V (Eve Ensler)

Eve Ensler (1953–), now known as V, is an American feminist, playwright, activist and author of the Obie award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues (1996). She was born in New York and grew up in a largely Jewish community. She created the fictional monologues from the testimonies of over two hundred women and girls, who candidly described their relationships to their bodies and their sexual experiences. Top actors have performed the play around the world. Seated on three stools facing the audience, they recount the intimate details, the humorous instances, the violations and abuse they have experienced as women. Jane Fonda, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Viola Davis, Rosario Dawson and Thandiwe Newton are just some of the actors who have reprised the roles. The play has been translated and published in over 48 languages, performed in over 140 countries and was named by The New York Times as one of the most important plays of the past 25 years.