Monica Lewinsky

Monica Lewinsky
Born	(1973-07-23) July 23, 1973 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Activist, television personality, fashion designer
Known for	Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, anti-cyberbullying activism

Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist who gained worldwide recognition following U.S. President Bill Clinton’s admission of an affair with her during her internship at the White House from 1995 to 1997. This revelation sparked the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, which ultimately resulted in Clinton’s impeachment.

Following the controversy, Lewinsky explored several professional paths, including launching a handbag brand bearing her name, promoting a diet program as a spokesperson, and appearing as a television personality. She earned a master's degree in psychology from the London School of Economics in 2006. Since 2014, she has been engaged in efforts to combat cyberbullying.

Early life

Lewinsky was born in San Francisco and grew up in a prosperous household located in the Westside neighborhoods of Brentwood and later Beverly Hills. Her father, Bernard Lewinsky, is an oncologist with German-Jewish heritage. Her mother, Marcia Lewis (née Vilensky), is a writer. Lewinsky’s maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Russia with connections to China. Her parents divorced in 1988.

She attended the affiliated school of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles before completing her elementary education at the John Thomas Dye School. Lewinsky spent three years at Beverly Hills High School prior to transferring to Pacific Hills School (previously Bel-Air Prep), where she graduated in 1991. She then enrolled at Santa Monica College, balancing studies with work in Beverly Hills High’s drama department and employment at a tie store. From 1992, she was involved in a five-year relationship with Andy Bleiler, her former married high school drama teacher.

In 1993, Lewinsky matriculated at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology by 1995. In 2000, during an appearance on Larry King Live, she revealed having had an earlier affair with a married man while attending college.

Utilizing family connections, Lewinsky obtained an unpaid summer internship at the White House in July 1995 within Chief of Staff Leon Panetta’s office. By December that year, she secured paid employment in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.

Scandal

Lewinsky testified that she engaged in nine sexual encounters with President Bill Clinton inside the Oval Office between November 1995 and March 1997. These encounters included oral sex and other sexual acts but did not involve intercourse.

Prior to this scandal, Clinton had faced accusations of sexual misconduct during his tenure as Arkansas governor. Former state employee Paula Jones filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, during which Lewinsky's involvement surfaced as part of a broader pattern of alleged inappropriate relationships.

In April 1996, due to excessive time spent with Clinton, Lewinsky was reassigned from the White House to the Pentagon where she worked under Pentagon spokesperson Kenneth Bacon. In September 1997, after confiding in colleague Linda Tripp, Tripp secretly recorded their conversations. Lewinsky left the Pentagon in December 1997 and denied any physical relationship with Clinton in a January 1998 affidavit related to the Jones lawsuit. Tripp provided these recordings to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, broadening his investigation beyond Whitewater to include possible perjury by Clinton and others. Tripp also convinced Lewinsky to retain gifts from Clinton and preserve a blue dress stained with Clinton’s semen. Under oath, Clinton denied engaging in "a sexual affair" or "sexual relations" with Lewinsky.

The affair became public knowledge in January 1998. On January 26, during a televised press conference, Clinton famously stated, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." The intense media scrutiny compelled Lewinsky to withdraw to her mother’s residence at the Watergate complex. Additionally, her prior relationship with former drama instructor Andy Bleiler emerged; he provided Starr with keepsakes from their time together during her White House internship.

Clinton maintained there was no improper sexual relationship and defended this assertion in August 1998 by highlighting his use of present tense: "it depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is." Starr obtained the blue dress containing Clinton’s DNA along with Lewinsky’s testimony that he had inserted a cigar into her vagina. Clinton admitted to an inappropriate relationship but denied perjury charges by arguing that legal definitions of "sex" excluded oral sex and contended some acts were performed on him rather than by him. Lewinsky’s statements contradicted his claims of passivity.

Both gave grand jury testimony—Clinton remotely via closed-circuit television and Lewinsky personally—and she was granted transactional immunity by the Independent Counsel for her cooperation.

Life following the controversy

Lewinsky's immunity arrangement restricted her ability to speak publicly, yet she partnered with Andrew Morton to produce Monica's Story, a biography presenting her side of the Clinton scandal. Released in March 1999 and highlighted as a Time magazine cover feature, the book alongside an ABC 20/20 interview conducted by Barbara Walters garnered widespread attention, with the broadcast attracting an audience of 70 million viewers. Lewinsky reportedly earned approximately $500,000 from the book sales and an additional $1 million from international interview rights, although she incurred substantial legal and living costs.

In 1999, Ms. magazine published discussions evaluating Lewinsky's influence on feminist discourse. That same year, she declined signing autographs and appeared in two sketches on Saturday Night Live. In September, she introduced a handbag collection through The Real Monica, Inc., distributed by prominent retailers such as Henri Bendel and Fred Segal. Lewinsky was responsible for designing the handbags and supervised their production in Louisiana.

Early in 2000, Lewinsky secured a $1 million endorsement contract with Jenny Craig that required her to undergo significant weight loss. Amid controversy surrounding her role as spokesperson, the campaign concluded by April 2000 with only partial payment received. She relocated to New York City's West Village, became involved in Manhattan’s social circles, appeared on MTV’s The Tom Green Show, and served as a correspondent for the UK's Channel 5 on Monica's Postcards, reporting on American cultural topics.

By March 2002, no longer bound by her immunity deal, Lewinsky took part in HBO’s "Monica in Black and White," responding to audience inquiries about her experiences and the Clinton affair. In 2003, she hosted Fox’s reality dating program Mr. Personality, where she guided contestants choosing suitors who remained masked. Despite advertiser boycotts, the show achieved strong ratings and was considered a successful media venture for Lewinsky. She also made guest appearances on UK’s V Graham Norton, Sweden’s High Chaparall, and American shows such as The View and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

After Bill Clinton released his 2004 memoir My Life, Lewinsky publicly criticized his depiction of their relationship as inaccurate and harmful to her reputation. By 2005, overwhelmed by continuous U.S. media scrutiny that hindered both her professional opportunities and personal life, she ended her handbag business and moved to London to pursue social psychology studies at the London School of Economics. She completed a Master of Science degree in December 2006 with a thesis examining media influence on legal proceedings.

Over the following decade, Lewinsky kept a relatively low profile while residing in London, Los Angeles, New York, and Portland but faced difficulties securing roles in communications or marketing due to her public notoriety. In 2009, she corresponded with academic Ken Gormley during his research on the Clinton scandals, asserting that Clinton had provided false testimony under oath regarding their relationship. In 2013, memorabilia associated with Lewinsky was auctioned off by an ex-wife of a former associate.

Lewinsky's post-scandal endeavors encompassed publishing, fashion design, brand endorsements, television hosting, and cultural commentary—reflecting efforts to capitalize on fame while navigating public perception challenges and financial pressures.

Public re-emergence

In May 2014, Lewinsky authored an article for Vanity Fair entitled "Shame and Survival," reflecting on her life and the controversy. She described her relationship with Clinton as consensual, expressing remorse while underscoring its mutual nature. Lewinsky emphasized the need to reclaim control over her story and transform her past into something meaningful. Following this, she contributed regularly to Vanity Fair, addressing pertinent social issues.

Lewinsky made her first significant television interview in more than a decade in July 2014, appearing in a three-part special on the National Geographic Channel titled The 90s: The Last Great Decade.

By October 2014, she had taken a public stance against cyberbullying, referring to herself as "patient zero" of online harassment. During a speech at a Forbes "30 Under 30" summit, she outlined her commitment to supporting those targeted by public shaming. Motivated by tragedies such as Tyler Clementi’s suicide, Lewinsky joined Twitter to advocate against bullying. In March 2015, she delivered a TED talk urging greater empathy on the Internet and was named an ambassador for the anti-bullying organization Bystander Revolution in June of that year. That same month, she addressed cyberbullying at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. In September 2015, Lewinsky appeared on Good Morning America to promote Bystander Revolution’s Month of Action campaign. Additionally, she penned the foreword for the 2017 publication Shame Nation: The Global Epidemic of Online Hate.

In October 2017, Lewinsky used the #MeToo hashtag to disclose her experience as a sexual harassment survivor without providing further details. A March 2018 essay in Vanity Fair recontextualized her involvement with Clinton as an "abuse of power," highlighting their age difference and power disparity, and revealed that she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the scandal's aftermath. In May 2018, she was withdrawn from participating in a Town & Country event after Clinton accepted an invitation to attend.

During a September 2018 conference in Jerusalem, Lewinsky exited the stage when questioned about whether Clinton owed her a private apology, citing a prior agreement that such topics were off-limits.

In 2019, she appeared on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, discussing public shaming and considering how social media might have influenced her experience during the late-1990s controversy.

On August 6, 2019, it was announced that the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal would be dramatized in the third season of American Crime Story, titled Impeachment. Production commenced in October 2020 with Lewinsky serving as co-producer. This ten-episode season debuted on September 7, 2021, drawing from Jeffrey Toobin's book A Vast Conspiracy. Actress Beanie Feldstein portrayed Lewinsky. In an interview with Kara Swisher, Lewinsky remarked that during 1998 much of the truth and context were lost amid political maneuvering and commercial exploitation of women involved.

In October 2021, Lewinsky executive produced HBO's documentary 15 Minutes of Shame, directed by Max Joseph, which explores themes of public shaming and online exclusion.

Lewinsky established Alt Ending Productions and secured a first-look agreement with 20th Television in June 2021.

Additional reading

• Berlant, Lauren and Duggan, Lisa. Our Monica, Ourselves: The Clinton Affair and the Public Interest. Sexual Cultures series. New York: New York University Press, 2001. .
• Kalb, Marvin. One Scandalous Story: Clinton, Lewinsky, and Thirteen Days That Tarnished American Journalism. New York: Free Press, 2001. .