An Evening with Fran Lebowitz

Fran Lebowitz is the world’s most beloved cultural critic.

With her acerbic takes on everything from how many children in a restaurant is too many (her answer: one) to hiking (“the most stupid thing I could ever imagine”) to even herself (“Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable”), Lebowitz transforms irritation into art.

In the 1970s, Lebowitz worked odd jobs like taxi driving, belt peddling, and apartment cleaning (“with a small specialty in Venetian blinds”) before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for Interview. Her first book, a collection of essays titled Metropolitan Life, was a bestseller, as was her second, Social Studies. By turns ironic, facetious, deadpan, sarcastic, and wry, Lebowitz’s prose is wickedly entertaining.

Though she does not believe she has the talents to be an actor, Lebowitz portrayed judges on Law & Order and in The Wolf of Wall Street (“Yes, I played a judge – because I am a judge”). She also starred in the limited documentary series Pretend It’s a City, directed by Martin Scorsese, which was nominated for a 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.

In a world of hyper-trends and endless upheaval, Lebowitz remains a steady fixture of unfiltered, endlessly entertaining candour. With her signature Levi’s and men’s suit jackets, she has become an icon of divine judgement. We invite you to revel in it as she returns to the Chan Centre.