Elizabeth Wurtzel

Elizabeth Wurtzel
Elizabeth Wurtzel in 2018
BornElizabeth Lee Wurtzel
(1967-07-31)July 31, 1967
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedJanuary 7, 2020(2020-01-07) (aged 52)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation
  • Author
  • journalist
  • lawyer
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Yale University (JD)
GenreConfessional memoir
Years active1980s-2020
Notable worksProzac Nation
Spouse
James Freed
(m. 2015)

Elizabeth Lee Wurtzel (July 31, 1967 – January 7, 2020) was an American writer, journalist, and lawyer known for the confessional memoir Prozac Nation, which she published at the age of 27. Her work often focused on chronicling her personal struggles with depression, addiction, career, and relationships. Wurtzel's work drove a boom in confessional writing and the personal memoir genre during the 1990s, and she was viewed as a voice of Generation X. In her later life, Wurtzel worked briefly as an attorney before her death from breast cancer.