Jane Anderson is an American playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and actress. She wrote and directed the feature film '' The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio'' (2005), and wrote the film '' It Could Happen to You'' (1994), starring Nicolas Cage. She won the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie This is a list of the winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Winners and nominations 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by network * HBO � ...

for her work on the miniseries '' Olive Kitteridge'' (2014).

Career

Jane Anderson got her start as an actress, before getting her first writing job as a writer and consultant on the sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (on which she had also appeared). She followed this up by creating the short-lived sitcom '' Raising Miranda'', which was cancelled in its first season. She then had several other TV series gigs, and wrote her first play, ''The Baby Dance'' (1989). Her first film experience was writing the 1993

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

film '' The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom'', starring Holly Hunter; the film was critically acclaimed, and TV critics Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall in their 2016 book '' TV (The Book)'' named it the 2nd greatest American TV movie of all time, behind

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's ''

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

''. She later wrote and directed several other critically acclaimed television movies, including '' The Baby Dance'' (1998), based on her play and starring

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...

and Laura Dern; '' When Billie Beat Bobby'' (2001) starring Holly Hunter and

Ron Silver Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor, director, producer, radio host, and activist. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best ...

; and '' Normal'' (2003), based on her play ''Looking for Normal'' and starring

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. With a career spanning over five decades, she is known for her roles Jessica Lange on screen and stage, on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominati ...

and Tom Wilkinson. She also wrote the segment "1961" of the 2000 HBO film '' If These Walls Could Talk 2'', which won Vanessa Redgrave an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for her portrayal of an elderly lesbian prevented from hospital visitation with her dying long-time companion. She became a writer for the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

television drama ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

'' for the show's second season in 2008. She was nominated for a

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

for Best Dramatic Series for her work on the second season. In 2015, Anderson wrote the documentary '' Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson'' about her great-aunt, Edith Lake Wilkinson, a lesbian and painter who was institutionalized in the 1920s and spent the rest of her life in an asylum for the mentally ill. Anderson cites Wilkinson as an inspiration for her own drawing. In 2017, Anderson wrote the Glenn Close-starring '' The Wife''.

Works and performances

Film

Television

TV movies

Plays

* ''The Baby Dance'' (1989) * ''Looking for Normal'' (2001) * ''Defying Gravity'' * ''The Quality of Life'' (2007) * ''The Escort: An Explicit Play for Discriminating People'' (2011) * ''The Baby Dance: Mixed'' (2018; revised version of ''The Baby Dance'') Other credits

Acting roles

Awards and nominations

for writing '' The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom'' (1993) *

nominations for writing and directing '' The Baby Dance'' (1998) *

nomination for writing '' Normal'' (2003) *

nomination for writing '' If These Walls Could Talk 2'' (2000) (For episode "1961") *

Women in Film Women are involved in the film industry in all roles, including as film directors, actor, actresses, cinematographers, film producers, film criticism, film critics, and other film industry professions, though women have been underrepresented in ...

Lucy Award (2000) in recognition of excellence and innovation in a writing a creative work ('' If These Walls Could Talk 2'') that has enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television * Directors Guild of America Award nomination for directing '' Normal'' (2003) *

for Best Dramatic Series for her work on the second season of ''

'' (2008) * Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award (2008) for Outstanding World Premiere Play for writing ''The Quality of Life'' * Two Ovation Awards (2008) for writing ''The Quality of Life'' *

for Best Long Form Adapted Series for writing '' Olive Kitteridge'' (2015) *

for writing '' Olive Kitteridge'' (2015)

References

External links

*
Profile at Curve
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Jane Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers American television actresses American television directors American television producers American lesbian writers American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights American LGBTQ screenwriters American women dramatists and playwrights American women film directors American women screenwriters American lesbian artists American LGBTQ film directors Lesbian dramatists and playwrights Lesbian screenwriters American women television directors American women television producers American women television writers Primetime Emmy Award winners Writers Guild of America Award winners 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people)