Frances Lear (née Loeb, July 14, 1923 – September 30, 1996) was an American activist, magazine publisher, editor and writer.

Lear was born with only a first name, Evelyn, to an unwed mother in Hudson, New York, at the Vanderheusen Home for Wayward Girls.

[1] She was adopted at 14 months by Aline and Herbert Loeb from Larchmont, New York, who changed her name from Evelyn to Frances.

[3] She was married and divorced twice at a young age, first to Arnold Weiss and secondly to Morton Kaufman (or Kaufmann).

[6][9][10] Norman Lear gave some support to this suggestion, including in his 1998 Emmy Legends interview.