Monica Lewinsky is a renowned American TV personality, activist, White House intern, and a fashion designer. She came into the limelight when President Bill Clinton admitted to having an appropriate relationship with her while she was an intern at the White House.
The affair received media attention and it had grave repercussions that included the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. The international coverage of the scandal turned Monica Lewinsky into a celebrity.
Personal Details
Real / Full Name: Monica Samille Lewinsky
Celebrity Name: Monica Lewinsky
Date of Birth: July 23, 1973
Height: 5 ft 5 in
Gender: Female
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Businessperson, Entrepreneur, Psychologist
Early Life
Monica Lewinsky became an activist and a public speaker who was born in San Francisco on July 23, 1973. She was raised in a Jewish household. Her mother was named Marcia who was an author. Her father Bernard was an oncologist. Her parents split in 1987, divorced, but then got married again.
He spearheaded an anti-bullying campaign as well. It is vital to know that she belonged to a well-off family in Los Angeles. She attended an elementary school in Bel-Air. She also went to a high school, located in Beverly Hills. While she was in the senior year of high school, she also attended Bel-Air Prep. After she had completed her graduation, she enrolled in Lewis & Clark College.
After getting her degree, she joined the White House as an intern. At first, she worked as an unpaid intern in the office of Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. However, in December of the same year, she managed to secure a paid position in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. After a decade gap in formal education, she got admission to a school and earned the degree of social psychology at the London School of Economics. She graduated with her master’s degree in 2006.
Presidential Scandal
Monica Lewinsky revealed that between November 1995 and March 1997, the scandal materialized. Monica Lewinsky experienced nine sexual encounters with the president Bill Clinton. However, she said that all the encounters didn’t involve intercourse. Monica Lewinsky was later on transferred in April 1996 to the Pentagon. She says that the reason behind her transfer was her intimacy with the president. Her superiors thought she was spending too much of her time with the president.
During that time she revealed to her coworker Linda Tripp that she had been in a relationship with the president of the United States of America. Well, her friend Tripp started recording her telephone calls whenever Monica Lewinsky called her. Monica Lewinsky had to leave the Pentagon in December 1997. The next month she signed an affidavit in which she denied a relationship with the president. The affidavit was submitted as a document for the Paula Jones case.
She attempted to convince Linda that the latter lied under oath. However, Linda handed over the tapes to Kenneth Starr who was appointed as the independent counsel during the tenure of President Bill Clinton. At that time, Kenneth was investigating the Whitewater investments of Clinton. Linda convinced Monica Lewinsky that she should not dry clean a blue dress that could be used as evidence of a sexual encounter between her and Clinton. She also asked her not to dispose of any gifts that Clinton had given her.
Clinton denied at first under an oath any kind of sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In a press conference, he once again denied the allegations. Once Kenneth Starr got the possession of the Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress, the president had to change his stance. He admitted that he was in a relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He also mentioned that the relationship was not appropriate. Monica Lewinsky and the president Bill Clinton testified in front of a grand jury. As a result, Monica Lewinsky got transactional immunity by the Independent Counsel.
Monica Lewinsky suffered from post-traumatic disorder after the scandal broke out. She started knitting clothes which helped her cope with the undesired media attention.
Professional Life
Monica Lewinsky was interviewed in March 1999 by Barbara Walters. The interview had a whopping 70 million viewers. The show still is the second most-watched show in the history of television, just shy in numbers of Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Michael Jackson. Monica Lewinsky earned $1 million from international rights. She also appeared as a guest on Saturday Night Live in 1999. Her appearance consisted of two parts.
In January 2000, she signed a deal with Jenny Craig Inc. to appear in a commercial. Jenny Craig was a diet company. Her deal was locked at $1 million money for endorsement. She was required to get into the proper shape to do the commercials so she shed around 40 pounds within six months. The company was caught into a controversy as they made Monica Lewinsky her spokeswoman as well. Following the controversy, they had to end the campaign. Therefore, she could only earn $300,000 of the total amount of $1 million.
Monica Lewinsky also appeared on The Tom Green Show in the same year. Later on, she launched her own show which was titled Monica’s Postcards. The show was aired in the United Kingdom.
Monica Lewinsky also made an appearance on Monica in Black and White, a show by HBO. It was on this show that she told her side of the story. She also took questions from the audience. She hosted Mr. Personality, a reality show. Her other appearances included the shows such as The View, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and V Graham Norton.
Monica Lewinsky’ Net Worth
Monica Lewinsky also worked with Andrew Morton for publishing her book Monica’s Story. The book earned her $500,000 in advance. She also made money from fashion designing and handbag collection. Her net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million. She is an active activist for the anti-bullying movement and she also is a proponent of the #MeToo movement.
