Jean Strauss
Jean Strauss is a New York Times bestselling author, legislative activist, and documentary filmmaker. Her film, ADOPTED for the life of me, marries her twin passions of adoption reform and filmmaking. A graduate of UC Berkeley and USC, wife of a former college president and mother of two grown sons, she began making documentary films at the age of 60. Her short films won numerous awards and accolades, including American Cinematheeque’s list of top women directors in Women in Shorts. Her books include Penguin’s Birthright, the Guide to Search and Reunion, her memoir, Beneath a Tall Tree, and the New York Times bestseller, Forever Liesl: a memoir of The Sound of Music. Adopted for the Life of Me, her first feature film is currently on public television. Her work was inspired by her own search for her birth family back in the 1980’s. Her reunion with her birth family was featured in PEOPLE Magazine (9/5/88) led to the publication of her first book, The Great Adoptee Search Book.
