About

Cherie Burns is author of Diving for Starfish--The Jeweler, The Actress, The Heiress and One of the World's Most Alluring Pieces of Jewelry, published by St. Martin's Press in 2018.  Her previous books are the biography, Searching for Beauty—The Life of Millicent Rogers, the American Heiress Who Taught the World About Style published by St. Martin’s Griffin Press in October of 2012, The Great Hurricane: 1938, published by Grove/Atlantic (2005) and Stepmotherhood—How to Survive Without Feeling Frustrated, Left Out or Wicked (Times Books).

Cherie Burns’s books are based on relentless reporting combined with a worldly empathy for her subjects.  For her latest, Diving for Starfish, she picked her way through the labyrinthine world of fine jewelry, following the flow of rare pieces from Paris to Los Angeles, documenting the glamorous bosoms on which they had rested. Pursuing the narrative of the Great Hurricane, she interviewed survivors in nursing homes and sifted through accounts that younger residents recalled from their parents. In reconstructing the life of Millicent Rogers for Searching for Beauty, she had carefully to reconcile tabloid headlines of the 30’s with family legend. In each case, she captures both the elusive details and the humanity of the people whose experiences she relates. 

Burns has been a feature journalist since 1975. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, People, Glamour, New York, Sports Illustrated, Constitution and other publications. She now lives primarily in Taos, New Mexico and has spent summer in Nantucket since 1981. She is married to the journalist Richard L. Duncan. They have two adult children.