PROUDLY HONORING Women of the East End Media

Bridget LeRoy

WLIW 88.3 FM, and formerly, The Independent

Bridget LeRoy was brought up in a privileged Hollywood/New York show business family. Her great-grandfather, Harry Warner, founded Warner Brothers Studio. Her grandfather, Mervyn LeRoy, directed and produced over 80 Hollywood classic films, including "The Wizard of Oz." Her father, Warner LeRoy, was the restaurateur responsible for New York landmarks like Maxwell's Plum, Tavern on the Green, and the Russian Tea Room.

After years of working at The East Hampton Star, Bridget co-founded The East Hampton Independent in 1993, which became The Independent Newspaper, and functioned as the arts editor and company president for the first seven years. During her (first) tenure, she was the recipient of more than 40 regional and national awards for journalism and editing from both regional and national press associations. She has interviewed everyone from Steven Spielberg to Martha Stewart, from the Clintons to Julie Andrews. She also guest-edited several editions of the North Atlantic Review, has written for the New York Times Long Island Weekly, and penned numerous plays for the local KidsConnect theater company.

She moved to New Hampshire in 2001, and there completely renovated and ran a 1792 inn and restaurant for eight years before coming back to the East End of Long Island. After working at the Southampton Press and the Buddhist World Tribune for several years, she returned to The Independent in 2016.

Bridget was Associate Editor at The Independent until June of 2020, nabbing more recognition from New York Press Association and the Press Club of Long Island along the way.

She is currently co-hosts a weekly radio show "Sundays on the East End" with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Alec Sokolow on 88.3 WLIW FM, Long Island's only NPR station. She is also the host of the East Hampton Library's annual Authors Night for WLIW FM, interviewing, live, Alec Baldwin, Robert Caro, Lee Child, Candace Bushnell, and other literati. 

Bridget co-founded CMEE, the Children's Museum of the East End.

Other hats she's worn along the way: retreat leader, goat herder, ordained minister, pug breeder, yoga teacher, shamanic healer, and model for some of the world's greatest living artists.