| Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss |
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss in 2009 |
| Born |
Shoshanna Lonstein
May 29, 1975 (1975-05-29) (age 34)
Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation |
Fashion designer
Socialite |
| Spouse(s) |
Joshua Gruss (2003-present) |
| Official website |
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss (born Shoshanna Lonstein; May 29, 1975) is an American fashion designer and socialite.
Early life
Lonstein was born in Manhattan, New York. She attended The Nightingale-Bamford School for girls in New York City on the Upper East Side, graduating in 1993. She began college at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., but in 1994 transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. She graduated from UCLA with a double bachelors degree in history and art history in 1997.
Personal life
While still a 17-year-old high school student, she came to public attention dating Jerry Seinfeld, who was still starring in his sitcom. They dated for approximately 4 years (1993-1997) before the relationship ended. Some Hollywood gossipers speculated that they broke off the relationship to secretly plan their wedding, but that was not the case.
On May 10, 2003 Lonstein married Joshua Gruss, son of Martin Gruss, a financier and philanthropist. Joshua Gruss is an investment analyst at his father's firm and heir to his estimated $500 million fortune.
They currently reside in a $10.3 million townhome on East 61st Street in New York City. They also spend time in their weekend home in Southampton.
They have one daughter, Sienna, who was born in the spring of 2005.
Shoshanna is a Trustee of the Nightingale Bamford School and also a member of their Alumnae Board Committee. Shoshanna is a founding chair of the Sesame Workshop family leadership committee and a founding member of The Rockefeller University’s Parents and Science Steering Committee. She is a Vice President of the associate committee of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Vice President of MSKCC Children’s Committee, and a proud supporter of the Blue Card.
Career
With a loan from her father, Zach Lonstein, chief executive officer of Infocrossing, she started her clothing company in 1998. Her mission was to design a clothing line that was more inclusive to different body types.citation needed
The arrival of her daughter in mid-2005 prompted Lonstein Gruss to venture into children's swimwear, which is now available at finer retailers under the Shoshanna BabyGirl label. Recently, she collaborated on an exclusive line with the upscale children's retailer Best and Co.
The company reported $12 million in sales in 2007.
Shoshanna is currently the face of Judith Ripka's new advertising campaign.
Shoshanna teamed up with longtime friend Charlotte Ronson to collaborate on a swimwear collection "Made with Love" which hit stores Spring 2009.
Television
In The Simpsons episode "Bart Sells His Soul", the character Snake Jailbird has a girlfriend named Shoshanna, which, according to the episode's DVD commentary, was a reference to her.
She appeared in the April 2, 2008 episode of America's Next Top Model.
Lonstein Gruss appeared on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch on October 9, 2007 to talk about the success of her company and has appeared in numerous other television programs, webcasts, and interviews over the years.
References
External links
