Cheryl Saban is an American psychologist, author, television writer, and philanthropist. She is a former Senior Advisor to the United States Mission to the United Nations. She is the author of several children's books, a novel, self-help books, numerous gift books, and many teleplays. She is the president of the Saban Family Foundation, and the founder of the Cheryl Saban Self-Worth Foundation for Women & Girls. She is the owner and designer of Cheryl Saban Designs, where she sells her hand-blown glass and hand-made gemstone jewelry. A portion of every sale is donated to charity.
Early life and education
Cheryl Saban was born as Cheryl Lyn Flor on April 30, 1951 in San Diego, California. Her father worked for the local telephone company. Saban worked as a telephone solicitor, waitressed at a barbecue-pit restaurant, and worked summers as a lifeguard at a Navy training center. Saban attended San Diego State University. In 2005 she earned a doctorate in psychology from California Coast University.
Career
Saban started her career as a model in San Francisco, California in 1973 and Los Angeles in 1975. She recorded her first album in 1978 under the name Flower. In April 1979, Playboy included her in a nude pictorial titled “Disco Queens". Saban accepted a job as an assistant for Israeli-AmericanHaim Saban, a self-made millionaire who later became her husband, in 1986. She wrote for television multiple times, including 19 episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, produced by Saban. She is the author of four children's books, a thriller, and several self-help books. She is a member of the American Psychological Association. Saban was nominated as Senior Advisor to the United States Mission to the United Nations by President Barack Obama in September 2012.
Philanthropy
Saban serves as the president of Saban Family Foundation. She and her husband both donate through the foundation, which typically focuses on children, education and women's health. As of May 2018, they are supporting the building of a museum in Los Angeles. Through a $10 million donation, Saban established the Cheryl Saban Self-Worth Foundation for Women & Girls in 2009. The foundation will provide micro-financing programs to women in the U.S. and in Israel. Saban formerly served on the board of the Westside Children’s Center, where she pledged $250,000 to fund foster-parenting programs. With her husband, she donated $10 million to the Los Angeles Free Clinic, where she was a patient in her years of financial difficulty, and it was renamed the Saban Free Clinic in 2008. Saban serves on the board of directors of the Clinton Foundation. She also serves as an honorary member of the board of trustees of the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. She received an honorary doctorate from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel in 2014.
Personal life
Saban has been married three times. She married her first husband, Ray Lenhart, at the age of 20. They had two daughters, Tifanie Lenhart Chaney and actress Heidi Lenhart Stills, and divorced soon after. She later married and divorced Bobby Ocean. He was a music producer, and struggled to provide for her children. Saban married her third husband, Egypt born Israeli-American billionaire Haim Saban in 1987. They had two children through a surrogate : son Ness and daughter Tanya. Ness was the eighth surrogate-born baby in the world and Tanya was the fortieth. Although Cheryl follows Lutheranism, she agreed to raise the children Jewish. The family always puts up a Christmas tree and celebrates Shabbat weekly. Saban told the rabbi who married them: "Think of me as a Christian who believes in Judaism.” They reside in Beverly Hills, California.
