Female screenwriters - Oscar winners or nominated

1. Jane Campion

Jane Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and now lives in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Having graduated with a BA in Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington in 1975, and a BA, with a painting major, at Sydney College of the Arts in 1979, she began filmmaking in the early...

2. Sofia Coppola

Actress | The Godfather Part III

Sofia Coppola was born on May 14, 1971 in New York City, New York, USA as Sofia Carmina Coppola. She is a director, known for Somewhere (2010), Lost in Translation (2003), and Marie Antoinette (2006). She has been married to Thomas Mars since August 27, 2011. They have two daughters, Romy and ...

3. Emma Thompson

Actress | Sense and Sensibility

Emma Thompson was born on April 15, 1959 in Paddington, London, into a family of actors - father Eric Thompson and mother Phyllida Law, who has co-starred with Thompson in several films. Her sister, Sophie Thompson, is an actor as well. Her father was English-born and her mother is Scottish-born. ...

4. Diana Ossana

Writer | Brokeback Mountain

Diana Ossana was born on August 24, 1949 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Brokeback Mountain (2005), Streets of Laredo (1995) and Dead Man's Walk (1996).

5. Callie Khouri

Producer | Thelma & Louise

Raised in Texas and Kentucky by her doctor father and mother. Went to Purdue University to study landscape architecture but switched to drama. Moved to Nashville after college to be with her family before heading to Los Angeles in 1982 to study at the Strasburg Institute. Worked for a commercials ...

6. Pamela Wallace

Writer | Witness

Pamela Wallace is known for Witness (1985), Love's Unending Legacy (2007) and The Place God Forgot. She was previously married to Earl W. Wallace.

7. Fran Walsh

Writer | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Fran Walsh is a New Zealand writer and wife of New Zealand film director Peter Jackson. She co-wrote The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, which is seen by many as Jackson's magnum opus and one of the most significant film series ever made. She also wrote The Hobbit trilogy, a prequel to Jackson's ...

8. Philippa Boyens

Writer | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Philippa Boyens is a New Zealand writer and producer who has co-written several of Peter Jackson's films. She co-wrote the Academy Award winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Hobbit trilogy which is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings films, The Lovely Bones, Mortal Engines, and the 2005 remake of ...

9. Claudine West

Writer | Mrs. Miniver

Claudine West was born on January 16, 1890 in Nottingham, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Mrs. Miniver (1942), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and Random Harvest (1942). She died on April 11, 1943 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.

10. Frances Marion

Writer | The Big House

The most renowned female screenwriter of the 20th century, and one of the most respected scripters of any gender, Frances Marion was born in San Francisco. She modeled and acted and had some success as a commercial artist. She entered into journalism and served in Europe as a combat correspondent ...

11. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Writer | Howards End

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was born on May 7, 1927 in Cologne, Germany. She was a writer, known for Howards End (1992), A Room with a View (1985) and The Remains of the Day (1993). She was married to Cyrus Jhabvala. She died on April 3, 2013 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

12. Diablo Cody

Writer | Juno

Diablo Cody is originally from Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Minnesota to live with her Internet boyfriend, Jonny who later became her husband. While there, she decided on a whim to take up stripping as a hobby of sorts.

She was working at an ad agency and got a promotion. The job wore her ragged ...

13. Muriel Box

Writer | The Seventh Veil

Muriel Box was born on September 22, 1905 in New Malden, Surrey [now in Kingston upon Thames, London], England, UK. She was a writer and director, known for The Seventh Veil (1945), Mr. Lord Says No (1952) and A Novel Affair (1957). She was married to Gerald Gardiner and Sydney Box. She died on May...

14. Sarah Y. Mason

Writer | Little Women

Sarah Y. Mason was born on March 31, 1896 in Pima, Arizona, USA. Sarah Y. was a writer, known for Little Women (1933), Magnificent Obsession (1954) and The Girl Said No (1930). Sarah Y. was married to Victor Heerman. Sarah Y. died on November 28, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

15. Nancy Dowd

Writer | Slap Shot

Nancy Dowd was born in 1945 in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA. She is a writer and director, known for Slap Shot (1977), Coming Home (1978) and Love (1982).

16. Julie Delpy

Actress | Trois couleurs: Blanc

Julie Delpy was born in Paris, France, in 1969 to Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet, both actors.

She was first featured in Jean-Luc Godard's Detective (1985) at the age of fourteen. She has starred in many American and European productions since then, including Disney's The Three Musketeers (1993), ...

17. Tamara Jenkins

Director | The Savages

Tamara Jenkins was born on May 2, 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a director and writer, known for The Savages (2007), Private Life (2018) and Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). She has been married to Jim Taylor since 2002. They have one child.

18. Alice Arlen

Writer | Silkwood

Alice Albright Patterson was born in November 1940 to the journalist and former aviatrix Josephine Patterson Albright and her husband artist Ivan Albright. Brought up in Chicago and educated at Radcliffe College and the University of Columbia Alice returned to Chicago to work as a journalist and ...

19. Nora Ephron

Writer | Julie & Julia

Nora Ephron was educated at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. She was an acclaimed essayist (Crazy Salad 1975), novelist (Heartburn 1983), and had written screenplays for several popular films, all featuring strong female characters, such as anti-nuclear activist Karen Silkwood (Silkwood (1983), ...

20. Lisa Cholodenko

Director | The Kids Are All Right

Lisa Cholodenko earned an MFA at Columbia University Film School where she made an award-winning short film Dinner Party (1997) Her feature High Art (1998) won the National Society of Film Critics award for Ally Sheedy's performance and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at Sundance. Both "High Art...

21. Susannah Grant

Writer | Erin Brockovich

Susannah Grant was born on January 4, 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Erin Brockovich (2000), Unbelievable (2019) and The 5th Wave (2016). She has been married to Christopher Henrikson since 1995. They have two children.

22. Lina Wertmüller

Writer | Pasqualino Settebellezze

During the 1970s, Lina Wertmüller emblazoned her name into the pantheon of Italian cinema with a series of intensely polemical, deeply controversial and wonderfully entertaining films. Among the most politically outspoken and iconoclastic members of the second generation of postwar directors - the ...

23. Courtney Hunt

Director | Frozen River

Courtney Hunt was born in 1964 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Frozen River (2008), The Whole Truth (2016) and Utopia (2020).

24. Kristen Wiig

Actress | Bridesmaids

Kristen Carroll Wiig was born on August 22, 1973 in Canandaigua, New York, to Laurie J. (Johnston), an artist, and Jon J. Wiig, a lake marina manager. She is of Norwegian (from her paternal grandfather), Irish, English, and Scottish descent. The family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, before ...

25. Annie Mumolo

Actress | Bridesmaids

Annie Mumolo is the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of the blockbuster feature BRIDESMAIDS in which she also had a memorable cameo as the 'Nervous Woman' who sits on the plane next to Kristen Wiig's character. Other acting roles include a series regular on the critically-acclaimed NBC comedy ...

26. Sarah Polley

Actress | My Life Without Me

Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her ...

27. Jay Presson Allen

Writer | Cabaret

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jay Presson Allen was born Jacqueline Presson in San Angelo, Texas on March 3, 1922, the daughter of a department store manager. Educated at Miss Hockaday's School for Young Ladies in Dallas, Presson in her own words received no education at all. At the age of 18, she ...

28. Shari Springer Berman

Director | American Splendor

Shari Springer Berman was born on July 13, 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and writer, known for American Splendor (2003), Things Heard & Seen (2021) and The Nanny Diaries (2007). She has been married to Robert Pulcini since 1994.

29. Nia Vardalos

Actress | My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Nia Vardalos was born on September 24, 1962 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She is an actress and writer, known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) and I Hate Valentine's Day (2009). She was previously married to Ian Gomez.

30. Lucy Alibar

Writer | Beasts of the Southern Wild

Lucy Alibar is known for Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) and Troop Zero (2019).

31. Bridget O'Connor

Writer | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Bridget was born and raised in Harrow, London. From a large family, she was the second of 5 children. Her parents are Irish, her mother Bridie hails from Limerick and her father Jim is from Cork. As a result, Bridget grew up around Ceilidh bands and dancing. She attended Catholic schools and went ...

32. Bess Meredyth

Writer | Wonder of Women

Bess Meredyth was born on February 12, 1890 in Buffalo, New York, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for Wonder of Women (1929), Morgan's Raiders (1918) and A Woman of Affairs (1928). She was married to Michael Curtiz, Wilfred Lucas and Burton Leslie. She died on July 13, 1969 in Woodland ...

33. Nancy Oliver

Writer | Lars and the Real Girl

Nancy Oliver was born on February 8, 1955 in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Lars and the Real Girl (2007), True Blood (2008) and Six Feet Under (2001).

34. Frances Goodrich

Writer | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Frances Goodrich was born on December 21, 1890 in Belleville, New Jersey, USA. She was a writer, known for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), The Thin Man (1934) and Easter Parade (1948). She was married to Albert Hackett, Henrik Van Loon and Robert Ames. She died on January 29, 1984 in New ...

35. Iris Yamashita

Writer | Letters from Iwo Jima

Born in Missouri, raised in Hawaii and having lived in Guam, California, and Japan at different stages in her life, Iris Yamashita was able to experience a diversity of culture while growing up. She graduated with a B.S. Cum Laude in Bioengineering from UC San Diego and an M.S. in Mechanical ...

36. Joan Harrison

Writer | Rebecca

In 1933, she was hired to be a secretary by Alfred Hitchcock. She soon graduated to reading books and scripts, writing synopses and contributing to scripts. In 1939, she accompanied Hitchcock to Hollywood, working as his assistant and as a writer. In 1941, she was hired as a scriptwriter by MGM. In...

37. Meg Kasdan

Producer | Grand Canyon

Meg Kasdan is known for Grand Canyon (1991), Silverado (1985) and Body Heat (1981). She has been married to Lawrence Kasdan since November 28, 1971. They have two children.

38. Barbara Benedek

Writer | The Big Chill

Barbara Benedek is known for The Big Chill (1983), Sabrina (1995) and Men Don't Leave (1990). She is married to Peter Benedek.

39. Melissa Mathison

Writer | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Melissa Mathison was born on June 3, 1950 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for E.T. (1982), The BFG (2016) and Kundun (1997). She was married to Harrison Ford. She died on November 4, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

40. Anne Spielberg

Producer | Big

Anne Spielberg was born on December 25, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Big (1988), Amazing Stories (1985) and The Killings at Outpost Zeta (1980).

41. Naomi Foner

Producer | Running on Empty

Naomi Foner was born on March 15, 1946 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Running on Empty (1988), Very Good Girls (2013) and Moon Flower of Flying Tigers. She was previously married to Stephen Gyllenhaal and Eric Foner.

42. Anna Thomas

Writer | The Haunting of M.

Anna Thomas was born on July 12, 1948 in Stuttgart, Germany. She is a writer and producer, known for The Haunting of M. (1979), El Norte (1983) and Frida (2002).

43. Tess Slesinger

Writer | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Tess Slesinger was born on July 16, 1905 in New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer, known for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), The Bride Wore Red (1937) and Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). She was married to Frank Davis and Herbert Solow. She died on February 21, 1945 in Los Angeles, ...

44. Nancy Meyers

Writer | It's Complicated

Nancy Jane Meyers is an American filmmaker. She has written, produced, and directed many critically and commercially successful films including Private Benjamin (1980), Irreconcilable Differences (1984), Baby Boom (1987), Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride Part II (1995), The Parent ...

45. Valerie Curtin

Writer | ...And Justice for All

Valerie Curtin was born on March 31, 1941 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for And Justice for All (1979), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) and All the President's Men (1976). She was previously married to Barry Levinson.

46. Anna Pavignano

Writer | Il postino

Anna Pavignano is known for The Postman (1994), Le vie del Signore sono finite (1987) and Pensavo fosse amore... invece era un calesse (1991).

47. Lenore J. Coffee

Writer | Four Daughters

Novelist and screenwriter, educated at Dominican College in San Rafael, California. An avid movie enthusiast in her youth, she came to films after replying to an advertising campaign launched by actress Clara Kimball Young, who was on the lookout for better scripts. Coffee won the competition and ...

48. Elizabeth Reinhardt

Writer | Laura

Elizabeth Reinhardt was born on March 21, 1909 in Ohio, USA. She was a writer, known for Laura (1944), Cluny Brown (1946) and El cantante de Napoles (1935). She was married to John Reinhardt. She died on January 21, 1954 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

49. Agnieszka Holland

Director | Pokot

Having graduated from FAMU in Prague film (1971), Agnieszka Holland returned to Poland and began her film career working with Krzysztof Zanussi as assistant director, and Andrzej Wajda as her mentor. Her first feature film was PROVINCIAL ACTORS (1978), one of the flagship pictures of the "cinema of...

50. Debra Granik

Director | Leave No Trace

Debra Granik (born February 6, 1963) is an American New York City-based independent film and documentary film director and screenwriter. She is most known for 2004's Down to the Bone, which starred Vera Farmiga, 2010's Winter's Bone, which starred Jennifer Lawrence in her breakout performance and ...

51. Dorothy Parker

Writer | Saboteur

Dorothy Rothschild was born on August 22, 1893 into a family of comfortable financial means. Raised by her father and Stepmother after her mother's death, she was given an excellent education for the times. Highly intelligent, she pursued a career after her formal education and proved herself to be...

52. Anne Rosellini

Producer | Leave No Trace

Anne Rosellini is known for Leave No Trace (2018), Winter's Bone (2010) and Down to the Bone (2004).

53. Anna Hamilton Phelan

Writer | Mask

Anna Hamilton Phelan is known for Mask (1985), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Girl, Interrupted (1999).

54. Terri Tatchell

Writer | District 9

Terri Tatchell is known for District 9 (2009), Chappie (2015) and Yellow (2006).

55. Beth Henley

Writer | Crimes of the Heart

Beth Henley was born on May 8, 1952 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for Crimes of the Heart (1986), True Stories (1986) and Swing Shift (1984).

56. Naomi Sheridan

Writer | In America

Naomi Sheridan is known for In America (2002), My Left Foot (1989) and We Have Each Other (2016).

57. Josephine Lovett

Writer | Our Dancing Daughters

Josephine Lovett was born on October 21, 1877 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for Our Dancing Daughters (1928), Annie Laurie (1927) and The Fighting Blade (1923). She was married to John S. Robertson. She died on September 17, 1958 in Rancho Santa Fe, ...

58. Becky Johnston

Writer | House of Gucci

Becky Johnston is known for House of Gucci (2021), The Prince of Tides (1991) and Seven Years in Tibet (1997).

59. Elizabeth Hill

Writer | The Citadel

Elizabeth "Betty" Hill acquired her small place in film history when she married twice-divorced director King W Vidor in 1932 and became his script assistant for the next several years, gaining co-writer credits on a few of his major films like the socially-conscious "Our Daily Bread" and "The ...

60. Elaine May

Actress | Small Time Crooks

Elaine May (born under the name Elaine Iva Berlin) is an American actress, comedian, film director, playwright, and screenwriter from Philadelphia. Her professional career started in the 1950s and is still ongoing. She has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. She ...

61. Hilary Henkin

Writer | Wag the Dog

Hilary Henkin was born on November 19, 1952 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Hilary is a writer and producer, known for Wag the Dog (1997), Road House (1989) and Road House (2024).

62. Gladys Hill

Writer | The Man Who Would Be King

Gladys Hill was born in 1916. She was a writer and actress, known for The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Stranger (1946) and Victory (1981). She died on April 8, 1981 in New York City, New York, USA.

63. Janice Loeb

Cinematographer | The Quiet One

Janice Loeb was born on December 6, 1902 in the USA. She was a cinematographer and director, known for The Quiet One (1948), In the Street (2013) and Steps of Age (1950). She died on February 18, 1996 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

64. Gladys Lehman

Writer | Meet Joe Black

Gladys Lehman was born on January 24, 1892 in Gates, Oregon, USA. She was a writer, known for Meet Joe Black (1998), Luxury Liner (1948) and Two Girls and a Sailor (1944). She was married to Benjamin H. Lehman Jr.. She died on April 7, 1993 in Newport Beach, California, USA.

65. Helen Levitt

Writer | All in the Family

Helen Levitt was born on December 6, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer, known for All in the Family (1971), The Bionic Woman (1976) and The Jean Arthur Show (1966). She was married to Alfred Lewis Levitt. She died on April 3, 1993 in Encino, Los Angeles, California, ...

66. Lillian Hellman

Writer | The Little Foxes

During the 1930s, it was fashionable to be a part of the radical political movement in Hollywood. Lillian Hellman devoted herself to the cause along with other writers and actors in their zeal to reform. Her independence set her apart from all but a few women of the day, and gave her writing an ...

67. Ruth Gordon

Actress | Rosemary's Baby

When Ruth Gordon convinced her father, a sea captain, to let her pursue acting she came to New York and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She acted in a few silents made at Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1915. She made her Broadway debut in "Peter Pan" as Nibs the same year. The next 20 ...

68. Betty Comden

Soundtrack | On the Town

Songwriter ("New York, New York", "Lonely Town", "The Party's Over", "Just in Time"), author and actress. educated at New York University with a Bachelor of Science degree. While a student, she acted with the Washington Square Players. She was a member of the Revuers, a night club act which also ...

69. Suzanne De Passe

Producer | Lonesome Dove

Suzanne De Passe was born on July 19, 1946 in the USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Lonesome Dove (1989), Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1983) and Lady Sings the Blues (1972).

70. Gloria Katz

Writer | Howard the Duck

Gloria Katz was born on October 25, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Howard the Duck (1986), American Graffiti (1973) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). She was married to Willard Huyck. She died on November 25, 2018 in Los Angeles, ...

71. Virginia Kellogg

Writer | White Heat

Virginia Kellogg was born on December 3, 1907 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was a writer, known for White Heat (1949), Caged (1950) and T-Men (1947). She was married to Albert Mortenseen, Frank Lloyd, Thomas Milton Fine and Walter Cochrane. She died on April 8, 1981 in Los Angeles, ...

72. Suzanne Schiffman

Writer | Le dernier métro

Suzanne Schiffman was born on September 27, 1929 in Paris, France. She was a writer and assistant director, known for The Last Metro (1980), Day for Night (1973) and The Story of Adele H (1975). She died on June 6, 2001 in Paris, France.

73. Harriet Frank Jr.

Writer | Hud

Harriet Frank Jr. was born on March 2, 1923 in Portland, Oregon, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Hud (1963), The Cowboys (1972) and Norma Rae (1979). She was married to Irving Ravetch. She died on January 28, 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

74. Sonya Levien

Writer | Interrupted Melody

Sonya, a graduate with a law degree from New York University, briefly practiced law before becoming a magazine editor and fiction writer. After several of her stories were adapted to the screen, she became a screenwriter. Levien wrote several screenplays for Will Rogers films and for Fox studios ...

75. Bridget Boland

Writer | Anne of the Thousand Days

Bridget Boland was born on March 13, 1913 in St George's Hanover Square, London, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), The Prisoner (1955) and Gaslight (1940). She died on January 19, 1988 in Surrey, England, UK.

76. Fay Kanin

Writer | Friendly Fire

This screenwriter and playwright began working in Hollywood in the early 1940s, usually in collaboration with her husband, Michael Kanin, and blossomed after his retirement as a writer and producer of some of the small screen's most distinguished TV-movies. Statuesque, articulate, with the air of a ...

77. Ariane Mnouchkine

Director | Molière

Ariane Mnouchkine was born on March 3, 1939 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France. She is a director and writer, known for Molière (1978), That Man from Rio (1964) and 1789 (1974).

78. Penelope Gilliatt

Writer | Sunday Bloody Sunday

Penelope Gilliatt was born on March 25, 1932 in London, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), Contrasts (1967) and Centre Play (1973). She was married to John Osborne and Dr. Roger William Gilliatt. She died on May 9, 1993 in London, England, UK.

79. Irma von Cube

Writer | Johnny Belinda

Irma von Cube was born on December 26, 1899 in Hannover, Germany. She was a writer and director, known for Johnny Belinda (1948), Under Secret Orders (1937) and Street of Shadows (1937). She was married to Erwin Kalser. She died on July 25, 1977 in Hollywood, California, USA.

80. Eleanor Perry

Writer | David and Lisa

Eleanor Perry was born in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for David and Lisa (1962), ABC Stage 67 (1966) and Trilogy (1969). She was married to Frank Perry and Leo G. Bayer. She died on March 14, 1981 in New York City, New York, USA.

81. Sally Benson

Writer | Meet Me in St. Louis

Sally Benson was born in St. Louis on September 3 1897. Her family moved to New York, where she spent her formative years and was educated at the Horace Mann School. At the age of seventeen, she took her first job working at the National City Bank, 'singing into a dictaphone', as she later put it. ...

82. 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...

83. Helen Deutsch

Writer | Lili

Screenwriter, songwriter ("Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo"), composer, screenwriter and author, educated at Barnard College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She headed the Theatre Guild press department in 1937-1938. Joining ASCAP in 1953, her chief musical collaborators included Jay Livingston, Bronislaw Kaper, ...

84. Kirsten Sheridan

Writer | In America

Kirsten Sheridan was born on July 14, 1976 in Dublin, Ireland. She is a writer and director, known for In America (2002), Patterns (1999) and Disco Pigs (2001).

85. Renée Taylor

Actress | The Nanny

Renée Taylor was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA to Frieda (née Silverstein) and Charles Wexler. She worked as a comedian in the early 1960s at the New York City nightclub Bon Soir. Her opening act was a then unknown Barbra Streisand. She earned notice for her portrayal of Eva Braun...

86. Isobel Lennart

Writer | Funny Girl

Isobel Lennart was born on May 18, 1915 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer, known for Funny Girl (1968), Love Me or Leave Me (1955) and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). She was married to John Briard Harding. She died on January 25, 1971 in Hemet, California, USA.

87. Melisa Wallack

Writer | Dallas Buyers Club

Melisa Wallack is known for Dallas Buyers Club (2013), Mirror Mirror (2012) and Meet Bill (2007). She is married to Bernie Goldmann.

88. Carol Sobieski

Writer | Fried Green Tomatoes

Carol Sobieski was born on March 16, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Annie (1982) and The Bourne Identity (1988). She died on November 4, 1990 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

89. Emma Donoghue

Writer | Room

Emma Donoghue was born on October 24, 1969 in Dublin, Ireland. She is a writer and producer, known for Room (2015), The Wonder (2022) and Immaculate Conceptions: Inside a Lesbian Baby Boom (2007).

90. Andrea Berloff

Writer | Straight Outta Compton

Andrea Berloff was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for Straight Outta Compton (2015), World Trade Center (2006) and Blood Father (2016). She has been married to Drew Filus since 2004. They have two children.

91. Phyllis Nagy

Director | Call Jane

Phyllis Nagy was born on November 7, 1962 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a writer and director, known for Call Jane (2022), Carol (2015) and Mrs. Harris (2005).

92. Meg LeFauve

Writer | Inside Out

Nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar for the Pixar blockbuster "Inside Out", LeFauve won an Annie Award for that screenplay. LeFauve began her film career as a producer and President of Egg Pictures, Jodie Foster's film company. During that time, LeFauve produced films which were nominated for an ...

93. Allison Schroeder

Writer | Hidden Figures

Allison Schroeder is known for Hidden Figures (2016), Christopher Robin (2018) and Heart of Stone (2023). She has been married to Aaron Brownstein since January 17, 2016.

94. Fannie Flagg

Writer | Fried Green Tomatoes

Fannie Flagg was born on September 21, 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Grease (1978) and Five Easy Pieces (1970).

95. Vanessa Taylor

Writer | The Shape of Water

Vanessa Taylor is known for The Shape of Water (2017), Divergent (2014) and Game of Thrones (2011).

96. 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, ...

97. Emily V. Gordon

Producer | The Big Sick

Emily V Gordon started out as a masters-level couples and family therapist, practicing for about six years before changing careers. She moved on to booking stand up comedy for live audiences and TV, which led to a career as a writer and producer. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Kumail ...

98. Greta Gerwig

Writer | Barbie

Greta Gerwig is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and director. She has collaborated with Noah Baumbach on several films, including Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination, and Mistress America (2015). Gerwig made her solo directorial debut ...

99. Deborah Davis

Writer | The Favourite

Deborah Davis is known for The Favourite (2018), Marie Antoinette (2022) and 5 News Tonight (2014).

100. Nicole Holofcener

Director | Enough Said

Nicole Holofcener was born on March 22, 1960 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Enough Said (2013), Friends with Money (2006) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018). She was previously married to Benjamin Allanoff.