Women writers /directors
List activity
14 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
42 people
- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Lisa McGee was born on 17 August 1980 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK. She is a writer and producer, known for Derry Girls (2018), The Deceived (2020) and Being Human (2008).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge is an English actress, producer, and writer. She created, wrote, and starred in the Channel 4 sitcom Crashing (2016) and the BBC comedy-drama series Fleabag (2016-2019). She was also the show-runner and executive producer for the first series of the BBC America thriller series Killing Eve (2018).
For Fleabag, she received the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance, as well as three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Comedy Series. Both Fleabag and Killing Eve have been named among the greatest television series of the 21st century by The Guardian.
Waller-Bridge starred in the comedy series The Café (2011-2013) and the crime drama series Broadchurch (2015). She also appeared in films, including Albert Nobbs (2011), The Iron Lady (2011), and Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017), and played the droid L3-37 in the Star Wars anthology prequel Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). She co-wrote the screenplay for the 25th James Bond film, titled No Time to Die (2020).
Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge was born to Theresa Mary (née Clerke) and Michael Cyprian Waller-Bridge. Her father founded the electronic trading platform Tradepoint, while her mother works for the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers. The Waller-Bridge family were landed gentry of Cuckfield, Sussex. On her father's side, she is also a descendant of The Rev. Sir Egerton Leigh, 2nd Baronet, Conservative MP for Mid Cheshire from 1873 to his death in 1876. Her maternal grandfather was Sir John Edward Longueville Clerke, 12th baronet, of Hitcham, Buckinghamshire. Waller-Bridge grew up in Ealing, London, and has a younger brother named Jasper, a music manager, and an older sister named Isobel Waller-Bridge, a composer who wrote the music for Fleabag. Her parents are divorced. She was educated at St Augustine's Priory, a Catholic independent school for girls, followed by the independent sixth form college DLD College London in Marylebone, London. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Amy Meredith Poehler was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to high school teachers Eileen Frances (Milmore) and William Grinstead Poehler. Her brother is comedian Greg Poehler. She is of Irish (from her mother) and English, Irish, German, and Portuguese (from her father) descent. Amy was first involved with sketch comedy when she joined the group My Mother's Flea Bag when she was attending Boston College. In 1993, she went to Chicago where she studied at Second City and Improv Olympics. There, she met Del Close, who later became the voice of the UCB opening scene. In 1996, she joined the Upright Citizen's Brigade with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. Later on, the group moved to New York and became a Comedy Central show. The show went on only for three seasons. However, the group stayed together at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater. Today, the theater is one of the leading centers for improv and sketch shows.
After the Upright Citizens Brigade (1998) sketch show came and went, Amy joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975) in 2001. By the end of Christmas break of that year, she became a regularly featured performer. She has brought a slew of great performances on every show, such as impersonations of celebrities such as Kelly Ripa or Sharon Osbourne. When Jimmy Fallon left at the end of the 2003-04 season, Amy joined Tina Fey as a co-anchor for Weekend Update. Her Hollywood star is also growing bright, as she has done several feature films, including Blades of Glory (2007) with her then-real-life husband and Arrested Development (2003) star Will Arnett; and the Farrelly brothers-directed remake of The Heartbreak Kid (1993), in which she stars alongside another Arrested Development (2003) star, Jason Bateman.
Among her 2010s film starring roles are Sisters (2015), with Tina Fey, and The House (2017), with Will Ferrell. Having played one of her first roles in the indie Wet Hot American Summer (2001), she reprised her role in the television mini-series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015) and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017).
Amy was married to Canadian actor and comedian Will Arnett from 2003 to 2016. The couple have two children.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Chelsea Vanessa Peretti is a stand-up comedian, actress and writer who appeared in FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013). The show won two Golden Globe Awards in 2014 including one for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy.
Peretti starred alongside Andy Samberg, Terry Crews and Joe Lo Truglio as 'Gina Linetti,' the 99th precinct's administrator. Entertainment Weekly called Peretti one of the "buzziest breakouts" and the New York Post called her a "comedic gem, whose dry wit is unparalleled." Chelsea was nominated for Favorite Comedy Supporting Actress - Television for the 2014 American Comedy Awards and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" also received a nomination for Favorite Comedy Series. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" was nominated for a 2014 People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy and received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical. The hit series was just picked up for a eighth season.
Peretti had a recurring role as 'Farley' on the popular sketch comedy series for Comedy Central, Kroll Show (2013) and has appeared on Louie (2010) and Tosh.0 (2009) and she also plays multiple characters on Adult Swim's China, IL (2008). Peretti has been praised as one of Variety's "Top 10 Comics to Watch," Comedy Central's "Hotlist" comedians, and in Vanity Fair's 2013 "Comedy" issue. She was also recognized by TIME magazine as having one of the "140 Best Twitter Feeds" of 2013.
Peretti is also an accomplished writer, having written for Parks and Recreation (2009), Saturday Night Live (1975), The Sarah Silverman Program. (2007), Portlandia (2011) and Kroll Show (2013).
Peretti tours her stand-up at comedy clubs, theaters and festivals across the world.- Director
- Additional Crew
- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Michaela was born on October 1st 1987 as Michaela Boakye-Collinson to Ghanaian parents and brought up in Tower Hamlets by her mother, a devout member of the Pentecostal church who instilled her religion into Michaela and her sister - something that she would later draw on for her play 'Chewing Gum Dreams. ' Already a poet and performance artist , releasing the album 'Fixing Barbie' in 2009, she obtained a 2.1 in English at university before enrolling at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was awarded the Laurence Olivier bursary, graduating in 2012. In 2013 she made her stage debut at the Bush Theatre, where she would perform 'Chewing Gum Dreams', later in the year transferring to the National Theatre, where she would return in 2014 to appear in 'Medea' with Helen McCrory. In 2015 a sitcom based on 'Chewing Gum Dreams', its title shortened to 'Chewing Gum' began its run on Channel 4 television and in 2016 she was back on that channel in another comedy-drama 'The Aliens'.- Producer
- Production Designer
- Writer
Lisa Hanawalt was born on 19 June 1983 in Santa Clara, California, USA. She is a producer and production designer, known for Tuca & Bertie (2019), BoJack Horseman (2014) and The Exquisite Corpse Project (2012).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Maya Erskine was born on 7 May 1987 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for PEN15 (2019), Wine Country (2019) and Blue Eye Samurai (2023).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Anna Konkle was born on 7 April 1987 in Vermont, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for PEN15 (2019), Rosewood (2015) and Plus One (2019).- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Based in the UK, Mae Martin is an award-winning Canadian comedian and writer whose most recent stand-up show Dope focused on addiction and was nominated for the main Edinburgh Comedy Award while earning four and five star national reviews. The show has since been turned in to a stand-up special for Netflix which recorded at Montreal's Just for Laughs festival and is released on New Years Day 2019 as part of Netflix's first global stand-up series. Mae is the co-host of BBC Radio 4 podcast Grown-up Land and their second BBC Radio 4 series Mae Martin's Guide To... was nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award. Mae is also the new host of Channel 4's arts strand Random Acts and their first non-fiction book, a guide to sexuality for young adults, will be released in May 2019.
Performing comedy since the age of 13, Mae trained in improvisation and sketch comedy at the Toronto outpost of the internationally acclaimed comedy institution, The Second City. Notable alumni include Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Steve Carrell and Mike Myers. They received their first Canadian Comedy Award nomination at 15, and has since won for writing on the sketch series The Baroness Von Sketch Show. At 16, they made their Canadian television debut on The Comedy Network's Cream of Comedy, and was the youngest ever nominee for the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award.
Since moving to the UK in 2011, Mae has also been awarded Best international Performer at the Brighton Fringe and has been a finalist in The Hackney New Act of the Year Awards, The Musical Comedy Awards and the Amused Moose Laughter Awards. On UK television, Mae has performed on shows such as Sky One's The Russell Howard Hour, Comedy Central at the Comedy Store, BBC3's Live At the BBC and sitcom Uncle. It was Mae's debut British TV appearance as the stand-up guest on BBC3's Russell Howard's Good News that first catapulted them into the consciousness of the UK's online teen community. The clip gathered thousands of views on YouTube, and Mae has emerged as a bright new role model for nervous teens everywhere, gaining a vast and engaged following.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Ally Pankiw is a Canadian writer/director known for directing the full first season of Netflix's "Feel Good," and blocks on TV shows like Hulu's "Shrill" and "The Great." She has also written on "Schitt's Creek" and is developing a new, original series with its star and creator, Dan Levy, for Hulu and 20th Century Fox Animation. Pankiw is also the writer and director of the indie feature film, "Brooke & Sam," a dramedy starring Rachel Sennott and Jason Jones, which was produced with Telefilm, Ontario Creates, and WME Independent. In 2021, she directed the pilot for the NBC comedy, "Someone Out There."
Pankiw has directed and produced music videos for artists such as Ariana Grande, Janelle Monae, Phoebe Bridgers, MUNA, The Vamps, and Lil Jon. She has also directed commercials and branded content for top brands like Pepsi, Amazon, adidas, Nylon, WestJet, and Chanel. Bravo has funded two of her short films, "Stake" and "The Inherent Traits of Connor James," and her short films have screened at noted festivals like TIFF's Inside Out, Outfest, The LA Comedy Fest and Frameline. She has directed two CBC Comedy digital series, "An Awkward Girl Dates" and "Terrific Women," which was nominated for a 2018 Canadian Screen Award for best series.
She was selected as one of Film Independent's 2018 Directing Lab fellows for her feature film, "The Hiding House," and her career has been supported by organizations such as TIFF, the Harold Greenberg Fund, Bell Media and the OMDC. She runs a mentorship program that mentors young, female filmmakers.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Annie Weisman is known for Physical (2021), About a Boy (2014) and Desperate Housewives (2004). Annie has been married to William B. Macomber since 8 October 2006.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Liz Feldman was born on 21 May 1977. She is a writer and producer, known for Dead to Me (2019), 2 Broke Girls (2011) and The Great Indoors (2016). She has been married to Rachael Cantu since 14 April 2013. They have one child.- Writer
- Producer
Metzler is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Her plays, including CRY IT OUT, ELEMENO PEA, CLOSE UP SPACE, CARVE, and THE MAY QUEEN, have been produced Off-Broadway and in theaters across the USA (and London). She is a proud alum of The Juilliard School and NYU Tisch, where she earned an MFA in Dramatic Writing. Originally from Kingston NY in the Hudson Valley, Metzler is now based in Los Angeles.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Aidy Bryant was born on 7 May 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), Shrill (2019) and Human Resources (2022). She has been married to Conner O'Malley since 28 April 2018.- Producer
- Writer
- Jacqui Honess-Martin is known for Maternal (2023).
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Ilana Glazer was born on 12 April 1987 in Long Island, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Broad City (2014), Rough Night (2017) and Broad City (2010). She has been married to David Rooklin since 25 February 2017.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Abbi Jacobson is an American comedian, actress, writer, and illustrator. She is best known for co-creating and co-starring in the Comedy Central series Broad City (2014) alongside Ilana Glazer, which was based on a web series of the same name that the two have created three years prior. Jacobson is also known for voicing Katie Mitchell in The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) and Princess Bean in Disenchantment (2018), and would later go on to co-create and star in the series A League of Their Own (2022), which was based on the 1992 film of the same name.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Naomi Ekperigin was born in Harlem, New York, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Me Time (2022), Yes Day (2021) and Mythic Quest (2020).- Director
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Marti Noxon was born on 25 August 1964 in California, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Sharp Objects (2018) and To the Bone (2017).- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Andrea Arnold was born on 5 April 1961 in Dartford, Kent, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for American Honey (2016), Fish Tank (2009) and Red Road (2006).- Actress
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Ingrid Escajeda is an American writer/producer originally from San Diego, California. With early plans to become a doctor, Ingrid earned her undergrad degree in Biology at UC Berkeley, where some acting and comedy classes piqued her interest in entertainment and led to a MFA in film from USC. After spending a few years as a comedy writer, Ingrid transitioned to drama where she earned her stripes writing for FX's legendary show, Justified. She's now a sought-after EP and showrunner known for Apple's Wool and Netflix's Griselda. A huge foodie and proud cat lady, Ingrid lives in Los Angeles with her furry feline moron, Hazel.- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Sally Wainwright was born in 1964 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She is a writer and producer, known for Happy Valley (2014), Last Tango in Halifax (2012) and Gentleman Jack (2019).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Laurie Nunn was born in May 1986 in the UK. Laurie is a writer and producer, known for Sex Education (2019), Gone to Earth (2007) and The Summer House.- Additional Crew
- Animation Department
- Writer
Domee Shi was born on 19 August 1989 in Chongqing, China. She is a writer, known for Turning Red (2022), Inside Out (2015) and Bao (2018).- Producer
- Writer
- Actress
Charise Castro Smith is known for Encanto (2021), The Haunting of Hill House (2018) and Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Elizabeth Stamatina Fey was born in 1970 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia, to Xenobia "Jeanne" (Xenakes), a brokerage employee, and Donald Henry Fey, who wrote grant proposals for universities. Her mother is Greek, born in Piraeus, while her father had German, Northern Irish, and English ancestry. Going by the name of Tina, Fey considered herself a "supernerd" during her high school and college years. She studied drama at the University of Virginia, and after graduating in 1992, she headed to Chicago, the ancestral home of American comedy. While working at a YMCA to support herself, she started Second City's first set of courses. After about nine months, a teacher told her to just skip ahead and audition for the more selective Second City Training Center. She failed but about eight weeks later, she re-auditioned and got into the year-long program. She ended up spending many years at The Second City in Chicago where many SNL cast members first started out. Then in 1995, Saturday Night Live (1975) came to The Second City's cast, including Fey's friend, Adam McKay, as a writer, searching for new talent. What they found was Tina Fey. When Adam was made Head writer, he suggested Fey should send a submission packet over the summer with six sketches, 10 pages each. Tina took the advice and sent them. After Lorne Michaels met her and saw her work she was offered a job a week later. She admitted that she was extremely nervous working in the legendary Studio 8H; being a foot shorter than everyone else, younger, and being one of the only female writers at the time. After a few years, Tina made history by becoming the first female head writer in the show's history. Tina also made her screen debut as a featured player during the 25th season by co-anchoring Weekend Update with Jimmy Fallon. Since Tina and Jimmy have taken over Weekend Update it has been considered the best ever. This year she made it to full fledged star by becoming a regular cast member, though she is hardly on the show, besides Update. And during the past two summers, Tina and Rachel Dratch performed their two-woman show to critical acclaim in both Chicago (1999) and New York (2000) and made their Aspen Comedy Festival Debut. Tina is married to Jeff Richmond, a Second City director and lives in New York City.- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Carrie Brownstein was born on September 27, 1974 in Seattle, Washington, USA. She is a founding member of the rock band Sleater-Kinney, and was formerly in the band Excuse 17. Alongside Fred Armisen, she is the writer, actress and co-developer of the sketch comedy show Portlandia (2011) on IFC TV.- Producer
- Writer
- Actress
Karey Dornetto is known for Portlandia (2011), Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens (2020) and Arrested Development (2003).- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Sarah Schneider is known for The Other Two (2019), Saturday Night Live (1975) and Master of None (2015).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Christian Schwochow was born on 23 September 1978 in Bergen auf Rügen, East Germany. He is a director and producer, known for Cracks in the Shell (2011), Novemberkind (2008) and Munich: The Edge of War (2021).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Sharon Lorencia Horgan is an Irish actress, writer, director, comedian and producer. She is best known for the comedy series Pulling (2006-2009) and Catastrophe (2015-2019), both of which she starred in and co-wrote. She also created the HBO comedy series Divorce (2016-2019).
Horgan won the 2008 British Comedy Award for Best TV Actress for Pulling, while the show's 2009 hour-long final episode won the British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Drama. A seven-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 2016 BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Writer for Catastrophe (with Rob Delaney). Catastrophe was also nominated for Scripted Comedy in the 2020 BAFTA TV Awards and for the 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. She has also won five Irish Film and Television Awards in both acting and writing for her work on Catastrophe. Horgan also won the 2021 Irish Film and Television Award in the category of Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in Dating Amber (2020).
Horgan has appeared in the films Valiant (2005), Imagine Me & You (2005), Man Up (2015), and Game Night (2018), Military Wives (2019), Dating Amber (2020), and BBC Two film Together (2021).