About Lynn Sherr
Born 1942. Lynn Sherr is an American biographer, journalist, writer and broadcast journalist.
Lynn Sherr (born March 4, 1942) is an American broadcast journalist and author, best known as a correspondent for the ABC news magazine 20/20.
Life Sherr was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Lower Merion High School in Ardmore. She received a B.A. from Wellesley College.
She was a freelance host at WNET-TV in New York City, then staff. She worked for the Associated Press and WCBS-TV. In 1977, she was the guest host of the MacNeil–Lehrer Report while Robert MacNeil was absent, and has hosted a number of PBS specials. In 1983–85 she was a reporter/editor for Condé Nast. In 1986, Sherr was a candidate for NASA's Journalist in Space Project and became one of the finalists.
In 2008, Sherr left the television network ABC after working with them for 31 years. She is the author of Outside the Box: A Memoir, published in September 2006, which chronicles her life on and off TV, including her husband's death from cancer as well as her own battle with colon cancer.
She received a 1994 George Foster Peabody Award along with producer Alan B. Goldberg for the "Hunger Inside" a 20/20 documentary about extreme anorexia.
Feminism Sherr is a feminist.
With Jurate Kazickas, Sherr published the Liberated Women's Appointment Calendar and Survival Handbook annually for ten years, beginning in 1971.
Also with Kazickas, Sherr published the American Woman's Gazetteer in 1976, listing places in the US where women had featured in historic events; an updated version, titled Susan B. Anthony Slept Here, was published in 1994.
Sherr has twice (in 1989 and 1992) been the recipient of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America's (PPFA) Margaret Sanger Award (known as the "Maggie"), which is awarded to journalists for "exceptional coverage of reproductive rights and health care issues" in the view of PPFA. She also hosted PPFA's Maggie Awards luncheon in 2010. She strongly criticized Sarah Palin for calling herself a feminist: "What, exactly, has she done legislatively for other women? What paths has she forged?"
Published works
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Lynn Sherr's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Lynn Sherr's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Lynn Sherr?
American writer
When was Lynn Sherr born?
Lynn Sherr was born on 4 March 1942 in Philadelphia.
What is Lynn Sherr's occupation?
Lynn Sherr is a biographer, journalist, writer and broadcast journalist.
What nationality is Lynn Sherr?
Lynn Sherr is American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Lynn Sherr. https://biography.guide/lynn-sherr/
MLA: "Lynn Sherr." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/lynn-sherr/.
Chicago: "Lynn Sherr." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/lynn-sherr/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:31 UTC