Peter Travers

Peter Travers
Travers in 2008
Born
Peter Joseph Travers

(1943-06-27) June 27, 1943 (age 83)
Education
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • film critic
Years active1970–present
Spouses
  • Diane Harris
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1967, divorced)​
  • Robyn Lee Reeves
    ​
    (m. 1980)​
Children3

Peter Joseph Travers (born June 27, 1943) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts the film interview program Popcorn with Peter Travers for ABC News.

Early life

Travers grew up in Yonkers, New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Manhattan College in 1965, followed by a Master of Arts degree in English from New York University.

Career

Travers has been called the nation's most "blurbed" film critic. His blurbs appeared in newspapers as early as 1970, when he was a writer for Reader's Digest. By the mid-1970s, he was a film critic for The Herald Statesman, a Yonkers newspaper. In the 1980s, he wrote for People for four years before joining Rolling Stone in 1989. In 2020, he departed Rolling Stone and became the film critic for ABC News.

Travers hosts the New York Film Critics Series, a company that hosts live-streamed screening events and discussions, as well as the ABC News show Popcorn with Peter Travers, where he interviews actors and directors about the latest projects and their lives.

In 2025, he launched a blog entitled The Travers Take which offers his personal opinions on films, television, award season, and trends in the film industry.

Personal life

Travers married Diane Harris of White Plains, New York, in 1967; the marriage ended in divorce. In 1980, Travers married Robyn Lee Reeves, an actress and graduate of Vassar College, in an Episcopalian ceremony. He has three children.

Preferences

Favorites

In 1999, Travers named The Godfather trilogy (1972–1990) as the best film of the 20th century.

In 2010, when asked to rank the best films of the 2000s decade, Travers named:

  1. There Will Be Blood (2007)
  2. Children of Men (2006)
  3. Mulholland Drive (2001)
  4. A History of Violence (2005)
  5. No Country for Old Men (2007)
  6. The Incredibles (2004)
  7. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
  8. The Departed (2006)
  9. Mystic River (2003)
  10. The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003)

Best of the year

As a film critic for People, Rolling Stone, and ABC, Travers has named these films the best of the year:

References

  1. ↑ "Births". The Herald Statesman. July 2, 1943. p. 9. Retrieved February 20, 2025. Travers—To Howard and Ruth Wolsey Travers...June 27, a son, Peter.
  2. ↑ "Picks and Pans Review: Lollipop Dragon: The Great Christmas Race". People. December 21, 1987. Retrieved May 5, 2022. Peter Travers, 43, agrees: 'I couldn't stand it.'
  3. 1 2 3 "P.J. Travers Weds Robyn Lee Reeves". The New York Times. September 28, 1980. p. 68.
  4. ↑ Travers, Peter (March 31, 2020). "Movie Love in the Time of the Coronavirus". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  5. ↑ "43 Yonkers Men Win Degrees at Riverdale's Manhattan College". The Herald Statesman. June 9, 1965. p. 56. Bachelor of Arts...Peter J. Travers.
  6. ↑ "Peter Travers Official Biography". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018.
  7. ↑ Childress, Erik. "Criticwatch 2008 - The Whores of the Year". eFilmCritic.com. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  8. ↑ "One of the Year's 10 Best!". The New York Daily News. December 29, 1970. p. 57.
  9. ↑ Travers, Peter (November 9, 1976). "Star of 'Sarah' Visits Westchester". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. p. 21.
  10. ↑ "New York Film Critics Circle: Peter Travers". New York Film Critics Circle. Archived from the original on April 27, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  11. ↑ Friedman, Roger (September 8, 2020). "Exclusive: Peter Travers Exits Rolling Stone after 36 Years as Chief Film Critic, Made Magazine Important in Hollywood: 'It's been a hell of a ride'". Showbiz 411. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  12. ↑ "NY Film Critics Series". Nyfilmcriticsseries.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Popcorn". ABC News. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  14. ↑ "About Peter Travers". The Travers Take. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Awards". The Travers Take. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Peter J. Travers". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. July 7, 1967. p. 32.
  17. ↑ "Ruth Travers Obituary". Legacy. March 10, 2006. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  18. ↑ Travers, Peter (December 30, 1999). "100 Greatest Movies of the 20th Century". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  19. ↑ "10 Best Movies of the Decade". Rolling Stone. December 3, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  20. ↑ Travers, Peter (December 27, 2001). "The Best of 2001". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  21. ↑ Travers, Peter (December 6, 2016). "'La La Land' Review: Magical Modern-Day Musical Will Sweep You Off Your Feet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  22. ↑ Travers, Peter (December 26, 2023). "Review: The 10 best movies of 2023". ABC News. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  23. ↑ Travers, Peter (December 17, 2024). "Review: The 10 best movies of 2024". ABC News. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  24. ↑ Travers, Peter (September 26, 2025). "'One Battle After Another'". The Travers Take. Retrieved October 2, 2026.