Sheila Kuehl ’62 has published her autobiography, “And Then What Happened? My Life From Zelda to Politics.”  The book covers eight decades of a richly variegated life that touches UCLA at many points: an undergraduate in the ’50s, an associate dean of students during the student revolutions of the ’60s, and, though UCLA turned her down for law school, forcing her to go to Harvard, she returned to teach as a visitor in the Law School and the School of Public Policy.  

The full trajectory covers her early television career, especially her stint with the top thirty “Many Loves Of  Dobie Gillis,” playing Zelda Gilroy, the smartest girl in the room and the only girl allowed to be whip smart on television.  When rumors that she was gay abruptly ended this career, she pivoted to UCLA administration, Harvard Law and a career as a women’s and LGBTQ attorney and activist, into elected office for 14 years in the California State Assembly and Senate and then onto the  L.A. County Board of Supervisors, during some of the most challenging years the county had faced.

“The book is optimistic, incisive, funny, and, overall, I hope a good read,” Kuehl said.

Kuehl was named alum of the year in 2022 by the UCLA Alumni Association.