L.Z. Hansen came to New York City in 1984 at seventeen years old from London England. She settled in the East Village pre gentrification, and worked as a hair and makeup stylist for downtown celebrities and musicians.
In 1987 L.Z. moved into The Chelsea Hotel (the old room 100, now 102) while working in the sex industry to support an increasingly large heroin habit.
Finally sober in 1996 she decided to stay in the sex industry and open her own brothels; which proved to be highly successful.
She married and had a son in 2002 when she realized it was time to leave the sex industry to pursue her love of writing.

L.Z. Hansen’s first story was published in the highly acclaimed anthology ‘Hos Hookers Call Girls & Rentboys’ with a story called L.E.S. She was mentioned in a front page article in the New York Times book review in August 2009. She has since been published  on carnalnation.com, and has been invited to read at various literary events. One of her most popular stories ‘Sid’ received 7000 hits on iTunes in one month.
L.Z. Hansen continues to live in the East Village with her husband and child while working on her memoir called ‘My American Dream, Going Down in Gotham.’