AMY TAN was born in 1942, in Oakland, California.   Tan is an American writer of Chinese descent.  She received her bachelor’s and master’s at San Jose State University and doctoral studies at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley.Her works explore mother-daughter relationships.  One of her novels, The Joy Luck Club, was adapted to the movies.  She has written several other books such as The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, and The Bonesetter’s Daughter.  Her most recent book is Saving Fish From Drowning.  She also has two children’s books to her credit, The Moon Lady published in 1992, and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat in 1994.  The later was made into a cartoon series on PBS.  At present she lives in Sausalito, California.

JUSTINE TANYA BATEMAN was born in 1966, in Rye, New York.  She is a film, television actress and singer, active from 1982 till the present time.  She is best known for her role of Mallory Keaton on the television series Family Ties from 1982-1989.  She also guest-starred in some episodes of Lois & Clark; The New Adventures of Superman.  Bateman is a founder and partner of FM78.tv., a production company dedicated to creating professional content for Internet distribution.  She has also founded her own fashion design company and has served on the Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors until 2009.

ELLEN NAOMI COHEN (“Mama” Cass Eliot) was born in 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland.  She was an American singer best known as Mama Cass of the group The Mamas & the Papas.   After the breakup of the group she was successful as a solo singer and released five albums.  She was found in her London room, dead of an apparent heart attack, on July 29, 1974.  She was 32 years old. sfp2007.