They Write Good

1. Richard Matheson

Born in New Jersey and raised in Brooklyn, Richard Burton Matheson first became a published author while still a child, when his stories and poems ran in the "Brooklyn Eagle". A lifelong reader of fantasy tales, he made his professional writing bow in 1950 when his short story "Born of Man and ...

2. Richard Christian Matheson

Writer | Amazing Stories

Richard Christian Matheson was born on October 14, 1953 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Amazing Stories (1985), Loose Cannons (1990) and Three O'Clock High (1987).

3. Rod Serling

Writer | The Twilight Zone

A former boxer, paratrooper and general all-around angry young man, Rod Serling was one of the radical new voices that made the "Golden Age" of television. Long before The Twilight Zone (1959), he was known for writing such high-quality scripts as "Patterns" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight," both ...

4. Shane Black

Actor | Predator

Considered one of the pioneer screenwriters of the action genre, Black made his mark with his Lethal Weapon (1987) screenplay. He also collaborated on the story of the sequel, Lethal Weapon 2 (1989). Each successive script he turned in had a higher price attached it, from The Last Boy Scout (1991) ...

5. Jonas Chernick

Actor | My Awkward Sexual Adventure

Jonas Chernick co-wrote, produced and starred in the sci-fi comedy feature film James vs. His Future Self (2019), which won four awards at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, and was nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards. That same year, he starred in The Prague Orgy (2019), adapted from the ...

6. Gary Apple

Writer | Get Smart

Gary Apple is known for Get Smart (1995), The Sinbad Show (1993) and Rhythm & Blues (1992).

7. Charles Beaumont

Writer | Night of the Eagle

Charles Beaumont was the pseudonym for Charles Leroy Nutt, born on Chicago's North Side on January 2 1929. He also occasionally wrote under the names Charles McNutt and E.T. Beaumont (the latter apparently based on the name of a Texas town). Tragically short-lived, Beaumont was a dynamic and ...

8. Elizabeth Hunter

Producer | Jumping the Broom

Elizabeth Hunter is known for Jumping the Broom (2011), Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2012) and The Fighting Temptations (2003). She has been married to Jordan Walker-Pearlman since April 25, 2015.

9. Charlie Kaufman

Writer | I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Avid reader Charlie Kaufman wrote plays and made short films as a young student. He moved from Massapequa, New York to West Hartford, Connecticut in 1972 where he attended high school. As a comedic actor, he performed in school plays and, after graduation, he enrolled at Boston University but soon ...

10. Clive Barker

Writer | Nightbreed

Born in Liverpool, England, UK, Clive Barker is an English writer, director, and visual artist, best known for his works in the genres of horror and dark fantasy. His mother Joan Ruby (née Revill) was a painter and school welfare officer and his father Leonard Barker was a personnel director for an...

11. William Shakespeare

Writer | The Tragedy of Macbeth

William Shakespeare's birthdate is assumed from his baptism on April 25. His father John was the son of a farmer who became a successful tradesman; his mother Mary Arden was gentry. He studied Latin works at Stratford Grammar School, leaving at about age 15. About this time his father suffered an ...

12. Harold Pinter

Actor | Mansfield Park

Harold Pinter, the 2005 Nobel Laureate for Literature, was born October 10, 1930, in London's working-class Hackney district to Hyman and Frances Pinter, Eastern European Jews who had immigrated to the United Kingdom from Portugal. Hyman (known as "Jack") was a tailor specializing in women's ...

13. Courtney Lilly

Producer | Black·ish

Courtney Lilly is known for Black-ish (2014), Arrested Development (2003) and My Boys (2006).

14. Terry McMillan

Writer | How Stella Got Her Groove Back

Terry McMillan was born on October 18, 1951, to Madeline Washington Tilman and Edward McMillan. She grew up in Port Huron, Michigan. Her parents divorced when she was thirteen and her father died three years later. McMillan's mother supported her family by working nights at a factory.

15. Cormac McCarthy

Writer | The Road

Cormac McCarthy was born on July 20, 1933 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Road (2009), No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Counselor (2013). He was married to Jennifer Claire Winkley, Anne DeLisle and Lee Holleman. He died on June 13, 2023 in Santa Fe...

16. T.J. Dawe

Writer | The F Word

TJ Dawe was born and raised in Vancouver, BC. He studied theatre at the University of Victoria, earning a BFA in Acting. While touring the circuit of Canadian Fringe Festivals he discovered the culture of self-created theatre, and has been writing and performing his own work ever since. He written ...

17. Henrik Ibsen

Writer | While We're Young

Henrik Ibsen was born on March 20th in Stockmannsgerden in Skien. His mother was Marichen and his father was Knud, a merchant. On 1835 his father gave up his business and the family moved to Venstop, a farm in Gjerpen. In 1843 he confirmed in Gjerpen church and left home in order to apprentice to ...

18. August Wilson

Writer | Fences

August Wilson once dropped out of school, disillusioned after having been unjustly accused of plagiarism by a racist instructor who could not fathom the artistic and intellectual genius of a then young Black male writer. Wilson was not disillusioned forever. Having now completed a decade by decade ...

19. Daniel Waters

Writer | I Still See You

Daniel Waters is known for I Still See You (2018) and I Am Thor (2015).

20. Daniel Waters

Writer | Heathers

Daniel Waters was born on November 10, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Heathers (1988), Hudson Hawk (1991) and Sex and Death 101 (2007).

21. Dave Thomas

Writer | The Blacklist

Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, Dave was the eldest son of John and Moreen Thomas. John Thomas (deceased) was a PHD in Philosophy (Duke), noted medical ethicist, head of Philosophy Department at McMaster University, and author of several books including: "Matters of Life and Death," "Well ...

22. Maya Angelou

Actress | Poetic Justice

Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Poetic Justice (1993), Madea's Family Reunion (2006) and How to Make an American Quilt (1995). She was married to Paul Du Feu, Vusumzi Linda Make and Enistasious (Tosh) Angelos. She died on ...

23. M. Night Shyamalan

Producer | Lady in the Water

Born in Puducherry, India, and raised in the posh suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, M. Night Shyamalan is a film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional actor, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots.

He is the son of Jayalakshmi, a Tamil ...

24. Anita Loos

Writer | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

While she is now best known for her book "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," Anita Loos was one of Hollywood's foremost early screenwriters. She began writing screen scenarios for the 'Biograph Company' at an early age (though not 12, as she later claimed), and the first to be produced, The New York Hat (...

25. Ian Fleming

Writer | Casino Royale

Born into a wealthy and influential English family, Ian Fleming spent his early years attending top British schools such as Eton and Sandhurst military academy. He took to writing while schooling in Kitzbuhel, Austria, and upon failing the entrance requirements for Foreign Service joined the news ...

26. Frank Borg

Writer | Da Vinci's Inquest

Frank Borg is known for Da Vinci's Inquest (1998), My Father's Angel (1999) and Shattered (2010).

27. Raul Inglis

Writer | Transparency

Raul Inglis was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He is known for Transparency (2010), Faithless (1998) and Vice (2008).

28. Jean Genet

Writer | Poison

Jean-Paul Sartre likens Jean Genet to a saint for a very particular reason, a reason that is apparent in the title of the biography, but which does not translate in the English title--"Saint Genet: Actor and Martyr"--because meaning and referentiality are lost. The French title is "Saint Genet: ...

29. Fernando Dalayoan

Director | Young Ligaw

Fernando Dalayoan is known for Young Ligaw (2011), Regalo (2022) and Menopause (2023).

30. Mandeep Sodhi

Cinematographer | Not Funny

Mandeep was born and raised in Chandigarh, India, where he started his film journey by creating comic videos for YouTube in 2007-2008. A VFX company saw his works online and offered him a job in Mumbai. From thereon he has wore different hats, from being a VFX supervisor, to an Assistant Director ...

31. Stieg Larsson

Writer | The Girl in the Spider's Web

Stieg Larsson's three novels (collectively known as "The Millennium Series") were published posthumously, and each became a feature film. They were entitled (for the American market) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (originally published in 2005), The Girl Who Played with Fire (originally published ...

32. BJ Verot

Actor | Nobody

BJ Verot is known for Nobody (2021), Violent Night (2022) and The Return (2020).

33. Oscar Micheaux

Writer | Within Our Gates

Oscar Micheaux, the first African-American to produce a feature-length film (The Homesteader (1919)) and a sound feature-length film (The Exile (1931)), is not only a major figure in American film for these milestones, but because his oeuvre is a window into the American history and psyche ...

34. Madison Thomas

Director | Ruthless Souls

One of the most compelling and versatile filmmakers working in Canada today, Madison Thomas was named one of Playback Magazine's "Five Filmmakers to Watch" in 2019. A storyteller of mixed ancestry (Ojibwe/Saulteux & Russian/Ukrainian settler), Thomas is based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba in Treaty 1 ...

35. Spike Lee

Director | Do the Right Thing

Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from artistic, education-grounded background; his father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a schoolteacher. He attended ...

36. Collin Friesen

Writer | Sorry for Your Loss

Collin Friesen was born in small town Saskatchewan and grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. The son of a high school teacher and church secretary, Collin got his BA from the University of Manitoba before getting a job as a reporter for a local TV station. After working for the CBC in Alberta for two years,...

37. Bong Joon Ho

Writer | Snowpiercer

Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his filmography is characterized by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the ...

38. John Patrick Shanley

Writer | Moonstruck

John Patrick Shanley was born on October 3, 1950 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Moonstruck (1987), Doubt (2008) and Congo (1995).

39. Paul Mather

Producer | Corner Gas

Paul Mather was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Paul is a producer and writer, known for Corner Gas (2004), Dan for Mayor (2010) and The Rick Mercer Report (2004).

40. Cole Porter

Soundtrack | At Long Last Love

Cole Porter was born June 9, 1891, at Peru, Indiana, the son of pharmacist Samuel Fenwick Porter and Kate Cole. Cole was raised on a 750-acre fruit ranch. Kate Cole married Samuel Porter in 1884 and had two children, Louis and Rachel, who both died in infancy. Porter's grandfather, J.G. Cole, was a...

41. Jackie Collins

Actress | Danger Man

Jackie Collins was born on October 4, 1937 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Danger Man (1960), The Saint (1962) and The Stud (1978). She was married to Oscar Lerman and Wallace Austin. She died on September 19, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

42. Debbie Tucker Green

Writer | Second Coming

Debbie Tucker Green is known for Second Coming (2014), Ear for Eye (2021) and Random (2011).

43. Ileana Pietrobruno

Editor | Cat Swallows Parakeet and Speaks!

Ileana Pietrobruno is known for Cat Swallows Parakeet and Speaks! (1996), Girlfriend Experience (2008) and The Sisters of Gion (1987).

44. Lawrence D. Cohen

Writer | Carrie

Lawrence D. Cohen is an American screenwriter who, although hardly prolific, has worked with some of the most respected names in the genre movie and genre fiction industry. He first came to prominence in the 1970s when he penned the screenplay for the Stephen King adaptation Carrie (1976): the film...

45. Stephen King

Writer | Maximum Overdrive

Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947, at the Maine General Hospital in Portland. His parents were Nellie Ruth (Pillsbury), who worked as a caregiver at a mental institute, and Donald Edwin King, a merchant seaman. His father was born under the surname "Pollock," but used the last name ...

46. Don Mancini

Writer | Chucky

Don Mancini was born on January 25, 1963 in the USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Chucky (2021), Bride of Chucky (1998) and Seed of Chucky (2004).

47. William Peter Blatty

Writer | The Exorcist

William Peter Blatty was born on January 7, 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Exorcist (1973), The Exorcist III (1990) and The Ninth Configuration (1980). He was married to Julie Alicia Witbrodt, Linda Blatty, Elizabeth Gilman and Mary Margaret Rigard. ...

48. Ita Margalit

Writer | The Homestead

Ita Margalit is known for The Homestead (2010), Off-Centre Television (2006) and Cross Words (2008).

49. Roderick Thorp

Writer | Die Hard

Novelist, short-story writer, teacher -- and private detective. He wrote two novels that would be turned into theatrical films, "The Detective" (1966), which became The Detective (1968); and "Nothing Lasts Forever" (1979), which became Die Hard (1988). His 1986 novel "Rainbow Drive" was later ...

50. Danishka Esterhazy

Director | I Was Lorena Bobbitt

Esterhazy began her film studies at the Winnipeg Film Group - the quirky cooperative which also produced filmmakers Guy Maddin and John Paizs. Esterhazy is a graduate of the Director's Lab at the Canadian Film Centre - the renowned film school founded by Norman Jewison. In 2017, Esterhazy was ...

51. Annie Proulx

Writer | Brokeback Mountain

Annie Proulx was born on August 22, 1935 in Norwich, Connecticut, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Brokeback Mountain (2005), The Shipping News (2001) and Barkskins (2020).

52. Robert Bloch

Writer | Psycho

Robert Bloch was born on April 5, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for Psycho (1960), Psycho II (1983) and Psycho (1998). He was married to Eleanor Zalisko Alexander and Marion Holcombe. He died on September 23, 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

53. Ava DuVernay

Writer | Queen Sugar

A director, producer, writer, marketer and film distributor, Ava DuVernay made her feature film debut with the documentary This is the Life (2008), a history on hip hop movement that flourished in Los Angeles in the 1990's. This was followed by series of television music documentaries which ...

54. Marguerite Duras

Writer | Le camion

Ms. Duras was born in southern Vietnam and lost her father at age 4. The family savings of 20 years bought the family a small plot in Cambodia, but everything was lost in a single season's flooding. The disaster killed her mother as a result. After high school in Saigon, Ms. Duras left Indochina to...

55. Ursula K. Le Guin

Writer | Gedo senki

Ursula K. Le Guin was born on October 21, 1929 in Berkeley, California, USA. She was a writer, known for Tales from Earthsea (2006), The Lathe of Heaven (1980) and The Telling. She was married to Charles A. Le Guin. She died on January 22, 2018 in Portland, Oregon, USA.

56. Lawrence Hill

Writer | The Book of Negroes

Lawrence Hill is known for The Book of Negroes (2015), 21 Black Futures (2021) and That Lonesome Road.

57. Dee Rees

Director | Mudbound

Writer/Director Dee Rees is an alumna of New York University's graduate film program and a Sundance Screenwriting & Directing Lab Fellow.

In 2018, Dee became the first Black woman nominated for an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for her highly-acclaimed film Mudbound (2017). The film, ...

58. Chinua Achebe

Writer | Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe was born on November 16, 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria. He was a writer, known for Things Fall Apart (1971), Things Fall Apart (1987) and I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1982). He was married to Christine Chinwe Okoli. He died on March 21, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

59. Lena Waithe

Producer | Master of None

Lena Waithe was born on May 17, 1984 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Master of None (2015), Ready Player One (2018) and Queen & Slim (2019). She has been married to Alana Mayo since November 2019.

60. Tim Minchin

Actor | Upright

Tim Minchin was born on October, 1975, as Timothy David Minchin, and was brought up in Perth, Western Australia. He is an actor, comedian, musician, writer, and director known for Californication (2007), Larrikins (2018), and Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra (2011). He is the composer ...

61. Simon Stephens

Writer | National Theatre Live: Vanya

Simon Stephens is known for National Theatre Live: Vanya (2024), Sea Wall (2012) and Pickpockets (2018).

62. Miranda July

Writer | Me and You and Everyone We Know

Filmmaker Magazine rated her #1 in their "25 New Faces of Indie Film" in 2004!

She is a performance artist and published short story writer. Since becoming a filmmaker, her debut feature, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) has won several film awards.

Daughter of Lindy Hough and Richard ...

63. Richard Wagamese

Writer | Indian Horse

Richard Wagamese was born on October 14, 1955 in Minaki, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for Indian Horse (2017), North of 60 (1992) and Biology of Story (2016). He died on March 10, 2017 in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.

64. Roger Boyer

Writer | Dark Forest

Roger Boyer is known for Dark Forest (2015), The Spider (2017) and Never Trust A Stiff (2018).

65. Victor Headley

Writer | Yardie

Victor Headley is known for Yardie (2018).

66. Henry Farrell

Writer | Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

Henry Farrell was born on September 27, 1920 in Madera, California, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and What's the Matter with Helen? (1971). He was married to Molly Dodd. He died on March 29, 2006 in Pacific ...

67. Toni Morrison

Writer | Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison was born on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for Song of Solomon, Beloved (1998) and American Experience (1987). She was married to Harold Morrison. She died on August 5, 2019 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA.

68. Sam Shepard

Actor | August: Osage County

Sam Shepard was born Samuel Shepard Rogers in Fort Sheridan, IL, to Jane Elaine (Schook), a teacher, and Samuel Shepard Rogers, a teacher and farmer who was also in the army. As the eldest son of a US Army officer (and WWII bomber pilot), Shepard spent his early childhood moving from base to base ...

69. Giovanni Arpino

Writer | Scent of a Woman

Giovanni Arpino was born on January 27, 1927 in Pola, Istria, Italy [now Pula, Istria, Croatia]. He was a writer, known for Scent of a Woman (1992), The Young Nun (1964) and Boccaccio '70 (1962). He was married to Caterina Brero. He died on December 10, 1987 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.

70. George Toles

Writer | The Saddest Music in the World

George Toles was born on July 31, 1948 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for The Saddest Music in the World (2003), Brand Upon the Brain! (2006) and Windfall (2019).

71. Stan Lee

Producer | Black Panther

Stan Lee was an American comic-book writer, editor, and publisher, who was executive vice president and publisher of Marvel Comics.

Stan was born in New York City, to Celia (Solomon) and Jack Lieber, a dress cutter. His parents were Romanian Jewish immigrants. Lee co-created Spider-Man, the Hulk, ...

72. John Hughes

Writer | Planes, Trains & Automobiles

John Hughes was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He was credited for creating some of the most memorable comedy films of the 1980s and the 1990s, when he was at the height of his career. He had a talent for writing coming-of-age stories, and for depicting fairly realistic...

73. Oscar Wilde

Writer | The Picture of Dorian Gray

A gifted poet, playwright and wit, Oscar Wilde was a phenomenon in 19th-century England. He was illustrious for preaching the importance of style in life and art, and of attacking Victorian narrow-mindedness.

Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1854. He studied at Trinity College in Dublin before ...

74. Rose Troche

Director | Go Fish

Rose Troche was born in 1964 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Go Fish (1994), The Safety of Objects (2001) and Bedrooms and Hallways (1998).

75. Jenny Han

Writer | XO, Kitty

Jenny Han is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series and The Summer I Turned Pretty series.

She is the creator and co-showrunner of The Summer I Turned Pretty series on Prime Video. She's an executive producer on the films To All the Boys I've Loved ...

76. Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writer | Il Decameron

Pier Paolo Pasolini achieved fame and notoriety long before he entered the film industry. A published poet at 19, he had already written numerous novels and essays before his first screenplay in 1954. His first film Accattone (1961) was based on his own novel and its violent depiction of the life ...

77. Robert Borges

Stunts | Violent Night

Robert Borges is known for Violent Night (2022), The Exorcism of Molly Hartley (2015) and Channel Zero (2016).

78. Katreese Barnes

Soundtrack | Mean Girls

Katreese Barnes was born on January 3, 1963 in Fort Carson, Colorado, USA. She was a composer and actress, known for Mean Girls (2004), Saturday Night Live (1975) and MacGruber (2010). She died on August 3, 2019 in Manhattan, New York, USA.

79. Irving Stone

Writer | Lust for Life

Irving Stone was born on July 14, 1903 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was a writer, known for Lust for Life (1956), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) and Magnificent Doll (1946). He was married to Jean Factor and Lona Mosk. He died on August 26, 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

80. G. Abatino

Writer | Zouzou

G. Abatino is known for Zou Zou (1934).

81. Susie Moloney

Writer | Suburbanight

Susie Moloney is known for Suburbanight (2018), Romi (2023) and Fear Thy Neighbor (2014).

82. Darin Scott

Producer | Menace II Society

Darin Scott is known for Menace II Society (1993), Dark House (2009) and Caught Up (1998).

83. Darcy Waite

Self | That's AWSM

Darcy Waite is a prolific Indigenous Filmmaker and writer-director. Darcy is a graduate of the National Screen Institute (NSI) Series Incubator Program, where he developed an original 1/2-hour scripted series, Zombies Don't Eat Stupid People. He also developed an original 1/2 hour series, The ...

84. Alex van Warmerdam

Actor | Ober

Alex van Warmerdam was born on August 14, 1952 in Haarlem, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He is an actor and writer, known for Waiter (2006), Borgman (2013) and The Northerners (1992). He is married to Annet Malherbe. They have two children.

85. Rikki Beadle Blair

Director | Kickoff

Rikki Beadle Blair was born on July 25, 1961 in Camberwell, London, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Kickoff (2011), Bashment (2011) and Stonewall (1995).

86. Alex Haley

Writer | Malcolm X

Alex Haley served in the United States Coast Guard during the Second World War, Korean Conflict, and Cold War, and was the first African-American Coast Guardsman in the modern era to reach the rank of Chief Petty Officer. This paved the way for many other black men and women to rise into the senior...

87. Danny Boyle

Director | 127 Hours

Daniel Francis Boyle is a British filmmaker, producer and writer from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester. He is known for directing 28 Days Later, 127 Hours, Trainspotting, T2 Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, Millions, Shallow Grave, The Beach, Yesterday, and Steve Jobs. He won many awards for ...

88. Kenya Barris

Writer | Black·ish

Kenya Barris was born on August 9, 1974 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Black-ish (2014), #BlackAF (2020) and You People (2023). He has been married to Rainbow Barris since December 3, 1999. They have six children.

89. Tracy Oliver

Writer | Girls Trip

Tracy Oliver is known for Girls Trip (2017), First Wives Club (2019) and Harlem (2021).

90. Mark Brown

Writer | Barbershop

Mark Brown was born in Birmingham, England, UK. He is known for Barbershop (2002), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004) and Two Can Play That Game (2001).

91. Numa Perrier

Actress | The Perfect Find

Born in Haiti and raised in small-town USA, Numa Perrier is an actress, writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. She produces and develops TV and film projects under her production banner, House of Numa. She trained in acting under Milton Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and Polina ...

92. Genevieve Nnaji

Actress | Road to Yesterday

Genevieve Nnaji started her acting career as a child actress in the then-popular television soap opera "Ripples" at the age of 8. She was also featured in several commercials, some of which included Pronto beverage and Omo detergent. In 1998, at the age of 19, she made her debut in the growing ...

93. Kasi Lemmons

Actress | The Silence of the Lambs

Kasi Lemmons was born on February 24, 1961 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She is an actress and director, known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Harriet (2019) and Candyman (1992). She has been married to Vondie Curtis-Hall since August 19, 1995. They have two children.

94. Katori Hall

Writer | P-Valley

Katori Hall is a television creator/producer hailing from Memphis, Tennessee. She is currently the showrunner and Executive Producer of the Starz drama series, P-VALLEY, which she adapted from her stage play Pussy Valley. The critically acclaimed and record-breaking series returned for its second ...

95. Robert Zemeckis

Writer | Back to the Future

A whiz-kid with special effects, Robert is from the Spielberg camp of film-making (Steven Spielberg produced many of his films). Usually working with writing partner Bob Gale, Robert's earlier films show he has a talent for zany comedy (Romancing the Stone (1984), 1941 (1979)) and special effect ...

96. James Wan

Writer | Saw

James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian film producer, screenwriter and film director of Malaysian Chinese descent. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw (2004) and creating Billy the puppet. Wan has also directed Dead Silence (2007), Death Sentence (2007), Insidious (2010)...

97. Justin Simien

Writer | Dear White People

Justin Simien is known for Dear White People (2014), Dear White People (2017) and Bad Hair (2020).

98. Patricia Highsmith

Writer | The Talented Mr. Ripley

Patricia Highsmith was born on January 19, 1921 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. She was a writer, known for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Strangers on a Train (1951) and The Two Faces of January (2014). She died on February 4, 1995 in Locarno, Switzerland.

99. Mart Crowley

Producer | The Boys in the Band

Mart Crowley was born on August 21, 1935 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for The Boys in the Band (2020), Hart to Hart (1979) and The Boys in the Band (1970). He died on March 7, 2020 in New York City, New York, USA.

100. Anita Daher

Actress | A Dog's Purpose

Born in Eastern Canada, Anita is an actor, producer, and writer primarily of German, Irish and Icelandic heritage. She is also a successful children's book author with more than 17 published books, and is a former Chair of the Writers' Union of Canada. She thinks too much, rises too early, and in ...