Dr. Lillian Glass, often referred to as “The First Lady of Communication” and called the “Queen of Communication” by NewsNation, is a world-renowned communication and body language expert, media commentator, bestselling author, award-winning filmmaker, litigation consultant, and singer/songwriter. She also holds the title of Senior Ms. Minnesota as well as Senior Ms, America- Community Service. 

She coined the term “Toxic People ®, now part of the modern vernacular, and authored the international bestseller Toxic People – 10 Ways of Dealing With People Who Make Your Life Miserable. As a filmmaker, her acclaimed documentary Reinventing Rosalee won 57 awards internationally and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. She has several other award-winning films 

Dr. Glass has appeared worldwide as a body language expert on major news outlets, reality shows, documentaries, and in several films. She has also served as an expert witness in both state and federal courts and is a trained mediator. As a performer, she has sung the National Anthem at numerous public and sporting events. She proudly holds the title of Senior Ms. Minnesota and was honored with the Senior Ms. America – Community Service Award. She sang her original song “Miami” at the Senior Ms America Pageant and has several albums of her original songs. 

Passionate about giving back, Dr. Glass actively supports philanthropic causes that benefit children and animals, including “A Safe Haven for Newborns, Cribs for Kids, Big Dog Rescue, and Pups4Patriots.

Early Life and Education

The daughter of Abraham Glass, (a businessman) and Rosalee Glass, (an interior decorator, who became a successful actress later in life) she was born and raised in Miami, Florida, Dr. Glass graduated from Coral Gables Senior High where she was honored as a “Senior of Distinction” and graduated in the upper 0.1percent of her high school class. Decades later in 2023, she was inducted into the “Coral Gables Senior High School Hall of Fame. “ She won the title of “Princess of the Americas” in an Inter-American Alliance Beauty Pageant when she was 18.

She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Bradey University in Speech and Hearing Sciences graduating Magna Cum Laude and was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. She was nationally honored as one of Glamour Magazine’s Top 10 College Girls.

She earned her Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan, where she became interested in gender differences in communication and the study of cranial and dental- facial abnormalities. Her Masters thesis was entitled “Speech and Lingual Behavior in Patients Before and After Mandibular Osteotomy.” She was also awarded a joint fellowship by the American Dental Association and the American Speech and Hearing Association to do a summer research project on pediatric dental problems and associated speech disorders at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.

At the age of 24, she received a doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota and was awarded the prestigious Bush Foundation Fellowship. She majored in Communication Disorders, with an emphasis on Speech and Hearing Sciences, and minored in Clinical Genetics. Her doctoral dissertation focused on “Psychosocial Perceptions of Speech and Cosmetic Appearance of Patients with Craniofacial Abnormalities”.

She received a post-doctorate in Medical Genetics at UCLA School of Medicine where she was awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fellowship. She was published in over 50 professional journals, including the distinguished New England Journal of Medicine. She also discovered a new genetic syndrome which was named after her and her mentor, called “Glass Gorlin Syndrome” which consisted of sensorineural deafness and oligodontia- a specific dental abnormality.

In 2013, Dr. Glass attended Pepperdine University’s School of Law Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, where she studied “Mediation.” In 2016, Dr. Glass completed her training in “Divorce & Family Dispute Mediation” at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.

Academics

Upon completing her postdoctoral training at UCLA School of Medicine, Dr. Glass became an associate professor at the University of Southern California (USC). She held joint appointments with the School of Medicine, Department of Medical Genetics, School of Dentistry, and Department of Speech Communication and was a researcher at the University of Southern California Speech Research Lab. As an academician, Dr. Glass continued to be published in numerous professional publications in various medical & scientific journals.

Private Practice

​Dr. Glass first began her private practice in Beverly Hills, California, treating patients with speech and hearing difficulties. She worked with many performers, politicians, and athletes, coaching them with their public speaking performances. She also helped many performers who developed vocal problems. Later, her practice progressed to training actors for movie roles. She taught them accents and dialects as well as developing their character’s voice, speech patterns, and body language.

One of her first clients included Dustin Hoffman, whom she taught to sound like a woman for the Academy Award winning film, “Tootsie”. She also worked with other Academy Award winners such as Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Gene Kelly, Forest Whitaker, Jamie Lee Curtis as well as nominees Andy Garcia. Mickey Rourke, Rene Russo, and Melanie Griffith. She taught deaf actress and Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin how to speak publicly for the first time at the Academy Awards presentation.

While her celebrity roster of clients is too numerous to name, she also worked with Rob Lowe and Fran Dresher (“The Nanny”) to help her modify her New York accent, as well as Caitlyn Jenner to learn how to feminize her voice and body language as she transitioned from being Bruce Jenner.

Other award-winning celebrity clients have included Ben Vereen and singers Dolly Parton, Steven Stills and David Crosby of “Crosby Stills and Nash,” Bobby Lamb of the group “Chicago “as well as Julio Iglesias. She also coached Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan (the infamous “Milli Vanilli” duo) for their press conference when they returned their Grammy.

Dr. Glass helped train numerous sports figures from the Rams, Raiders, Lakers, Saints, and Jets, and several Olympic stars prepare for public speaking events.

Author

Dr. Glass’ self-help books deal with the topics of “Human Behavior, “Communication Skills,” and “Body Language.” They are published in many languages throughout the world.

Her books concerning Human Behavior include:

• Toxic People ® – 10 Ways of Dealing with People Who Make Your Life Miserable
• Toxic Men – 10 ways of Identifying, Dealing With and Healing From Men Who Make Your Life Miserable
• Attracting Terrific People – How to Find and Keep the People Who Bring Your Life Joy
• 50 Ways My Dog Made Me Into A Better Person
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Men and Women

Her books on Communication Skills include:

• Talk to Win- Six Steps to a Successful Vocal Image
•  Confident Conversation
• How to Deprogram Your Valley Girl
• Say It Right – How to Talk In Any Social or Business Situation,
• He Says She Says – Closing the Communication Gap Between the Sexes,
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Verbal Self Defense
• Bikram Vocal Yoga – Voice Communication and Body Language Skills to Increase Confidence and Enrich Your Life.

Her books pertaining to Body Language include:

• I Know What You’re Thinking – Using the Four Codes of Reading People to Improve Your Life
• Body Language of Terrorists by Lillian Glass Ph.D. and former FBI Special Agent D. Vincent Sullivan,
• The Body Language Advantage: Maximize Your Personal and Professional Relationships with this Ultimate Photo Guide to Deciphering What Others Are Secretly Saying in Any Situation,
• The Body Language of Liars – From Little White Lies to Pathological Deception – How to See through the Fibs, Frauds, and Falsehoods People Tell You Every Day.

Lecturer

She has lectured throughout the United States and in various countries throughout the world on the topics of “Communication,” “Body Language,” “Gender Differences in Communication” & Dealing with Toxic People ®

Dr. Glass has lectured to numerous Government organizations and Bar Associations across the United States. She has also spoken to various Professional Associations. Educators, Medical and Health Organizations, Real Estate, Financial Entities, Businesses, Corporations including many Fortune 500 Companies, Recreation and Leisure Enterprises, Colleges and Universities and Women’s Groups across the country.

Media Personality

Dr. Glass began her television career as a co-host on Alive and Well on USA Network and as a psychology reporter for the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles, KABC Television.

She has since appeared as a commentator on a variety of news and talk shows, including Good Morning America and the Today Show. In addition, she appeared on countless daytime talk shows and often appears on various news shows discussing the body language and communication patterns of newsmakers. She has appeared on CNN, NBC, ABC, HLN, E! MTV, MSNBC, FOX, BBC, Newsmax, NewsNation, Court TV, and Law and Crime. She has appeared on 20/20, Inside Edition, Oprah and Dr. Phil.

While promoting her books, which were translated into various languages around the world, Dr. Glass appeared throughout the media in: Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Malysia, England, France, Russia, Poland, Germany Ireland, Canada, Greece, Singapore, India, China, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Spain, Israel, Japan and South Africa, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Turkey.

The reality shows on which she has appeared as the “body language expert” include: Season 8 of Dancing With the Stars, BRAVO’s Millionaire Matchmaker, FOX’s Busted and Disgusted, X Isle, Smoke Out, Tool Academy, and TLC’s 90 Day Fiance.

Besides appearing in countless national and international publications and websites from The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times, NY Times, Boston Globe, USA Today, Dr. Glass also had a monthly body language column for Cosmopolitan Magazine.

In her “Dr. Lillian Glass Body Language Blog”, Dr. Glass writes about celebrities and newsmakers which she has also done in her blog, Reading People, for Psychology Today. She has also been a contributor to Women in Crime Ink.

Litigation Consultant, Expert Witness, and Mediator

Dr. Glass has used her body language skills as a litigation consultant where she has assisted attorneys by analyzing body language of surveillance and deposition tapes. She has served as an expert witness in both state and federal court cases for various criminal and civil cases.

She has also been instrumental in proving Witness Preparation to attorney’s clients. In addition, Dr. Glass is a trained mediator.

Film Career

Dr. Glass has portrayed herself as a body language expert in several films such including Love Talk as well as Body Language Decoded.

With her talent of being able to do any accent or dialect from around the globe, she often served as a voice-over actress in various films and has portrayed characters speaking English with Russian, Polish, Cuban, and British accents. Dr. Glass spoke English with a Romanian accent when while portraying Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci in a biographical film.

She began a film career as a director and producer. In 2017. Her first film is the heartfelt documentary Reinventing Rosalee, which won 57 awards worldwide debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. This uplifting and inspiring film is about her mother, Rosalee Glass, a Holocaust survivor who did remarkable things in her late senior years such as becoming an actress at 90, writing a book, and riding with Alaskan sled dogs at the age of 100.

Her second award winning documentary film, De-Escalation, presents 7 major high-profile cases of police brutality and what could have been done differently.

Her third award winning film, a documentary called Feisty Fighter- The Marnesba Tackett Story, is narrated by the Emmy and Tony award winning actor Ben Vereen.

Another award – winning film she did is Hey Beautiful, a moving documentary & love story about a woman with a facial deformity who never thought she would find love, only to celebrate her 33rd wedding anniversary.

Recording Career – Singer/Songwriter

Dr. Glass served as a Governor for the Recording Academy (Grammy Organization for several years in the category of “Spoken Word.” The audio of her best- selling book, Toxic People was nominated on the short list for a Grammy Award in the “Spoken Word” category. She has done the actual recordings of all of her audiobooks.

With no formal training, Dr. Glass became a singer, and songwriter. She has composed and recorded several original songs for her albums, Dr. Lillian Glass – Love Healing and Dr. Lillian Glass – Emotional Heart. She will sing her original song “Miami” at the Ms. America  Pageant.

She currently sings the National Anthem for various public, charity, and sporting events, including baseball games at the Roger Dean Stadium.

Honors and Awards

In 2023, Dr. Glass was inducted into the “Coral Gables Senior High School Hall of Fame .”

She was selected as “Outstanding Young Graduate” at Bradley University and inducted into membership into their highest alumni honor society, “The Centurion Society.”

Dr. Glass was not only honored by Glamour Magazine as one of the “Ten Top College Girls”, but a decade years later was honored as one of the “10 Outstanding Young Working Women,.” and later on was chosen as one of the “9 Outstanding Business Women.”

In her film career, Glass has won numerous film awards for “Best Director” and “Best Female Director” for her film Reinventing Rosalee. She has also won the award of “Best Documentary” for her films Reinventing Rosalee, Hey Beautiful, and Feisty Fighter-The Marnesba Tackett Story. She has also won numerous awards in various film festivals throughout the world for all of her films.

Beauty Pageants

As. a little girl, Lillian had a dream to become a Beauty Queen when she grew up At 18, she became” Princess of the Americas ” Decades later became “Senior Ms. Minnesota” and “Senior Ms. America- Community Service “

At the age of 18, she was crowned “Princess of the Americas” in a beauty pageant sponsored by the Inter-American Alliance, held at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla. In 1989, Dr. Glass served as a judge in the Miss USA Pageant for Miss Universe International, held in Mobile, Alabama.

Dr. Glass is now the titleholder of Senior Ms. Minnesota and Senior Ms America- Community Service. 2025 Ms. USA Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Noise Pollution Awareness Advocacy

As a USC professor, Glass warned the public against the dangers of noise pollution. Dr. Glass, along with a group of celebrities, advocated the building of acoustical noise barriers to help mitigate noise pollution in Los Angeles. She was also on the Board of Directors of a consumer advocacy group established by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association to help create awareness with regard to noise pollution.

Philanthropy

Dr. Glass is actively involved in supporting various charities which are involved in children and animal well-being including: Cribs for Kids, A Safe Haven for Newborns, The Children’s Home Society, Boys and Girl Scouts, The United Way, Big Dog Rescue, and Pups4Patriots.