Piper Kerman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kerman at theUniversity of Missouri in 2014 | |
| Born | (1969-09-28)September 28, 1969 (age 55) Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Smith College |
| Occupations |
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| Notable work | Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison |
| Spouse | |
| Website | piperkerman www |
Piper Eressea Kerman[1] (born September 28, 1969) is an American author. She was indicted in 1998 on charges offeloniousmoney-laundering activities, and sentenced to 15 months' detention in a federal correctional facility, of which she eventually served 13 months. Her memoir of her prison experiences,Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison (2010), was adapted into the critically-acclaimedNetflix comedy-drama seriesOrange Is the New Black (2013). Since leaving prison, Kerman has spoken widely about women in prison and problems with the federal prison system. She now works as a communication strategist for non-profit organizations.
Kerman was born inBoston into a family with a number of attorneys, doctors and educators.[2] She graduated from Swampscott High School inSwampscott, Massachusetts, in 1987,[3] andSmith College in 1992.[4] Kerman is a self-describedWASP; however, she had a paternal grandfather who wasRussian-Jewish.[4][5]
In 1993, Kerman became romantically involved with Catherine Cleary Wolters, a heroin dealer affiliated with an alleged Nigerian drug kingpin. In Kerman's memoir, Wolters is referred to as Nora Janson, and she inspired the characterAlex Vause, portrayed byLaura Prepon in the television seriesOrange Is the New Black.[6] Kerman became involved in the drug operation bylaundering money.[7]
In 1998, Kerman was indicted on charges of money laundering anddrug trafficking. She subsequently pled guilty to these charges.[7] She was sentenced to 15 months in prison and served 13 months atFCI Danbury, Connecticut, starting in 2004.[8]
During her incarceration, Kerman created a website calledThe Pipe Bomb, where she chronicled her experiences in prison.[9]
Kerman's best-selling memoir about her experiences in prison,Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, was published bySpiegel & Grau on April 6, 2010. Atelevision adaptation of the same name created byJenji Kohan, theEmmy award-winning creator ofWeeds, premiered on July 11, 2013, onNetflix and aired for seven seasons. Kerman's character in the series ("Piper Chapman") is played byTaylor Schilling.Orange is the New Black has received critical acclaim and won fourEmmy Awards.[10][11]
Kerman serves on the board of theWomen's Prison Association and is frequently invited to speak to students of creative writing, criminology, gender and women's studies law, and sociology, and to groups, like theAmerican Correctional Association's Disproportionate Minority Confinement Task Force, federal probation officers, public defenders, justice reform advocates and volunteers, book club and formerly and currently incarcerated people.[citation needed]
On February 10, 2014, Kerman received the 2014 Justice Trailblazer Award from theJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice Center on Media, Crime & Justice.[12]
On February 25, 2014, Kerman testified at a hearing on "Reassessing Solitary Confinement" before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights chaired by Assistant Majority LeaderDick Durbin.[13]
On August 4, 2015, Kerman testified at a hearing on "Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons: First-Hand Accounts of Challenges Facing the Federal Prison System" before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chaired by SenatorRon Johnson.[14]
Since 2015, Kerman has worked as a communications strategist for nonprofits.[15]
Since her prison sentence, Kerman has spoken publicly many times on behalf of women in corrections and about her experience.[16]
In 2019, she appeared as a guest in the last episode ofOrange Is the New Black in the last scene in the Ohio prison, when Piper visited Alex. Kerman sat two seats to the left of Alex as a convict visited by her husband (in real life). She makes a cameo appearance in the show’s opening credits as the convict who blinks.
Kerman has said, "I'mbisexual, so I'm a part of thegay community (LGBT+)".[17] Shecame out around the age of 18, and identified herself as alesbian during most of her youth.[17] On May 21, 2006,[1] Kerman married writerLarry Smith, a few months after he started publishingSmith Magazine.[1] Kerman and Smith live inColumbus, Ohio, and she teaches writing classes at theMarion Correctional Institution and theOhio Reformatory for Women in nearbyMarysville, Ohio.[18][19] She was awarded the 'Humanist Heroine of the Year Award' from the 'Humanist Hub' group atHarvard University.[20]
