David Oliver Cohen (born June 9, 1980) is an American writer, actor and entrepreneur based in New York City. He is one of the authors of the White Girl Problems book series, and a founder of Swish Beverages.
Early life and education Cohen grew up in Annapolis, Maryland.Scott Eidler, "Twitter's 'White Girl Problems' equal parts therapy, humor," The Washington Post, December 30, 2011. He attended New York University, where he studied acting.Diana Cooper, "White Girl Problems Founders Talk Babe Walker's Success, New Book 'Psychos' and Turning the Book Into a Film," Life & Style, May 6, 2014. He is Jewish.
Career Writing In 2010, Cohen, his brother Tanner Cohen and Lara Schoenhals created a Twitter account called White Girl Problems, writing under the pseudonym Babe Walker, a fictional 20-something socialite.Marah Eakin, "The two dudes behind White Girl Problems justify their existence," The A.V. Club, June 28, 2016. They signed a deal to turn the Twitter feed into a book series, with the first novel, White Girl Problems, published in 2012 under the pen name Babe Walker.Isabel Wilkinson, "Twitter Feed White Girl Problems Becomes a Book: Authors on 'Babe Walker'," The Daily Beast, January 31, 2012.Rose Surnow, "Does This Movie Make Me Look Fat? White Girl Problems Coming to the Big Screen," Cosmopolitan, July 1, 2013. It became a New York Times best-seller the following month."Best Sellers: Paperback Trade Fiction: Sunday, February 19th, 2012," The New York Times, February 19, 2012. The follow-up, Psychos, was published in 2014,R. Kurt Osenlund, "Tanner Cohen on Babe Walker, the Fat Jew, and White Girl Rose, the Official Wine of Summer," Out, September 4, 2015. and American Babe, the final novel in the trilogy, was published in 2016. The film rights to White Girl Problems were purchased by Lionsgate in 2013.Anita Busch, "Lauren Palmigiano Set To Direct Lionsgate's 'White Girl Problems'," Deadline Hollywood, August 15, 2016. In 2016, it was announced that the film was in development, to be directed by Lauren Palmigiano and produced by Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman, and to star Danielle Macdonald.Dave McNary, "'Patti Cake$' Star Danielle Macdonald Lands Lead Role in 'White Girl Problems'," Variety, August 2, 2017.
Under the pseudonym Taylor Bell, a fictional college freshman, Cohen and his brother co-wrote the 2015 novel Dirty Rush.Nina Lin, "'Dirty Rush': The only thing shameless about this sorority girl expose is the writing," New York Daily News, February 2, 2015. In 2015, it was announced that TriStar had purchased the rights to Dirty Rush, with the film to be produced by Banks and Handelman.Mike Fleming Jr, "Tom Rothman's TriStar Lands 'Dirty Rush' Novel For 'Pitch Perfect' Tandem Elizabeth Banks & Max Handelman," Deadline.com, January 12, 2015.
Credited to The Fat Jew, the 2015 book Money Pizza Respect was written by Josh Ostrovsky and Cohen, as a collection of comedic personal essays based on Ostrovsky's life.Chris Gardner, "The Fat Jew Talks New Book, Fantasized Three-Way With Kim and Kanye," The Hollywood Reporter, November 3, 2015.
Acting Cohen starred as Daniel McDaniel on the Nickelodeon show Taina for two years, starting in 2001.Laura Fries, "Taina," Variety, January 10, 2001.Dorkys Ramos, "The Cast of Nickelodeon's 'Taina': Where Are They Now?" Vivala, February 25, 2016. Following that, he performed as the lead, narrator and filmmaker Mark Cohen, in the national tour of the musical Rent.Rick Rogers, "'Rent' seizes the '90s decade," The Oklahoman, April 4, 2002.Joe Delaney, "'Rent' makes its triumphant return at Aladdin Theatre," Las Vegas Sun, April 26, 2002. From 2006 to 2007, he portrayed Kip Lonegan on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns.
Film Cohen produced the documentary Sex Positive, which profiles safe sex activist Richard Berkowitz and premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival.Gregg Goldstein, "Here picks up 'Sex Positive'," The Hollywood Reporter, December 1, 2008. He directed and produced the 2010 documentary Fast Boy, about a young man's struggle with cancer.
Wine In 2015, Cohen, Josh Ostrovsky, Tanner Cohen and Alexander Ferzan co-founded the company Swish Beverages, producer of several wines including White Girl Rosé and Babe Rosé With Bubbles."SWISH Beverages founders Josh Ostrovsky & David Oliver Cohen talk new 'Family Time Is Hard'," Downtown Magazine NYC, December 14, 2016.Zoe Henry, "The 'Fat Jew' Launches White Girl Rose E-Commerce Store and App," Inc., July 25, 2016.Olivia Sterns, "Meet 'White Girl Rose,' the Wine-on-Demand From 'The Fat Jew' and 'White Girl Problems'," Bloomberg Businessweek, June 12, 2015.
Personal life Cohen lives in Manhattan with his wife Cristi Andrews, an actress, and their two children. Cohen's younger brother is actor and writer Tanner Cohen.
Bibliography White Girl Problems (Hyperion Books, January 31, 2012, ) - as Babe Walker Psychos: A White Girl Problems Book (Gallery Books, April 29, 2014, ) - as Babe Walker Dirty Rush (Gallery Books, January 13, 2015, ) - as Taylor Bell Money Pizza Respect (Grand Central Publishing, November 3, 2015, ) - with Josh Ostrovsky American Babe: A White Girl Problems Book (Gallery Books, June 28, 2016, ) - as Babe Walker Babe Walker: Thirsty (Pocket Star, May 29, 2017, e-book) - as Babe Walker
Filmography Television Year Series Network Role Notes 1996 The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo Nickelodeon Kid 1 1 episode 2001-02 Taina Nickelodeon Daniel McDaniel Seasons 1 & 2 (26 episodes) 2002 The Nick Cannon Show Nickelodeon Himself Season 1, episode 12 2006-07 As the World Turns CBS Kip Lonegan 5 episodes 2007 The Colbert Report Comedy Central Blue Boy (voice) Season 3, episode 1
Film Year Title Credited as Notes 1994 Pom Poko Ponkichi (voice) 2003 Virgin Associate Producer 2008 Sex Positive Producer Documentary 2010 Fast Boy Director, producer, editor Documentary 2018 White Girl Problems Based on the novel by Pre-production
References
External links
Babe Walker website