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Biography of Sally
Sally lived in Puerto Rico for more than 20 years and is fluent in Spanish.
One of the most influential and recognizable women in America, Sally Jessy Raphael has carved a niche for herself in the heart of the American viewing public and in broadcasting history.
Raphael is the driving force behind the longest-running talk show on the air today, The Sally Show. There's more to this woman, though, than the no-nonsense but empathic broadcasting pioneer who has come into the living rooms of America five days a week on television and radio for over 30 years.
A world traveler, a producer (including three television movies this season alone), a very successful businesswoman, an art collector, a wine connoisseur, a painter, a fishing enthusiast, a designer of homes, a mother and a happily married wife, Raphael is a fascinating blend of high culture and down home family life.
"We are all the product of our life experiences, for better or worse," says Raphael. "My audience knows I have not lived in a perfect world where everything was handed to me, where I never experienced challenges and setbacks. You don't last on television by being able to fake it. This medium cuts right through phoniness. When I speak, I hope they know it's from my heart and genuine. That's the bond that has helped me survive."
And survive she has. Before launching her signature television show on Oct. 17, 1983, which aired locally in St. Louis and was then offered for national syndication six months later, Raphael had a long and adventurous career in television and radio.
She worked as a radio broadcaster in 24 cities and was fired 18 times. She tried out for 142 commercial voice-overs - and never landed one. But, as she often advises her guests, she never gave up. Every time she was called into a station manager's office and fired, she would pack up her family and move to a new city and a new job.
Raphael hosted her own call-in program on NBC's pioneering TalkNet from 1981-87, the radio precursor to the show that has made her a household name. Later, she hosted a similar program on ABC Radio for three years. In 1992, she was named Talk Show Host of the year by the National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts. That was on the heels of winning an Emmy as Outstanding Talk Show Host in 1989.
Like many broadcasting pioneers, Raphael has often worked two or three jobs at a time. "Even when I started the Sally Jessy Raphael television show, I broadcast my radio program in the evening," she notes.
In her hurly burly career path, no job was too small. "I took every gig I could get-a cooking show in South America, I was a TV puppeteer, a morning drive disc jockey at rock stations like WNEW-FM in New York and at the other end of the spectrum on classical stations, and in Miami, Pittsburgh and New Haven. I reviewed night club shows for Variety, I was an NBC radio theater critic, a television street reporter in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, New York, San Juan, Hartford and New Haven. I anchored the news on WPIX-TV in New York."
When she met Maurice Tunick, former executive producer of Sally, the two created the winning formula that has made her an icon, first on the NBC Radio TalkNet network he launched and then successfully translated to television. "I suppose you could call what we started an advice show, but the funny thing is I never really sat there and said, 'I'm the expert, here's what to do.' But I listened, I let them know I understood how they felt, I tried to give some common sense thoughts.
"The format made me realize how compelling real people's stories are, how complicated their lives can be. You couldn't make it up. I became even more fascinated in the human condition."
Despite the hectic life of a broadcaster, Raphael is raising a family, including two biological children, one adopted and two stepchildren, as well as three foster kids. One of them, Monica Franciscus, has become a terrific artist. Monica's web site is located at SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMwww.artbymf.com/ if you would like to look at some of her work.
Sally's daughter, Andrea, is mother to her only grandchild, Max. Married to Peter Romanoff, a successful advertising and new media executive, Andrea is very much her "mother's daughter." Often described by friends as a true "Renaissance woman," Andrea has distinguished herself by mastering and becoming licensed in a number of non-traditional medical therapies. Andrea is a licensed massage therapist, a licensed acupuncturist, and an expert in nutrition and holistic health remedies. With so many accomplishments under her belt, Andrea's mom is most proud of her daughter's remarkable success in raising Max, the perfect grandson!
Sally's brother (and only sibling), Steve, designed and operates her web site. Steve spent 13 years in the Air Force and flew 70 combat missions in Viet Nam. He went on to work as a radio news anchor and reporter, before becoming Raphael's webmaster.
By Sally's side through it all has been her husband of 37 years, Karl Soderlund. "Karl is my rock and my sounding board, and you know the secret -- he can still make me laugh," Raphael says.
Actively involved in UNICEF and DARE America, Raphael also lends her time and name to many other charitable organizations, including AMFAR, the Lighthouse for the Blind, the YMCA of Greater New York's Campaign for Youth, the National Head Injury Foundation, the NYC Food and Hunger Hotline, the Distinguished Citizen's Advisory Board of the American Police Hall of Fame and the Crohns and Colitis Foundation.
Born in Easton, Pa., raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Westchester, N.Y., Raphael found a home for 27 years in San Juan, where her father once worked, and where she met Karl. She attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Columbia University, where she earned her BFA, and the University of Puerto Rico, where she received her MFA.
When she's not working, Sally and Karl divide their time between homes in Nice and New York City and a magnificently restored 18th century farmhouse in New York State. "I think if I wasn't a broadcaster I would have been an architect. It's a passion and I've designed 27 homes for myself and for friends over the years. Then when it's done, the fun is in the entertaining - we love having friends visit and keep bedrooms for them in Nice and at the farm."
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