A Woman to Know

A Woman to Know

what’s wrong with dying on the dance floor?

Sally Lippman and Studio 54

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Julia Carpenter
Mar 21, 2025
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Sally and her second husband take a break from the Studio 54 dance floor (image via The New York Historical Society’s phenomenal exhibit of Arlene Gottfried images)

When Studio 54 opened, Sally Lippman was in retirement — and in mourning.

Back in the 1920s, Sally was one of the first women in the state to get a law license. But by the 1970s, she and her first husband had retired early, hoping to live a life of contentment and cozy nights in. They devoted themselves to charitable causes and threw lavish dinner parties for friends.

But in 1975, Sally’s husband passed away, and a two-year period of mourning fell over her apartment. She dreaded nightfall, when the loneliness of a life without a partner, parties or purpose threatened to smother her.

Enter an unlikely savior: Studio 54.

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