E. Jean Carroll biography: 13 things about journalist born in Detroit, Michigan

Elizabeth “E.” Jean Carroll is a journalist and an author born in Detroit, Michigan, United States to Thomas F. “Tom” Carroll, Jr. and Betty McKinney Carroll. Tom was an inventor while Betty was a politician in Allen County, Indiana, USA.

Raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, E. Jean attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana where she was a cheerleader. She is Miss Indiana University 1963 and Miss Cheerleader USA 1964.

In the mid-1980s, E. Jean wrote for “Saturday Night Live“. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. In 1965, she appeared in “To Tell the Truth“.
2. In 1984, she and her first husband Stephen Byers divorced. In 1987, she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program.
3. In 1990, she and her second husband John Johnson divorced.
4. From 1993 to 2020, her Ask E. Jean column appeared in Elle. From 1994 to 1996, a segment with the same title aired on the NBC show “America’s Talking”.
5. In 2002, she and her sister Cande Carroll co-founded GreatBoyfriends, which was acquired by The Knot Inc. in 2005
6. She and Kenneth Shaw founded Tawkify, an online dating website launched in January 2012.
7. In June 2019, she released her memoir “What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal” accused Les Moonves and Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s. Both men denied the allegations.
8. In November 2019, she filed a defamation lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court in New York City, New York, USA accusing Trump of damaging her reputation, substantially harming her professionally and causing emotional pain.
9. In February 2020, she was fired from Elle.
10. On November 24, 2022, she sued Trump for battery and made a renewed claim of defamation.
11. On April 13, 2023, she disclosed that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman funded part of her legal expenses. On May 9, 2023, a jury of six men and three women found Trump liable for sexual assault, battery and defamation and she was awarded $5 million in damages. On May 22, 2023, her lawyers filed an amended lawsuit in Manhattan, New York seeking at least $10 million more to hold Trump liable for remarks he made after the verdict.
12. On December 12, 1943, she turned 80.
13. On January 26, 2024, Trump was ordered to pay her $83.3 million in damages for defamation.