Joanne King Herring

2011

Joanne King Herring, the real-life woman behind Julia Roberts’ character in Charlie Wilson’s War, shares the true story behind the events of the Film and her ongoing work in Afghanistan today. In addition to being credited with ending the Cold War, Joanne is the first woman in history to be consul General to two Muslim countries, and has the highest diplomatic standing of any female in the U.S. She also blazed the way for women in another arena: television. Long before such icons as Dinah Shore and Oprah Winfrey, she became the first female host of her own interview-format program at Houston’s KHOU. Blending the glitter of celebrity with the pragmatic of everyday living tips, Herring’s show won a huge following and ranked sixth in national daytime programming, even though local. Joanne continues to use her connections in government, fashion, and Hollywood to impact the world today by helping war-torn Afghanistan, through her Marshall Plan Charities, an umbrella organization of effective non-profit humanitarian groups that have winning track records in Afghanistan. The organization will provide food, clean water, medical care, education, and jobs, and ultimately self-sufficiency for Afghanistan. These humanitarian organizations will act as “occupying troops” so that our soldiers can come home.

Joanne’s memoir, Diplomacy and Diamonds, will be published by Hachette books in October 2011.

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