Joan Ganz Cooney co-founded a little phenomenon called “Sesame Street.” It became the world famous Children’s Television Workshop, now the Sesame Workshop. She has at least a dozen university doctorates ...

Joan Ganz Cooney co-founded a little phenomenon called “Sesame Street.” It became the world famous Children’s Television Workshop, now the Sesame Workshop. She has at least a dozen university doctorates and Bill Clinton gave her the President’s Medal of Freedom, our highest civilian award. George W. Bush then added the Humanities Medal.

Brilliant, dedicated, smart and chic, she rose through P.R. at NBC and became a Channel Thirteen producer. Never a mother herself, she became the “Mother” of Big Bird. Married to high finance titan Pete Peterson, she has many step-children and step-grandkids. Although Joan says she doesn’t even like children, everything signals otherwise. Joan is celebrated among her crowd for having had a happy adolescence.