Gloria Allred
Gloria Allred in a parade in 2007
Born	Gloria Rachel Bloom (1941-07-03) July 3, 1941 (age 70) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Education	B.A., University of Pennsylvania M.A., New York University J.D., Loyola Law School
Occupation	Attorney
Employer	Allred, Maroko & Goldberg
Children	Lisa Bloom
Website
gloriaallred.com
Notes [1]

Gloria Rachel Allred (née Bloom; born (1941-07-03)July 3, 1941) is an American lawyer noted for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, particularly those involving the protection of women's rights.^[1]

Early life and family[link]

Gloria Rachel Bloom was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1941. After graduating from the Philadelphia High School for Girls, she attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she met her first husband. The couple had their only child, Lisa, on September 20, 1961, and divorced shortly after. Lisa Bloom is also an attorney and is best known as a former Court TV anchor.^[2]

Gloria Bloom moved back in with her parents and continued her education. In 1963, she earned a bachelor's degree in English, graduating with honors. She tried her hand at a variety of jobs before she decided to become a teacher, taking a position at Benjamin Franklin High School. She began work on a graduate degree at New York University, where she became interested in the civil rights movement. After earning a master's degree, she became a teacher and, in 1966, moved to Los Angeles, California, and lived in Watts.^[3] She graduated from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1975.^[4]

In 1968, she married William Allred. They divorced in 1987, though she has retained her married name for professional use.^[5]

Career[link]

Legal[link]

Gloria Allred has represented numerous parties in various high-profile cases, and frequently comments on television. Gloria Allred represented Amber Frey when Frey was a witness in the criminal case against Scott Peterson.^[6] She has also represented cases against the Boy Scouts of America for excluding an eleven year old girl named Katrina Yeaw, something she referred to as gender apartheid, and a case against the former Sav-On Drugstore chain for having both a boys and a girls toy section, as well as representing actress Hunter Tylo when producer Aaron Spelling fired her because of her pregnancy.^[7][8]

In 1981, she sued California State Senator John G. Schmitz for slander, resulting in a settlement of $20,000 and an apology.^[9]

In 1985, Allred, along with Catherine MacKinnon, drafted a version of the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance for Los Angeles County. The legislation failed to pass the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.^[10][11]

In 1987, Allred achieved notoriety after successfully suing the then all-male Friars Club in Beverly Hills, an exclusive private club, over its membership discrimination policies.^[12] The Friars Club eventually settled the lawsuit with Allred and five other plaintiffs,^[13] after Allred displayed early skills in the effective use of the media.^[14]

In August 1997, she represented the model Kelly Fisher^[15] when she sued Dodi Fayed for allegedly breaking off their engagement to begin his highly-publicized relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales. The suit was dropped not long after Diana and Fayed died in Paris that August.^[16]

She represented Nicole Brown Simpson's family during the O. J. Simpson murder trial. She also represented photographer Henry Trappler in a lawsuit against Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Allred is also known for her criticism of pop singer Michael Jackson. After watching media coverage of the Berlin event with Michael Jackson, she wrote a letter to California's Child Protective Services, asking for an investigation into the safety of Jackson's children. She also spoke on CNN about the subject. Child Protective Services does not make their investigations public, so it is not known whether any action was taken as a result of Allred's letter.^[17]

Gloria Allred also represented Rhonda Miller in a sexual harassment suit against Arnold Schwarzenegger during his run for California's gubernatorial recall election in 2003.^[18] The lawsuit was later dismissed.

In November 2006, Cindy Streit, etiquette consultant in the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, hired Allred, who demanded that the California Attorney General investigate fraud allegedly committed by Sacha Baron Cohen and the film's producers.^[19]

On July 19, 2007, she filed a lawsuit in Superior Court on behalf of Elizabeth Mazzocchi against actor Esai Morales for "intentional and negligent transmission of a sexually transmitted disease, assault, battery, and breach of contract."^[20]

She represented three former Circuit City employees on behalf of a large plaintiff class in an age discrimination lawsuit against that company after it fired 3,400 workers nationwide in April 2007.^[21]

In September 2007, she represented Tony Barretto, a former bodyguard of pop singer Britney Spears, in the child custody case between Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline.

She represented Mandi Hamlin in a March 2008 complaint against the TSA.^[22] Hamlin was reported to have been humiliated when she was made to take off her nipple rings in a Lubbock, Texas, airport.^[23]

In April 2008, it was reported that she had been hired by the family of the teenager who had been beaten and filmed by eight Florida teenagers.^[24] She also appeared on Today with Jessica Gibson, who is counter-suing Rob Lowe for sexual harassment.^[25]

On February 24, 2004, Gloria Allred and her law firm, Allred, Maroko and Goldberg, filed the first lawsuit in California challenging the denial of marriage licenses as being unconstitutional. She took the case pro bono for Robin Tyler and Diane Olson and Rev. Troy Perry and his husband Phillip Ray De Blieck. On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of equal marriage rights for lesbian and gay couples.^[26]

On July 30, 2008, Gloria Allred filed a complaint with federal regulators against Downey Savings and Loan Association regarding check-cashing procedures. Marc Retmier, a 19 year old US Navy Hospitalman, was killed in action in Afghanistan in June 2008. Downey Savings refused to immediately cash his family's military bereavement checks, and Marc Retmier's family were forced to look elsewhere to secure funding necessary to pay for his funeral services.^[27]

In December 2009, Allred was retained by Rachel Uchitel after media sources alleged Uchitel had been having an affair with married golfer Tiger Woods.^[28] Allred is also representing Joslyn James, a pornographic actress and Woods's alleged mistress.^[29]

In February 2010, Allred was retained by Amanda J. Eneman, a massage therapist and ex-girlfriend of Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Scott Lee Cohen who once had Cohen arrested, and who had herself been arrested for prostitution.^[30]

On May 14, 2010, in a news conference held at Allred's office, English actress Charlotte Lewis, alleged that director Roman Polanski had sexually abused her in his Paris apartment when she was 16 years old.^[2][31] In June 2010 she was hired by Debrahlee Lorenzana, a former bank employee who had drawn wide public attention after alleging she was fired for being too attractive.^[2] In August 2010, Allred represented Jodie Fisher, whose sexual harassment claim revealed expense-account irregularities that led to the resignation of HP CEO Mark Hurd.^[32]

In July 2010, Allred filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against actor, David Boreanaz. She claimed he sexually harassed her client during filming of his TV show, "Bones," and it began during filming on August 21, 2009. According to the suit, Boreanaz was sending "sexually inappropriate text messages" to Kristina Hagan, who was an extra on the show. Hagan also claims Boreanaz grabbed, kissed, and fondled her and then "masturbated in front of her."^[33] In March 2011, Boreanaz settled the lawsuit. The terms of the settlement are confidential.^[34]

On April 27, 2011, Allred appeared at a press conference with the family of Justin Quinn, who was allegedly threatened at a San Francisco Giants baseball game by Braves coach Roger McDowell. Quinn had objected to McDowell's uttering of homophobic slurs and use of a baseball bat to simulate a sex act in the presence of his daughters.^[35][36]

On June 15, 2011, Allred appeared at a press conference with former pornographic actress Ginger Lee in regard to Representative Anthony Weiner allegedly coaching her to lie on his behalf in relation to a sexting scandal.^[37]

On October 18, 2011, Allred won court approval to represent nine former middle-aged cocktail waitresses who were fired from their jobs at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey after they "did not look good enough" in new uniforms modeled after 1920s-era Flapper outfits. Resorts had sought to bar Allred from the discrimination lawsuit, arguing in court papers that her "flamboyant and headline-grabbing antics" would add nothing to the case.^[38]

On November 7, 2011, Allred appeared at a press conference with Sharon Bialek, a Chicago woman who alleged that Herman Cain grabbed her in a sexually aggressive way when she sought his help after losing her position at an education foundation affiliated with the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s.^[39]

On March 9, 2012, Allred reportedly called for an investigation into whether radio personality Rush Limbaugh should be subject to criminal prosecution in Florida for derogatory remarks he made regarding a female law student. Allred commented: "Mr. Limbaugh targeted his attack on a young law student who was simply exercised [sic] her free speech and her right to testify before congress on a very important issue to millions of American women and he vilified her. He defamed her and engaged in unwarranted, tasteless and exceptionally damaging attacks on her..... He needs to face the consequences of his conduct in every way that is meaningful."^[40]

Also in 2012, Allred took on the case of Jenna Talackova, a Canadian transgender woman who was challenging her disqualification from the Miss Universe Canada pageant for not being a "naturally born" female.^[41] The Miss Universe organization ultimately reversed its decision before the case proceeded to the courts.^[41]

Entertainment[link]

She formerly co-hosted a radio talkshow with Mark Taylor on KABC in Los Angeles. She also served as a panelist on the 1990 revival of television game show To Tell the Truth.^{[citation needed]} She made two cameos as herself on the 2001 film Rat Race.

On September 12, 2011, Allred debuted in the court TV show "We the People With Gloria Allred", a show using improv actors to reenact real-life case scenarios.^[42]

Works[link]

• Allred, Gloria; Rybak, Deborah Caulfield (2006). Fight Back and Win: My Thirty Year Fight against Injustice and How You Can Win Your Own Battles. New York: ReganBooks. ISBN 978-0-06-073928-7. OCLC 62755633. 

See also[link]

• Membership discrimination in California social clubs

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Law firm of Allred, Maroko & Goldberg