores her lifelong commitment to the power of words.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Jennifer was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jennifer Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Jennifer's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authored the bestselling memoir 'She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders,' a foundational text in transgender literature.
- Served as the first openly transgender co-chair of GLAAD's Board of Directors.
- Elected president of PEN America in 2023, after serving as its vice president.
- Has been a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and a professor of English at Barnard College.
Did You Know?
She is a close friend of novelist Stephen King, with whom she has collaborated.
Before her transition, she published several novels under the name James Boylan.
She has made frequent appearances on NPR's 'The Moth Radio Hour.'
“The hardest part about being transgender isn't the transition itself. It's the moment when you realize you have to tell other people about it.”
