Dr. Pepper Schwartz - a Northwest Original

This article about Pepper Schwartz was featured on our cover in February of 2012. Over the past calendar year, it has been one of the most viewed articles on our website.

Where to begin when discussing nationally renowned relationship expert Dr. Pepper Schwartz? S–E–X is a great place to start!

Got your attention? Dr. Pepper, as she is affectionately known, has been a highly respected Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington since 1972. A local and national television commentator, prolific columnist, and researcher with fifty scholarly articles to her credit, the award-winning sociologist is also author of sixteen books and counting. AARP claims her as its official Relationship Ambassador with a mission to improve the lives of 50+ audiences by enhancing their relationships with advice on everything from sex and health to communication and dating. Dr. Pepper can even be called a professional matchmaker through her close association with Redmond-based PerfectMatch.com, a leading Internet dating and relationship site. She is the relationship expert on Married at First Sight, airing on A&E and FYI. 

Oh yes… She has also been dubbed a sexologist and is proud of it.

Why wouldn’t she be? Dr. Pepper, 66, is a serious academic with a serious gift for connecting to popular audiences. In part, as an article in The New York Times proclaimed, because she specializes in a subject the entire world cares about. “I always wanted to study matters that were important to people in their everyday lives,” she says, “and frankly, what’s more basic than sexuality?”