Alex Kuczynski
Encyclopedia
Alexandra Louise Kuczynski (Lima, Peru; December 6, 1967 - ) is a reporter for the New York Times
, a columnist for the New York Times Magazine
and the author of the award-winning 2006 book Beauty Junkies about the cosmetic surgery industry. The book was translated into ten languages.
Her father, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
of Lima (Peru), is an economist and politician who lost the Presidential election in Peru in April 2011. Her father is first cousin to Jean-Luc Godard
, the director of the nouvelle vague style of cinema. Her relatives include maternal uncle John Casey, novelist and winner of The National Book Award; maternal uncle Harold Varmus, the Nobel-Prize winning cancer researcher; and paternal uncle Michael (also known as Miguel) Kuczynski, economist emeritus at Cambridge University. Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Maxime Kuczynski, founded the San Pablo leper colony in Peru, where Che Guevara experienced a transformation described in the book and movie The Motorcycle Diaries. Her maternal grandfather, Joseph Edward Casey, was a Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts. Her cousins, Maud Casey, and Nell Casey, are also established authors.
After graduating from Barnard College
in 1990, she became a journalist with the New York Observer and then the New York Times
. On 10 September 2001, she was transferred by Howell Raines
from media reporter to the style section, where Kuczynski would write "the sort of pop-feature pieces that would appeal to the Times national audience." She has been described as "a giddy blast. She always would have 10 ideas at story meetings and eight of them would be terrible and two would be brilliant."
Kuczynski married the investor Charles Porter Stevenson Jr. in 2002.
In 2006, she authored a book about the growth of the cosmetic surgery business: Beauty Junkies: Inside Our $15 Billion Obsession with Plastic Surgery (ISBN 978-0-385-50853-7). Reviewers have noted that readers of the book "may take a pass after reading this exposé about extreme makeovers." Kuczynski concludes, "looks are the new feminism, an activism of aesthetics. As vulgar and shallow as it sounds, looks matter more than they ever have — especially for women"
In 2008, she wrote an article in The New York Times about her decision after eight years of marriage to use a gestational surrogate mother
to have her genetic child after several miscarriages. After her child was born, she conceived naturally, became pregnant and was able to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. She has two children, twelve months apart—both her and her husband's genetic children, but one carried by a surrogate, and the other carried by Ms. Kuczynski.
Kuczynski has run the New York City Marathon three times. She is an Alpine skier. She is at work on her next book.
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, a columnist for the New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
and the author of the award-winning 2006 book Beauty Junkies about the cosmetic surgery industry. The book was translated into ten languages.
Her father, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Godard , better known simply as PPK, is a Peruvian public administrator, economist, and politician that participate in the policy of his country....
of Lima (Peru), is an economist and politician who lost the Presidential election in Peru in April 2011. Her father is first cousin to Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, the director of the nouvelle vague style of cinema. Her relatives include maternal uncle John Casey, novelist and winner of The National Book Award; maternal uncle Harold Varmus, the Nobel-Prize winning cancer researcher; and paternal uncle Michael (also known as Miguel) Kuczynski, economist emeritus at Cambridge University. Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Maxime Kuczynski, founded the San Pablo leper colony in Peru, where Che Guevara experienced a transformation described in the book and movie The Motorcycle Diaries. Her maternal grandfather, Joseph Edward Casey, was a Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts. Her cousins, Maud Casey, and Nell Casey, are also established authors.
After graduating from Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
in 1990, she became a journalist with the New York Observer and then the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. On 10 September 2001, she was transferred by Howell Raines
Howell Raines
Howell Hiram Raines was Executive Editor of The New York Times from 2001 until he left in 2003 in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal. He is the father of Jeff Raines, one of the founding members of the rock band Galactic...
from media reporter to the style section, where Kuczynski would write "the sort of pop-feature pieces that would appeal to the Times national audience." She has been described as "a giddy blast. She always would have 10 ideas at story meetings and eight of them would be terrible and two would be brilliant."
Kuczynski married the investor Charles Porter Stevenson Jr. in 2002.
In 2006, she authored a book about the growth of the cosmetic surgery business: Beauty Junkies: Inside Our $15 Billion Obsession with Plastic Surgery (ISBN 978-0-385-50853-7). Reviewers have noted that readers of the book "may take a pass after reading this exposé about extreme makeovers." Kuczynski concludes, "looks are the new feminism, an activism of aesthetics. As vulgar and shallow as it sounds, looks matter more than they ever have — especially for women"
In 2008, she wrote an article in The New York Times about her decision after eight years of marriage to use a gestational surrogate mother
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...
to have her genetic child after several miscarriages. After her child was born, she conceived naturally, became pregnant and was able to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. She has two children, twelve months apart—both her and her husband's genetic children, but one carried by a surrogate, and the other carried by Ms. Kuczynski.
Kuczynski has run the New York City Marathon three times. She is an Alpine skier. She is at work on her next book.