Sioux City natives and twin sisters Esther Pauline Friedman (Ann Landers) and Pauline Esther Friedman (Dear Abby) were the preeminent newspaper advice columnists in the U.S. during the second half of the 20th century, and among the first to publish letters and replies. “Both columns were characterized by straightforward tone, practical advice and a firm but modern moral sensibility,” according to the Jewish Women’s Archive. “Both women used humor, including sarcasm and one-liners, in their responses.” Ann Landers photo courtesy of The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images. Dear Abby photo courtesy of Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
Jan/Feb 2025 (Volume 17, Issue 1)
By Arvid Huisman
Sioux City has given the nation many famous people. MacDonald Carey, Jerry Mathers, Tommy Bolin, Fred Grandy and Sharon Farrell are just a few.
None, however, are as well-known as the Friedman twins.
For the second half of the 20th century, the Sioux City sisters were the preeminent newspaper advice columnists in the United States. Esther Pauline Friedman (Ann Landers) and Pauline Esther Friedman (Dear Abby) were twin sisters born in Sioux City on July 4, 1918.
In 1955, Esther, who was known by friends in Sioux City as “Eppie,” became the Chicago Sun-Times’ new Ann Landers, taking over the writing duties of the previous Ann Landers who had recently died. Several months later, Pauline, better known to Sioux City friends as “Popo,” became the author of the popular newspaper advice column, Dear Abby.
The twins were the daughters of Russian Jewish immigrants Abraham and Rebecca Friedman who had fled Jewish persecution in 1908. Two years later they moved to Sioux City where Abraham Friedman became a grocer and ultimately the owner of a chain of movie theaters.
Eppie and Popo were 1936 graduates of Sioux City’s former Central High School and were popular students at Morningside College in Sioux City where they wrote a gossip column for the college newspaper. Their column was called “The Campus Rat” and they used their first initials—PE-EP—as a byline.
Eppie and Popo, wearing identical bridal gowns, were married in a double wedding ceremony at Sioux City’s Shaare Zion synagogue on July 2, 1939. Esther married Jules Lederer and Pauline married Morton Phillips. The wedding was officiated by three rabbis and attended by 750 guests.
The twins had never been separated until their wedding night.
Advice columnists and twin sisters Abby Van Buren and Anne Landers at their 50th high school reunion in Sioux City, June 21, 1986. Photo courtesy of The Des Moines Register
Eppie and Jules lived in Chicago and had a daughter, Margo. Popo and Morton lived in Minneapolis, Eau Claire, Wis., and San Francisco. They had a son and a daughter, Edward and Jeanne.
Neither sister had a full-time job—or even a Social Security number—before they became world famous advice columnists.
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