Lisa Howard’s Back-Stage Diplomacy

The author investigates Lisa Howard’s transition from Hollywood actress to influential broadcaster‑diplomat, analysing archival interviews, media coverage and government responses to her back‑channel engagement with Fidel Castro after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The research traces how Howard’s journalistic skill and political outreach shaped US‑Cuba dialogue, how political and institutional reprisals ended her career, and how her efforts contributed to later rapprochement. The paper reassesses her neglected legacy, arguing that Howard’s backstage diplomacy merits recognition for its consequential, if contested, role in Cold War history.