Who: Faded gossip empress Cindy Adams has been grinding out her column for the Post since 1981, although she hasn't published anything resembling real gossip in approximately as long.

Backstory: Before she turned to the typewriter (or quill feather pen), Adams was best known as the wife of Borscht Belt comedian Joey Adams. Determined not to be a housewife, she started contributing to local publications like the Long Island Press in the early 1960s, and in 1965 she published her first book, a biography of the notoriously nutty president of Indonesia, Sukarno. She followed up a decade later with another biography, this time of Jolie Gabor, Zsa Zsa's mom.

In 1979, Adams started contributing to the Post and her gossip column—the one she writes to this day—came two years later. Like her former Post counterpart Liz Smith (whose column was axed in 2009), Adams is several decades past her prime, but she continues to grind out her column (or her able assistants do, at least). When she isn't tending to her dogs or making nice with fellow plastic surgery victims at society functions, Adams occasionally pops up morning shows. Demand for her services on the small screen seems to be on the wane, however: Her regular segment on WNBC's Live at Five was canceled in 2007.

In print: The passing of her husband in 1999 prompted Adams to adopt a Yorkie, Jazzy, and in 2003 she published The Gift of Jazzy, which was dedicated to her new best friend, whom she implied might be the reincarnation of her late husband. Jazzy enjoyed quite a lifestyle—he dined on chicken from Le Cirque which Adams fed him by hand, sipped on Evian water, and went on play dates with the four-legged friends of Judge Judy, Bette Midler, and Joan Rivers. Until, that is, Jazzy contracted a disease at a luxurious kennel and died. Dogs are easier to replace than husbands, however, and Adams soon adopted two new puppies, Jazzy Junior and Juicy. Naturally, new dogs meant a new Yorkie-themed book. In 2006, Adams published Living a Dog's Life: Jazzy, Juicy, and Me.

Personal: Cindy was married to Joey Adams for 40 years until his death in 1999. Home is a 10-room, 4,200-square-foot Park Avenue penthouse furnished with Ming dynasty furniture that she had shipped from Asia.

No joke: Wondering what stale gossip smells like? Adams released a perfume called Gossip in 1997. It can still be found online for about ten bucks a bottle.

Vital Stats


Full Name: Cindy Adams
Date of Birth: 04/24/1930
Place of Birth: New York, NY
Residences: Manhattan (Upper East Side)
Filed Under: Media, Gossip