Shoshanna Lonstein Biography
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Shoshanna Lonstein
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Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss (born Shoshanna Lonstein on May 29, 1975 in Manhattan, New York City) is an American fashion designer and socialite.
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Early life
Lonstein attended The Nightingale-Bamford School for girls in New York City on the Upper East Side, graduating in 1993. She began college at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., but in 1994 transferred to the University of California Los Angeles. She graduated with a degree in art history in 1997.
Personal life
While still a 17-year-old high school student, she came to public attention dating Jerry Seinfeld, who was still starring in his sitcom. They dated for approximately 4 years (1993-1997) before the relationship ended. Some Hollywood gossipers speculated that they broke off the relationship to secretly plan their wedding, but that was not the case.
On May 10, 2003 Lonstein married Joshua Gruss, son of Martin Gruss, a financier and philanthropist. Joshua Gruss is an investment analyst at his father's firm and heir to his estimated $500 million fortune.
They currently reside in a $10.3 million townhome on East 61st Street in New York City. They also spend time in their weekend home in Southampton.
They have one daughter, Sienna, who was born in the spring of 2005.
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss is a Member of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Associates Committee, which helps with hospital fundraising, and she is the major supporter of The Blue Card, an organization assisting needy Holocaust survivors in the United States.
Career
With a loan from her father, Zach Lonstein, chief executive officer of Infocrossing, she started her clothing company in 1998. Its mission is to create clothes - including dresses, underwear and swimwear - that can be worn by women who, like Lonstein Gruss herself, have a large bust but maintain a slim waist.citation needed The Shoshanna dress, sportswear, and swimwear collections are carried in over 250 specialty and departments stores nationwide, including Scoop, Kitson, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdales. Outside of the US the collection is available at Holt Renfrew in Canada, and Mitsukoshi and Free's stores in Japan and select stores around Europe. She is also a contributing editor for Cosmopolitan magazine.
The arrival of her daughter in mid-2005 prompted Lonstein Gruss to venture into children's swimwear, which are now available at finer retailers under the Shoshanna BabyGirl label.
The company reported $12 million in sales in 2007.
Television
In The Simpsons episode "Bart Sells His Soul", the character Snake Jailbird has a girlfriend named Shoshanna, which, according to the episode's DVD commentary, was a reference to her.
She appeared in the April 2, 2008 episode of America's Next Top Model.
Lonstein Gruss appeared on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch on October 9, 2007 to talk about the success of her company and has appeared in numerous other television programs, webcasts, and interviews over the years.
References
- "The Big Idea" with Danny Deutsch, October 9, 2007
- Shoshanna official company website
