Lisa Nicole Brennan-Jobs(néeBrennan;born May 17, 1978) is an American writer. She is the daughter ofApple Inc.co-founderSteve JobsandChrisann Brennan.
Lisa Brennan-Jobs | |
|---|---|
 Brennan-Jobs in 2005 | |
| Born | Lisa Nicole Brennan May 17, 1978 Portland, Oregon,U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University(BA) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouse | Bill |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Steve Jobs Chrisann Brennan |
| Relatives | Eve Jobs(half-sister) Mona Simpson(aunt) |
Jobs initially denied paternity for several years, which led to a legal case and various media reports in the early days of Apple. Lisa and Steve Jobs eventually reconciled, and he accepted his paternity. Brennan-Jobs later worked as a journalist and magazine writer. An early Apple business computer, theApple Lisa,is named after her, and she has been depicted in a number of biographies and films, including the biopicsPirates of Silicon Valley(1999),Jobs(2013), andSteve Jobs(2015). A fictionalized version of Brennan-Jobs is a major character in her auntMona Simpson's novelA Regular Guy.
Early life
editLisa Nicole Brennan was born on May 17, 1978, onRobert Friedland's All One FarmcommuneoutsidePortland, Oregon.[1][2]Her mother,Chrisann Brennan,and her father, Steve Jobs, first met atHomestead High SchoolinCupertino, California,in 1972 and had an on-off relationship for the next five years.[1][2]In 1977, after Jobs had co-foundedApple Inc.,he and Brennan moved into a house with their friendDaniel Kottkenear the company's office in Cupertino, where they all worked.[1][2][3]It was during this period that Brennan became pregnant with Lisa. Jobs, however, did not assume responsibility for the pregnancy, which led Brennan to end the relationship, leave their shared home, and support herself by cleaning houses.[2]
In 1978, Brennan moved to the All One Farm commune to have the baby. Jobs was not present for the baby's birth and only came up three days later after Robert Friedland, the farm's owner and a friend of Jobs fromReed College,persuaded him to do so. Brennan and Jobs named the baby Lisa. Jobs named the computer project he was working on, theApple Lisa,after her. Shortly after, Jobs publicly denied that he was the child's father. He claimed that the Apple Lisa was not named for her, and his team had come up with the phrase "Local Integrated System Architecture" as an alternative explanation for the project's name.[1][4]Decades later, Jobs admitted that "obviously, it was named for my daughter".[1]
Paternity case and reconciliation
editAfter Lisa was born, Jobs publicly denied paternity, which led to a legal case. Even after aDNA paternity testestablished him as her father, he maintained his position.[1][4][5]The resolution of the legal case required him to provide Brennan with $385 per month and to reimburse the state for the money she had received from welfare. After Apple went public and Jobs became a multimillionaire, he increased the payment to $500 a month.[2]Michael Moritzinterviewed Jobs, Brennan, and a number of others for the 1982TimePerson of the Yearspecial issue, released on January 3, 1983. In his interview, Jobs questioned the reliability of the paternity test, which had found that the "probability of paternity for Jobs, Steven... is 94.1%".[6]Jobs responded by arguing that "28% of the male population of the United States could be the father".[1][2][6]Rather than name him "Person of the Year", as he and many others expected while giving the interviews, the issue was instead titled "Machine of the Year: The Computer Moves In".[7]The thematic change occurred after Moritz heard about Brennan-Jobs as well as Jobs' management style.[1][2]
Years later, after Jobs left Apple, he acknowledged Lisa and attempted to reconcile with her. Chrisann Brennan wrote that "he apologized many times over for his behavior" to her and Lisa and "said that he never took responsibility when he should have, and that he was sorry".[2]After reconciling with her, nine-year-old Lisa wanted to change her last name and Jobs was happy and relieved to agree to it. Jobs legally altered her birth certificate, changing her name from Lisa Brennan to Lisa Brennan-Jobs.[8]Brennan credits the change in Jobs to the influence of Brennan-Jobs' newly found biological aunt, authorMona Simpson,who worked to repair the relationship between Brennan-Jobs and her father.[2]
Nevertheless, despite the reconciliation between Jobs and Lisa their relationship remained difficult. In her autobiography, Lisa recounted many episodes of Jobs failing to be an appropriate parent. He remained mostly distant, cold and made her feel unwanted, and initially refused to pay her college fees.[9][10]According toFortune magazine,in his will, Jobs left Lisa a multi-million dollar inheritance.[11]
Education and career
editWhen Brennan-Jobs was living with her mother, she attendedThe Nueva SchoolandLick Wilmerding High School.Later, after she had moved in with her father, she attendedPalo Alto High School.[12][13]She enrolled atHarvard Universityin 1996 and studied overseas for one year atKing's College London.[1]While a student at Harvard, she wrote forThe Harvard Crimson.[14]She graduated in 2000 and subsequently moved toManhattanto work as a writer.[1]She has written forThe Southwest Review,The Massachusetts Review,The Harvard Advocate,Spiked,Vogue,andO, The Oprah Magazine.[4][5]
Publications
editIn 2018, Brennan-Jobs publishedSmall Fry,a memoir detailing her childhood and the complex and sometimes difficult relationship she had with her father.[15][16][17][18]
In media
editBrennan-Jobs has been portrayed in several biographies of her father, includingWalter Isaacson's 2011 authorized biographySteve Jobs.Mona Simpson's 1996 novelA Regular Guyis a fictionalized account based on the story of Brennan-Jobs and her parents.[1]She has been depicted in threebiopicfilms: Brooke Radding portrayed her in the 1999TNTTV filmPirates of Silicon Valley,while she is played as a child byAva Acres,and as an adult by Annika Bertea, in the 2013 filmJobs.In the 2015 filmSteve Jobs,directed byDanny Boyle,Brennan-Jobs is portrayed at different ages byPerla Haney-Jardine,Ripley Sobo, and Makenzie Moss.Steve JobsscreenwriterAaron Sorkinsaid that he discussed the screenplay with Brennan-Jobs in advance and that she is the "heroine of the film".[19]
Personal life
editBrennan-Jobs resides inBrooklyn,New York City, with her husband, Bill, and their son.[20]
References
edit- ^abcdefghijkIsaacson, Walter(2011).Steve Jobs.Simon & Schuster. p. ebook.
- ^abcdefghiBrennan, Chrisann(October 29, 2013).The Bite in the Apple: A Memoir of My Life with Steve Jobs.St. Martin's Griffin. p. ebook.
- ^Edwards, Jim (December 26, 2013)."These Pictures Of Apple's First Employees Are Absolutely Wonderful".Business Insider.RetrievedJanuary 19,2015.
- ^abcBullock, Diane (October 6, 2011)."The Kids of Business Icons: Lisa Brennan-Jobs".Minyanville.Archived fromthe originalon May 6, 2019.RetrievedJuly 2,2015.
- ^abBora, Kukil (October 7, 2011)."Steve Jobs' Daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs, the Girl Who Was Denied Paternity".International Business Times.RetrievedJuly 2,2015.
- ^abCocks, Jay;Moritz, Michael(January 3, 1983)."The Updated Book of Jobs".Time Magazine.RetrievedJuly 4,2015.
- ^"Machine of the Year: The Computer Moves in.".Time Magazine.January 3, 1983.
- ^Brennan, Chrisann (October 29, 2013).The Bite in the Apple: A Memoir of My Life with Steve Jobs.St. Martin's Griffin. p. ebook.
Fast-forward six years when Lisa was nine, after she and her father had grown to know and love each other… It was in that window of time that Steve and Lisa decided to get her birth certificate straightened out. At nine, Lisa went from Lisa Brennan to Lisa Brennan-Jobs. Steve told me that he could hardly believe that she wanted to take his name. Very plainly relieved and honest, he said, 'I am just so happy that she does'… William Fenwick of Fenwick & West was the lawyer Steve used to fact-check and change the birth certificate.
- ^Thernstrom, Melanie (September 1, 2018)."The Father of Personal Computing Who Was Also a Terrible Dad".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 1,2021.
- ^Brockes, Emma (September 4, 2018)."The daughter Steve Jobs denied: 'Clearly I was not compelling enough for my father'".The Guardian.RetrievedFebruary 1,2021.
- ^
Elkind, Peter (August 6, 2015)."When Steve Jobs' ex-girlfriend asked him to pay $25 million for his" dishonorable behavior "".Fortune.RetrievedNovember 1,2015.
In his estate, Jobs left their daughter a multi-million-dollar inheritance, which Lisa has used to help support her, according to Brennan.
- ^Wolverton, Troy."The new biography from Steve Jobs' daughter offers more proof that Silicon Valley is like a small town".Business Insider.RetrievedApril 23,2021.
- ^McMurtrie, John (October 3, 2018)."Author Lisa Brennan-Jobs revisits her Bay Area roots".Datebook | San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide.RetrievedApril 23,2021.
- ^"Lisa N. Brennan-Jobs - Writer Profile".The Harvard Crimson.RetrievedFebruary 18,2010.
- ^Brennan-Jobs, Lisa(2019).Small Fry.Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, a Cengage Company.ISBN9781432860318.OCLC1050141023.
- ^Price, Rob (March 16, 2018)."The daughter that Steve Jobs once disavowed is writing a memoir about her childhood".Business Insider.RetrievedJune 14,2018.
- ^Kopytoff, Verne (March 16, 2018)."Steve Jobs' Daughter Is Writing a Memoir About Their Complicated Relationship".Fortune.RetrievedJune 14,2018.
- ^"Book Marks reviews of Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs".bookmarks.reviews.RetrievedSeptember 5,2018.
- ^Miller, Ross (November 17, 2014)."Aaron Sorkin says Steve Jobs' daughter Lisa is the hero of his film".The Verge.RetrievedJuly 4,2015.
- ^Bowles, Nellie (August 23, 2018)."In 'Small Fry,' Steve Jobs Comes Across as a Jerk. His Daughter Forgives Him. Should We?".New York Times.RetrievedAugust 24,2018.
External links
edit
- Official website
Media related toLisa Brennan-Jobsat Wikimedia Commons
