Background and career
Beverly Ann Donofrio (born September 23, 1950) is an American memoirist, children's author, and creative writing teacher known for her 1992 best selling memoir, Riding in Cars with Boys. The memoir was adapted into the 2001 film Riding in Cars with Boys, directed by Penny Marshall, with Drew Barrymore portraying Donofrio.
Donofrio's parents are Italian-American. She was raised in Wallingford, Connecticut and graduated from Lyman Hall High School. Donofrio studied literature at Wesleyan University and earned an MFA from Columbia University.
Donofrio is a prolific essayist, having published work in numerous anthologies, in The New York Times, The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, The Village Voice, the Los Angeles Times, and in such magazines as Allure, Cosmopolitan, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Marie Claire. Donofrio has taught writing at New York University and the University of Wyoming, among other institutions. She teaches at the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University.
1992: Riding in Cars with Boys 2001: Looking for Mary, or the Blessed Mother and Me 2013: Astonished, a Story of Evil, Blessings, Grace, and Solace (Viking/Penguin)
2007: Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary (Random House) 2008: Thank You, Lucky Stars (Random House)
2009: The Face in the Mirror: Writers Reflect on Their Dreams of Youth and the Reality of Age ISBN 978-1-59102-752-2
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
