Early life and education

Maclean was born Heather Beach on October 18, 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

. She graduated from Cor Jesu Academy

Cor Jesu Academy

Cor Jesu Academy is a Catholic college preparatory high school for young women located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis.- History :...

 in St. Louis in 1990. In 1994, she graduated from Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 with a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in English Literature

English literature

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

.

At Princeton, she was the Publisher of Business Today

Business Today (Student Magazine)

Business Today is an American, non-profit student organization that seeks to bridge the communication gap between college students and business executives. The organization publishes a magazine and hosts an international conference by the same name....

, the largest student-run magazine in the world, founded by Steve Forbes

Steve Forbes

Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. is an American editor, publisher, and businessman. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996...

 in 1968.

Career

Maclean began her career at The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 where she co-created the Disneyland Resort

Disneyland Resort

The Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.The area now...

's first Website, www.disneyland.com, produced the company's first international intranet Team Disney, and had the distinction of being the first person ever to answer Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...

's e-mail. Following Disney, she worked at Internet retailer Buy.com

Buy.com

Buy.com, Incorporated is an online retailer based in Aliso Viejo, California.Buy.com began by selling computers and electronics in 1997 and has since expanded into many other categories...

.

In 2001, Maclean founded Little Laureate

Little Laureate

Little Laureate is an American company that produces developmental, multimedia products for small children and their caregivers. It was founded in 2001 by Heather Maclean and Monica Gibson.-Premise:...

, a children’s educational media production company. Little Laureate’s DVDs were named one of the “Best Video Series of All Time” by Parents magazine.

Writing

Maclean’s work has appeared in Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler is a US magazine published by Condé Nast. It has its origins in a mailing sent out by the Diners Club club beginning in 1953, listing locations that would take the card. It began taking advertising in 1955. In order to attract more advertisers, it became a full-fledged magazine,...

, Fit Pregnancy

Fit Pregnancy

Fit Pregnancy is a magazine and Web site for pregnant women and new mothers, published six times a year.- History :Fit Pregnancy was founded in 1993 by Weider Publications as a spin-off of Shape Magazine. Weider Publications was acquired by American Media, Inc...

, New York Parent magazine and Princeton Alumni Weekly

Princeton Alumni Weekly

The Princeton Alumni Weekly is a magazine published for the alumni of Princeton University. It was founded in 1900 and until 1977, it was the only weekly college alumni magazine in the United States. Upon changing to biweekly publication in 1977, the number of issues per year decreased from 28 to...

.

Maclean’s second book, Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It Live La Bella Vita and Look Great, Too!, a cook book of healthy, authentic Italian food, was published by Hyperion

Hyperion (publisher)

Hyperion Books is a general-interest book publishing part of the Disney-ABC Television Group, a division of The Walt Disney Company, established in 1991. Hyperion publishes general-interest fiction and non-fiction books for adults under the following imprints: ABC Daytime Press, ESPN Books,...

 in 2010. It spent four weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list rising to #5.

Maclean’s first book, The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide: From Pacifiers to Potties . . . Why, When, and What to Buy for Pregnancy Through Preschool, a non-fiction resource for new parents, was published by Thomas Nelson

Thomas Nelson (publisher)

Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. Its former US division is currently the sixth largest American trade publisher and the world's largest Christian publisher. It is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company...

 in 2008.

Maclean was first published under the name Heather Michelle Beach in 1990 when an award-winning speech she wrote for the Voice of Democracy

Voice of Democracy

Voice of Democracy is an annual nationwide scholarship program sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars . It is an audio-essay contest for high school students in grades 9-12. The program annually provides more than $2.3 million in scholarships...

 broadcast scriptwriting contest, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars

Veterans of Foreign Wars

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...

, was entered into the United States Congressional Record by Congressman Richard A. Gephardt

Dick Gephardt

Richard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a lobbyist and former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to...

.

Television

Maclean starred with Richard Branson

Richard Branson

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....

 on the television show The Rebel Billionaire

The Rebel Billionaire

The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best is a reality show for Fox Broadcasting Company's fall 2004 season.-Premise:The premise for the series was that billionaire Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Worldwide, challenges 16 contestants to tasks that will prove to him which is most...

, an Apprentice

The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)

The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...

-meets-Amazing Race reality program broadcast on the Fox network in 2005, and shown in 19 countries around the world. Maclean was one of the final contestants and appeared in every episode.

Maclean is an on-air parenting contributor to many news programs, including Good Morning America

Good Morning America

Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...

, the CBS Early Show, ABC News

ABC News

ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...

, Fox Business Network

Fox Business Network

Fox Business Network is an American cable news and satellite news television channel that began broadcasting on October 15, 2007. It is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...

 and ParentsTV. She has also guest-starred on Sirius XM Radio's Doctor Radio program.

External links

• Heather Maclean official website
• Heather Maclean on Internet Movie Database
• Little Laureate website