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Jessica Pressler

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Jessica Pressler
Pressler in 2017
Born1977 or 1978 (age 46–47)[1]
Marblehead, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationTemple University[1]
Occupation(s)Journalist, magazine writer
Spouses
​
​
(m. 2008; div. 2022)​
Josh Uhl
​
(m. 2022)​
Websitejessicapressler.com

Jessica Pressler (born 1977/78) is an American journalist and contributing editor at New York magazine. Her 2015 article "The Hustlers at Scores", was nominated for a National Magazine Award, and was later made into a feature film called Hustlers in 2019.[2] She also wrote a story about Anna Sorokin that was later developed into the mini-series Inventing Anna released by Netflix in 2022.

Early life

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Her mother, Judith Pressler, was a guidance counselor at Swampscott High School and her father, Michael Pressler, was a professor of English and the director of the interdisciplinary arts program at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.[1]

Career

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Pressler became the co-editor of New York magazine's Daily Intel blog in 2007[3] after working as a staff writer at Philadelphia magazine and as a freelancer for celebrity magazines.[4] At New York, she has written extensively on "the culture of wealth and money,"[5] interviewing Wall Street CEOs such as Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein and AIG CEO Robert Benmosche about their firms’ involvement in the 2008 financial crisis. Pressler has profiled New York personalities Lynn Tilton and Anthony Scaramucci.[6][7] Her feature articles about the feud between Chris Burch and Tory Burch and the culture of Silicon Valley startups have appeared in The Best Business Writing editions.[8]

In 2014, Pressler wrote a story about a Stuyvesant High School senior who had allegedly made $72 million trading stocks,[9] which was later revealed to be not true.[10][11] Bloomberg News rescinded a job offer made to her for their investigative unit after the student confessed he had "made the whole thing up."[12][13]

On December 28, 2015, Pressler published an article for New York called "The Hustlers at Scores",[14] a story about strippers who manipulated money out of their clients. She was nominated for a National Magazine Award in 2016.[15] A team of producers that included Will Ferrell "snapped up" the film rights in February 2016.[16] The story was adapted into a film by Gloria Sanchez Productions[17][18] titled Hustlers; it stars Keke Palmer, Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez, with Julia Stiles portraying "Elizabeth", a fictionalized version of Pressler.[19] The film was released in 2019.[2]

In 2018, she wrote a story about New York City high society grifter Anna Sorokin,[20][4] which was developed into the mini-series Inventing Anna by Netflix and Shonda Rhimes.[21][22][23][24] Pressler's book, "Bad Influence: Money, Lies, Power, and the World that Created Anna Delvey", was scheduled for publication in 2022, but as of 2024 has yet to have a release date.[25]

Pressler has also written for GQ, Elle, Esquire and Smithsonian.[4] She was a regular Gossip Girl episode recap writer for Vulture website, and made an appearance as a New York editor in one of its episodes.[26][27]

Personal life

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In 2008, she married Benjamin Wallace, a freelance magazine writer and author.[1] They later divorced, and she is now married to Josh Uhl.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Jessica Pressler, Benjamin Wallace". The New York Times. April 27, 2008. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Erbland, Kate (September 16, 2019). "'Hustlers': 5 Lessons Hollywood Can Learn from the Surprise Hit". Indiewire.
  3. ^ Pressler, Jessica (October 28, 2011). "Jessica Pressler on New York, "millennium girls" and the love story that wasn't". Nieman Storyboard (Interview). Interviewed by Andrea Pitzer. Nieman Foundation for Journalism.
  4. ^ a b c Pressler, Jessica (June 24, 2018). "Full transcript: Jessica Pressler talks 'lady grifters' + Ken Auletta on the 'frenemies' of the ad business on Recode Media". Recode (Interview). Interviewed by Peter Kafka. Vox.
  5. ^ Pompeo, Joe (December 8, 2014). "Jessica Pressler leaves New York for Bloomberg News". Politico.
  6. ^ Carney, John (April 11, 2011). "Lynn Tilton: The Wildest Woman in American Business". CNBC. (excerpt of article) That's from Jessica Pressler's extraordinary article in New York Magazine. Go read the whole thing.
  7. ^ Kilgore, Ed (July 21, 2017). "Instead of a Reassuring Senior Communications Director, Trump Chose the Mooch". Intelligencer. We don't know their specific grounds for opposing the appointment, but one factor could be the Mooch's manifest lack of gravitas, as evidenced by this revealing glimpse of Scaramucci's view of Washington provided in January by Jessica Pressler: (excerpt of article)
  8. ^ Pressler's contributions to Best Business Writing editions: "Jessica Pressler (New York) delves into the personal and professional rivalry between Tory and Christopher Burch, former spouses now competing to dominate the fashion world."
  9. ^ Pressler, Jessica (December 14, 2014). "12. Because a Stuyvesant Senior Made Millions Picking Stocks. His Hedge Fund Opens As Soon As He Turns 18". NYMag.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  10. ^ Pompeo, Joe (December 19, 2014). "Jessica Pressler staying at New York". Politico.
  11. ^ Eugenios, Jillian (December 19, 2014). "Reporter behind story of $72 million teen trader stays at NY Mag". CNN.
  12. ^ Kurson, Ken (December 15, 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: New York Mag's Boy Genius Investor Made It All Up". The New York Observer.
  13. ^ Calderone, Michael (December 20, 2014). "Bloomberg Rescinded Offer To Writer Jessica Pressler After New York Magazine Hoax". HuffPost. New York City.
  14. ^ Pressler, Jessica (December 28, 2015). "The Hustlers at Scores: The Ex-Strippers Who Stole From (Mostly) Rich Men and Gave to, Well, Themselves". The Cut. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  15. ^ Arana, Gabriel (January 14, 2016). "New York Mag Leads Pack With 9 National Magazine Award Nominations". HuffPost.
  16. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (February 16, 2016). "Adam McKay And Will Ferrell Snap Up Rights To 'The Hustlers at Scores'". The Tracking Board. Retrieved September 18, 2019. The Big Short writer-director Adam McKay is preparing to take on the underbelly of financial intrigue from a slightly different angle. Sources confirm that McKay and partner Will Ferrell have picked up the film rights to Jessica Pressler's New York Magazine article, THE HUSTLERS AT SCORES, McKay, Ferrell, and Jessica Elbaum will produce under their Gloria Sanchez Productions.
  17. ^ McNary, Dave (May 10, 2016). "Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Megan Ellison & Annapurna Team on Hustlers at Scores". Variety.
  18. ^ Ford, Rebecca (February 29, 2016). "Stripper Robin Hood Story 'The Hustlers at Scores' in the Works at Gloria Sanchez". The Hollywood Reporter. The female-focused TV and film company Gloria Sanchez Productions has acquired the rights and is developing an adaptation of the magazine feature by Jessica Pressler.
  19. ^ Zemler, Emily (July 17, 2019). "See Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B Scam Bankers in Trailer for 'Hustlers'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  20. ^ Pressler, Jessica (May 28, 2018). "Maybe She Had So Much Money She Just Lost Track of It". New York – via The Cut.
  21. ^ Tolentino, Jia (June 5, 2018). "The Fiends and Folk Heroes of Grifter Season". The New Yorker.
  22. ^ Birnbaum, Debra; Otterson, Joe (June 8, 2018). "Shonda Rhimes Sets Anna Delvey Series as First Netflix Project". Variety.
  23. ^ Sandberg, Bryn Elise (June 8, 2018). "Shonda Rhimes Sets Anna Delvey Series as First Netflix Project". The Hollywood Reporter.
  24. ^ Cusumano, Katherine (June 9, 2018). "Shonda Rhimes Is Making a Netflix Series About Fashion's Favorite New Scammer". W.
  25. ^ Pressler, Jessica (August 2, 2022), Google Books Bad Influence, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 9781982151539
  26. ^ Fox, Jesse David (October 16, 2012). "Watch Our Gossip Girl Recapper's GG Cameo". Vulture. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  27. ^ Prudom, Laura (December 18, 2012). "'Gossip Girl' And The Rise of the Recap". HuffPost.
  28. ^ Hurtado, Alexandra (March 5, 2022). "Who Is the Real-Life Journalist from Inventing Anna?". Parade. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
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