Elsa Walsh is an American journalist and author. In 1989 she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and she released her book Divided Lives: The Public and Private Struggles of 3 Accomplished Women in 1995. Walsh has worked for both The Washington Post and The New Yorker.

Elsa Walsh grew up in an Irish-Catholic family with five siblings.^[1] She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa,^[2] and began her career as a journalist in 1980.^[3]

Walsh has worked as a staff reporter for The Washington Post.^[3] In 1989 she and her fellow reporter Benjamin Weiser were finalists for the Pulitzer prize for their 1988 "series about how court secrecy procedures have created a system of private justice within the public courts," according to the prize committee.^[4] The four-article series investigated the role of judges in hiding important safety information from the public through approving confidentiality agreements and sealing court records.^[5]

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Booknotes interview with Walsh on Divided Lives, September 17, 1995, C-SPAN

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In 1995 she published her book Divided Lives: The Public and Private Struggles of 3 Accomplished Women, in which she interviewed three women regarding their "experiences juggling marriage and a career". The women interviewed for the book were 60 Minutes reporter Meredith Vieira, orchestra conductor Rachael Worby, and breast surgeon Alison Estabrook; Walsh also interviewed members of the women's families as well as their work peers.^[3] She later became a staff writer for The New Yorker,^[6][7] where her work included political reporting in the US^[8] as well as profiles on figures such as Saudi Prince Bandar,^[9] Ted Kennedy, Tipper Gore,^[10] and Harry Reid.^[11] She has also appeared on political talk shows such as Hardball with Chris Matthews.^[12] Walsh is also an editor on the books of Bob Woodward, her husband.^[13]

Walsh is married to The Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward.^[3] The two met at the Post, and wed in 1989.^[2] The two of them were featured in the 2020 book What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life by Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas.^[14] Walsh has also appeared on the television series Barefoot Contessa, as a guide to host Ina Garten on a trip to Washington DC.^[15] Walsh has one daughter with Woodward, Diana, and a stepdaughter, Tali.^[16]