P.D. Cardoza

P.D. Cardoza (née Penelope Roese) was born in New York City, New York, on the third Wednesday of December, 1933. That means she is ninety-one years old—for now. As long as she feels okay and is enjoying most of it, she may live forever. In the days of Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe, the trade winds blew her to Hawai’i. She remains there to this day, in a house made from green leaves, blue water, and beautiful curiosities.

The daughter of Thorne Smith’s illustrious illustrator, Herb Roese, Penelope inherited her father’s brilliant eye, quirky perspective, and exquisite taste. Her artistic bent has been passed to her daughter, Hawai’an photographer Donnez Cardoza, who once said, “My mother makes everything beautiful—the first time she tries.” This is, in fact, true. Her grand and great-grandchildren are learning, in their turn, to use all the crayons in the box.

She is the author of Don’t Look Down and The Exceptional Child’s Guide to Becoming an Exemplary Adult. She once did OJ Simpson’s makeup before the Pro Bowl, but this is a story she will only tell when very good champagne is on offer.