Denise Eisenberg Rich

Denise Rich (born Eisenberg; January 26, 1944) is an American-born Austrian singer-songwriter, socialite, philanthropist and political fundraiser. Denise Eisenberg was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of Gery (née Diamant) (died 1989) and Emil Eisenberg (December 24, 1912 – June 13, 2003). Emil Eisenberg, the son of Jula and Wolf Eisenberg, was born in Tarnov, Galicia, Austria-Hungary which is now in Poland since the end of World War II. In 1933, her father left Germany for Paris where he and his three brothers Henry, Zigg, and Jack established a fur store with offices also in New York City and London. In 1940, her parents and her sister Monique left Paris for New York City. In 1942, her father established the Desco Shoe Corporation in Webster, Massachusetts and New York when the Eisenberg family moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, from New York. In 1975 in Tel Aviv, Israel, Emil Eisenberg established a girls' vocational school. She graduated from Bancroft School and went on to receive her B.A. from Boston University. In 1984, Rich penned the lyrics to "Frankie," a hit in 1985 that went gold for the R&B group Sister Sledge. Since then, she has written songs recorded by Celine Dion, Marc Anthony, Natalie Cole, Luis Fonsi, Jessica Simpson, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, and Diana Ross. She has participated as a writer on Grammy Awards nominated projects, including the 1999 Aretha Franklin / Mary J. Blige duet entitled "Don't Waste Your Time". Denise Rich also contributed to the Grammy Award nominated album, To A Higher Place by Tramaine Hawkins (Columbia Records, 37th Annual Grammy Awards, 1994); as part of this contemporary gospel work, she co-wrote the classic hit "Aim Your Arrow High." She also co-wrote the international hit "Candy" recorded by Mandy Moore. Denise's "Abrazar La Vida" was a number one hit for Luis Fonsi, also earning her the coveted BMI award. Her songs can also be found in soundtracks for films such as Meteor Man (1993), Kiss Me Guido (1997), The Hurricane (1999), To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Runaway Bride (1999).