Age is a funny thing in Hollywood and tech. People obsess over it. They want to know exactly when someone "made it" or how much time they have left to pivot. If you’ve been Googling Valerie Alexander age, you’re probably looking for a specific birth year to pin down the woman who somehow managed to be a Silicon Valley lawyer, an investment banker, a Hallmark movie screenwriter, and a happiness expert all in one lifetime.
Honestly, the math on Valerie Alexander’s career is what’s actually impressive. While she doesn't plaster her exact birth date on every social media profile, her trajectory tells the real story. We are talking about a woman who was a lead attorney on some of the biggest Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of the 1990s—including E*TRADE. To be a lead attorney at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison during the dot-com boom, you aren't exactly a fresh-out-of-college intern.
The Career Timeline That Defies Aging
Most people pick a lane and stay in it until they retire. Valerie? She treats careers like chapters in a really fast-paced book.
After dominating the securities law world in the late 90s, she transitioned into investment banking at SG Cowen. Then, just to keep everyone on their toes, she moved to Los Angeles to write and direct. If you’re trying to calculate the Valerie Alexander age by her graduation dates, she earned her B.A. from Trinity University and her J.D. and M.S. from UC Berkeley. She was a member of the California Bar by 1995. Do the math: if you graduate law school around 25 or 26, that puts her in a very seasoned, "Gen X and proud of it" demographic.
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But here’s the thing. She isn't just "an author." She owns the trademark on the phrase "...as a Second Language" for the self-help space. She’s the person who wrote Happiness as a Second Language. You don't get that kind of perspective on joy and inclusion without a few decades of navigating high-pressure boardrooms and film sets.
Why We Care About the Age of Experts
We live in a culture that fetishizes the "30 Under 30" lists. It makes everyone else feel like they’re running late. But Valerie Alexander is basically the poster child for the "Second Act" (or third, or fourth).
- The Silicon Valley Era: High-stakes legal work when the internet was brand new.
- The Hollywood Pivot: Writing movies for the Hallmark Channel (yes, the ones you watch with your mom).
- The Happiness Revolution: Launching Goalkeeper and becoming a globally sought-after speaker on unconscious bias.
When you look at Valerie Alexander age, you’re looking at a data point that proves experience is a competitive advantage. Her TED talk, "How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias," has racked up over half a million views because she speaks with the authority of someone who has actually been in the room where it happens.
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Misconceptions and the "Other" Valerie Alexander
Search engines sometimes get a bit confused. If you see headlines about a Valerie Alexander having her 14th child, that is a different Valerie—the wife of former NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. That Valerie is currently 46 (born around 1978 or 1979).
Our Valerie—the "Speak Happiness" Valerie—is a different person entirely. She’s the one living in Los Angeles with her husband, Rick Alexander, and a German Shepherd with questionable manners. It’s a classic example of why you can't always trust the first snippet you see in a search result.
What You Can Learn from Her Journey
If you’re worried about your own age or feeling stuck, Valerie’s life is basically a blueprint for "it’s never too late to change everything." She went from being an algebra teacher and a horse wrangler to a corporate lawyer, then a tech CEO.
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She often talks about the "Female Brain" in the workplace—not in a derogatory way, but looking at how biology and sociology affect how women navigate careers. She’s 100% transparent about the fact that she’s been the "world's worst waitress" and a runway model. It’s a chaotic, brilliant resume that only someone who has lived through a few different eras of American business could pull off.
Actionable Insights from Valerie’s Playbook:
- Audit Your Biases: Watch her TED talk. Seriously. It’s a masterclass in understanding how your brain takes shortcuts that lead to bad decisions.
- The Pivot is Permanent: Don't be afraid to leave a "prestigious" career if it makes you miserable. Banking to Hallmark movies is a wild jump, but it worked.
- Happiness is a Skill: It’s not a mood; it’s something you practice, like a second language.
Instead of worrying about a birth year, look at the output. Whether she’s teaching legal ethics at Berkeley or explaining why your brain is wired to be "scared" of different people, the value is in the wisdom, not the odometer. If you want to dive deeper into her work, check out her "Speak Happiness" platform. It’s way more interesting than a birth certificate.