Ann Godoff

Ann Leslie Godoff (July 22, 1949 – February 24, 2026) was an American editor and publisher. She was the president of Random House and the founder of Penguin Press.

Early life and education Godoff was born in New York City on July 22, 1949, and moved with her family to Los Angeles in 1957. She attended Beverly Hills High School and was classmates with Rob Reiner and Richard Dreyfuss. That same year, Godoff edited two other best-selling books, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt and Makes Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall. In 1995, she edited The Haunted Land by Tina Rosenberg, which won a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.

In 2003, Godoff founded Penguin Press where she served as editor-in-chief and publisher. Godoff was known for cultivating talent taking chances on projects she believed in, including The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Board chairman.

Penguin Press has published five Pulitzer Prize winners, solidifying the impact of the press on both the literary world and on culture as a whole.

Personal life and death Journalists often referenced how private Godoff was, preferring to promote her authors than herself. they were legally married in 2012.

Godoff died of complications from appendix cancer at a hospital in Albany, New York, on February 24, 2026, at the age of 76.