Samantha Leach

New York

Associate Director, Special Projects at Bustle

Associate Director, Special Projects at NYLON

Special Projects @bustle & @nylonmag. My debut book, THE ELISSAS, is out now.

Articles

Molly Jong-Fast On 'How To Lose Your Mother' & Her Writing Habits

4 days ago | bustle.com | Samantha Leach

Molly Jong-Fast was reticent to write How to Lose Your Mother, her memoir about her mom, Fear of Flying author Erica Jong. “What I didn’t want was to subject other people to my therapy,” Jong-Fast, 46, tells Bustle. But after her mom was diagnosed with dementia during the pandemic — and Jong-Fast took control of her care, which she continues to manage today — she started to see the universality in their highly specific, often thorny relationship.
Dylan Mulvaney On What Miss Piggy Taught Her About Gender & Girlhood

1 week ago | bustle.com | Samantha Leach

For the past three years, Dylan Mulvaney has been living her life out loud. In 2022, she began documenting her transition in the viral TikTok series Days of Girlhood, and this spring, she dug even deeper, publishing the New York Times bestselling memoir Paper Doll. The book offers readers a more unfiltered look at the fame (and controversy) that came with transitioning in the public eye.
RHONY's Luann de Lesseps & Sonja Morgan Reveal "Scary Island" Secrets

2 weeks ago | bustle.com | Samantha Leach

Much like pornography, you know Scary Island when you see it. The 2010 Real Housewives of New York episode (officially titled “Sun, Sand and Psychosis”) aired in the middle of the series’ third season, sandwiched within a three-part arc set in the Virgin Islands. But to real RHONY fans, it’s the watershed moment of the entire franchise. “Scary Island was something that people had always talked about so I was looking forward to it.
Wally Baram On 'Overcompensating' & Working With Benito Skinner

3 weeks ago | nylon.com | Samantha Leach

Walking through the aisles of Pacific Aquarium & Plant on the Lower East Side, Wally Baram has a fact for nearly every tank. “See, that’s actually not an albino arowana. Albinos are really sought-after,” the Overcompensating star tells me, pointing at a mislabeled school of fish.
Tommy Dorfman's Memoir Explores Addiction, Her Transition, & Love Life

1 month ago | bustle.com | Samantha Leach

In One Nightstand, celebrity readers and writers join us at the blond in 11 Howard to discuss some of their favorite books, allowing us to learn about their tastes and lives in the process. Tommy Dorfman always knew she had a book in her, but it wasn't until she began transitioning in 2020 that its shape began to emerge.
How Life Coach Mory Fontanez Helps Celebrities Handle Fame

1 month ago | bustle.com | Samantha Leach

There’s no shortage of secret whisperers to the stars. Want someone to tell you exactly which adaptogens to add to your morning smoothie? There’s a guru for that. Does your lymphatic system need a thorough draining? We know someone who knows someone. Your aura’s hankering for a cleanse? Right this way. In Hollywood, all these experts and so many more are just one DM away. But what about an expert to guide you through the experience of celebrity itself? That’s where Mory Fontanez comes in.
Margaret Atwood On 'The Handmaid's Tale' Ending & Memoir 'Book Of Lives'

1 month ago | bustle.com | Samantha Leach

The series finale of The Handmaid’s Tale is on the horizon, but Margaret Atwood isn’t feeling particularly sentimental. The adaptation of her watershed novel has been on the air for six seasons now, and she knows there’s only so long an audience can suspend disbelief. “You start to think, ‘Why is the regime letting June stay alive so long?’” Atwood tells Bustle. “With TV serials, there are cliffhangers and narrow escapes because you have to keep the heroine alive.
Why Men Like Jason Isaacs & Keith McNally Are Great Gossips

1 month ago | bustle.com | Samantha Leach

When Gossip Girl finally unveiled the identity of its titular girl, fans were shocked. Dan Humphrey? The straightest, whitest, most Elliott Smith-listening, Brooklyn soft boy of all time? Aside from the plot holes the reveal opened up, it just defied logic to imagine the Moleskine enthusiast firing off b*tchy little missives from his Blackberry. Or did it?
Your Comprehensive Jawline-Sculpting Treatment Guide

1 month ago | bustle.com | Samantha Leach

In 2006, Nora Ephron published a collection of humor essays titled I Feel Bad About My Neck. Now, almost 20 years later, more people than ever are still gripped by that same gripe. “There's definitely been an uptick of patients since the lockdown coming in and going, ‘Oh, I hate how I look on Zoom. What can I do about my neck?’” plastic surgeon Dr. David Shafer, M.D., FACS, tells Bustle.
Your Comprehensive Jawline-Sculpting Treatment Guide

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Samantha Leach

8 hours agoDermatologists and RDs share the answer — and you’re probably going to like it. When it comes to growing healthy hair and nails, you’ve probably already seen all the ads for supplements containing certain nutrients that can help, such as vitamins A, E and D, along with iron, fats, carbs and protein. …