Betty Rollin was a news correspondent and author whose two memoirs were both adapted into TV movies, including “First, You Cry” starring Mary Tyler Moore (1936–2017).
- Died: November 7, 2023 (Who else died on November 7?)
- Details of death: Died of voluntary assisted suicide at the age of 87 in Basel, Switzerland, where the practice is legal.
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Betty Rollin’s legacy
Rollin was born in New York City and attended Fieldston Ethical Culture School and Sarah Lawrence College. She briefly dabbled in acting, studying under Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg, before pursuing a career in journalism. Rollin wrote for Vogue and Look in the 1960s, then switched to television reporting in the 1970s, primarily for NBC News.
In 1975, Rollin was diagnosed with breast cancer. She survived her ordeal, although she lost one breast in treating the disease. She faced breast cancer again in 1984 and lost the other. She wrote about her experience in “First, You Cry,” one of the first memoirs detailing a woman’s struggles with breast cancer. In 1978, it was adapted into a made-for-TV movie of the same name starring Mary Tyler Moore. Both the memoir and film helped bring breast cancer, and frank discussions about women’s health in general, to the forefront of public awareness. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and four Emmy Awards.
Rollin later wrote “Last Wish” in 1985, a memoir about her mother’s struggles with ovarian cancer and Rollin’s decision to help her mother end her own life. That memoir was also adapted into a film, a 1992 made-for-TV movie starring Patty Duke (1946–2016). Rollin became a supporter of the “death with dignity” movement, which advocates for greater personal autonomy at the end of one’s life, and she served on the advisory board of Compassion and Choices.
Notable quote
“The letters I loved were from women who had it, sending me their cancer jokes. That kind of laughter is my favorite thing – it’s such a diffuser.”—from a 1993 interview for The New York Times
Tributes to Betty Rollin
Full obituary: The New York Times
