Rebecca Walker

Rebecca Walker
Rebecca Walker, Photo David Fenton, 2003
Born	(1969-11-17) November 17, 1969 (age 47) Jackson, Mississippi, United States
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Writer
Partner(s)	Choyin Rangdrol

Rebecca Walker (born November 17, 1969) is an American writer. In 1994, Time named her as one of the 50 future leaders of America. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, and has been featured on CNN and MTV.

Walker was born Rebecca Leventhal in Jackson, Mississippi, the daughter of Alice Walker, the African-American author of The Color Purple, and Mel Leventhal, a Jewish American lawyer. After her parents divorced, she spent her childhood alternating every two years between her father's home in the largely Jewish Riverdale section of the Bronx in New York City and her mother's largely African-American environment in San Francisco, where she attended The Urban School of San Francisco. When she was 15, she decided to change her surname from Leventhal to Walker, her mother's surname. Rebecca identifies herself as Black White and Jewish, which is also the title of her memoir, published in 2001.

After graduating cum laude from Yale University in 1992, she co-founded the Third Wave Foundation, a non-profit organization aiming to encourage young women to get involved in activism and leadership roles. In its first year, the organization initiated a campaign that registered over 20,000 new voters across the United States. The organization now provides grants to individuals and projects that support young women.

Walker was a contributing editor to Ms. magazine for many years. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including Harper's, Essence, Glamour, Interview, Buddhadharma, Vibe, Child, and Mademoiselle magazines. She has been featured on CNN and MTV, and has appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Times, Esquire, Shambhala Sun, among many other publications. She also had a role in the film Primary Colors.