Annette Strauss

Who was Annette Strauss?

Annette Strauss was a philanthropist and a former mayor of Dallas. The Annette Strauss Artist Square in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas is named in honor of her. She was the second female mayor and the second Jewish mayor of Dallas.

Born in Houston, Texas, Annette Strauss graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1944. She moved to New York City where she received master's degrees in sociology and psychology from Columbia University. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She worked as a Red Cross social worker in Houston for a year until she married Ted Strauss, Sr. Managing Director of Bear Stearns, in 1946 and moved to Dallas in 1947.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Strauss worked tirelessly as a fundraiser for various charities and organizations and also as a volunteer for a number of other organizations. She worked on behalf of the Dallas Symphony, the Crystal Charity Ball, Southern Methodist University, the United Way of America, the United Jewish Appeal, the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Baylor University Medical Center and many other groups. Her efforts helped to raise millions for the arts in Dallas.