Nancy Milford

Who is Nancy Milford?

Nancy Milford is an American biographer.

Milford is best known for her book Zelda about F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife Zelda Fitzgerald. The book started out as her master's thesis and was published to broad acclaim in 1970. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, spent 29 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list, and has since been translated into 17 languages.

Her most recent book is Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay, which was published in 2001. She is currently working on a biography of Rose Kennedy.

Milford received her B.A. from the University of Michigan, then earned an M.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia University.

While considering writing to be her primary career, Milford has also taught at the University of Michigan, Princeton University, Brown University, Vassar College, New York University, Bennington College, Briarcliff College, and Bard College. In 2002, she became a visiting professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York, and has since joined the permanent faculty there as a Distinguished Lecturer.

In February, 2008, Milford was named the executive director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center, CUNY.