Flo Anthony, Pioneering Page Six Entertainment Journalist, Dies at 74
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- Flo Anthony died Thursday at 74 after a battle with cancer, confirmed to Variety by Jack Hirsch, biographer of her husband Michael Spinks.
- Anthony was the first Black woman to work in the New York Post's entertainment and Page Six departments, and the first woman in the Post's sports department, which she joined in 1985 as an agate clerk.
- Anthony broke hundreds of celebrity stories during her Post tenure involving figures like Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Mike Tyson, and Robin Givens.
- Anthony began her career as a publicist for boxing figures including Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Butch Lewis, Mike McCallum, and Michael Spinks before transitioning to journalism.
- Anthony became the first Black woman to write for a supermarket tabloid via National Examiner's "Eye on Stars," and co-hosted E! Network's "The Gossip Show" for six seasons.
- Anthony served as editor-in-chief of Black Noir and Black Elegance magazines, and through Dottie Media Group recorded syndicated radio shows "Gossip on the Go With Flo" and "Flo Anthony's Big Apple Buzz."
- Anthony was born March 4, 1952 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, graduated Howard University, and is survived by longtime partner Michael Spinks, whom she married in January.
Why it matters: Anthony's death closes a chapter in entertainment journalism defined by barrier-breaking firsts — she was the first woman in the Post's sports department and the first Black woman in its Page Six and entertainment sections, roles that opened doors for subsequent generations of reporters in a historically exclusionary beat.
