Leandra Medine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Leandra Medine December 20, 1988 New York City, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | The New School (BA) |
| Occupation | Fashion blogger[1] |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Known for | Founder of Man Repeller |
| Notable work | Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls. |
| Spouse |
Abraham "Abie" J. Cohen
(m. 2012) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | Man Repeller |
Leandra Medine Cohen (born December 20, 1988)[2] is an American author, blogger, and humor writer best known for Man Repeller.
Medine was born on December 20, 1988[3] in Manhattan.[4] Her father, Mois Medine, is of Turkish-Jewish descent, and her mother, Lyora "Laura" Medine, is of Iranian-Jewish descent.[3][5][6] She grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household.[7]
Medine attended the Ramaz School in Manhattan.[8] She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the New School's Eugene Lang College in May 2011.[9][10]
Medine began writing online in 2009, while a student at The New School. After studying abroad in Paris, she started a blog called Four Months in Paris, later renaming it Boogers + Bagels.[11]
Medine started the Man Repeller blog in May 2010 .[12] The idea for the blog reportedly came during a shopping trip with a friend. Medine recalled, "We were laughing at how everything was so man-repelling: acid-washed harem pants and enormous shoulder pads, and I just said, 'That's it! That's the blog.'"[13]
A few days after it launched, the blog was featured on the fashion website Refinery29.[14] Medine began collaborating with magazines like Lucky and Harper's Bazaar.[13] [14]
In 2012, Medine was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30.[15] Man Repeller was recognized in TIME's "25 Best Blogs of 2012",[16] and received "Best Overall Blog" at the 2012 Bloglovin' Awards.[17]
Initially, the blog was written solely by Medine, but later grew to include contributions from several writers and editors.[18] In September 2013, Grand Central Publishing published the book Man Repeller: Seeking Love, Finding Overalls.
Medine announced in June 2020 that she would “step back” from her involvement in Man Repeller after allegations of racism.[19] In September 2020, the site was rebranded to Repeller. On October 22, 2020, it was confirmed that Repeller would be shutting down due to financial constraints.[20][21]
Today, Medine maintains a Substack newsletter about "how to get dressed (mostly)." She writes she started Man Repeller and also states: "Now I mostly: sample spreadable cheese, burn sage, write this newsletter and hang out with my kids."[22]
Medine has collaborated with designers on limited collections of clothes and accessories, including Gryphon, shoe companies Del Toro and Superga, jewelry line Dannijo, and clothing line PJK.[23]
In 2012, Medine signed with the Creative Artists Agency, an entertainment talent agency headquartered in Los Angeles, California.[23] In 2016, Medine collaborated with Net-a-Porter to launch the shoe line MR by Man Repeller. Later, Medine created her own shoe line Leandra Medine.[24]
On October 29, 2019, Medine launched a partnership collection with Mango.[25]
Medine Cohen released her first book, an essay collection, and a memoir titled Man Repeller: Seeking Love, Finding Overalls, in 2013.
Medine started her Substack newsletter "The Cereal Aisle" in summer of 2021.[26]
In December 2011, Medine announced her engagement to Abie J. Cohen, a financial advisor at UBS, whom she had met when she was 17 years old.[27][28] [29]
Medine and Cohen married in June 2012.[30] They live in the East Village.[31] In a Man Repeller article published in December 2016, Medine revealed she had suffered a miscarriage.[32] On March 1, 2018, Medine gave birth to twin girls, Laura and Madeline.[33]
