Penny Orloff was a working actor and dancer in Los Angeles when a Juilliard scholarship took her to New York. She sang more than 20 Principal Soprano roles for New York City Opera, and played featured roles on Broadway under directors Harold Prince and Joseph Papp. Theater, concert, and opera engagements took her all over the US, Europe, and the former Soviet Union. Her solo show, Jewish Thighs on Broadway, based on her novel of the same name, toured the US for a decade, including a successful run off-Broadway in 2005. Her current show, Songs and Stories from a Not-Quite-Kosher Life, is on hold until theaters open again.

She is the author of Art as Lifework, Life as Artwork, a creativity seminar and workbook offered nationwide since 1991. A Tarot reader for over 50 years, Penny has used the cards in her counseling practice for decades.

She is a regular contributor of stories to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and has worked for a dozen years as an arts journalist for various online and print media.