Dana Fox (born September 18, 1976) is an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. She is best known as the writer of '' The Wedding Date'' (2005), ''

What Happens in Vegas ''What Happens in Vegas'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Tom Vaughan and written by Dana Fox. It stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher as a couple who get married and win a casino jackpot prize during a drunken night in L ...

'' (2008), and the television comedy series ''

Ben and Kate ''Ben and Kate'' is an American single-camera sitcom television series that ran on Fox from September 25, 2012, to January 22, 2013, as part of the 2012–13 television season. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Chernin En ...

'' (2012–13).

Career

Fox graduated from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

in 1998 with a degree in English and art history, and went on to attend the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC), where she took part in the

USC School of Cinematic Arts The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...

' Peter Stark Producing Program and graduated in 2000. She had originally intended to become a

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

, but when assigned a homework task at USC to write a 30-page screenplay, she found that she enjoyed writing more and decided to become a screenwriter instead. She became an assistant to writers

Alfred Gough Alfred Gough (born August 22, 1967) is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner. He is best known as co-creator of The WB/The CW's Superman prequel series ''Smallville'' and Netflix's ''Addams Family'' spin-off series ''Wednesday''. Al ...

and

Miles Millar Miles Millar (born 1967) is an Australian-British screenwriter, showrunner, producer and director. He is known for co-creating the long-running Superman prequel television series ''Smallville'' and the Tim Burton Netflix ''Addams Family'' spin- ...

while they were creating the

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

television series ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/G ...

'', and later worked for writer-director John August. While represented by Gough and Millar's agent, established screenwriter

Jessica Bendinger Jessica Bendinger (born November 10, 1966) is an American screenwriter and novelist. Education Bendinger graduated from Columbia University in 1988. She is a classmate of screenwriter Andrew W. Marlowe. While at Columbia, Bendinger interned f ...

sought after an unpublished writer who would work inexpensively on a screenplay. Fox had not yet written a sample screenplay, but Bendinger was so impressed with her ideas for the story that Fox was hired to write the script. The produced film was '' The Wedding Date'', which ultimately was panned by critics but a financial success. After ''The Wedding Date''s release, she was attached to three separate writing projects. Her next produced screenplay was ''

'', which was bought by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

in a high six-figure deal for the script's first draft, and which stars

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for fo ...

and

Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a ...

. After ''What Happens in Vegas'' was bought, Fox performed rewrites on ''

27 Dresses ''27 Dresses'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, and starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden. The film was released in Australia on January 10, 2008, and in the United States on ...

'' (2008) and '' Knight and Day'' (2010), and was named one of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine's "10 Screenwriters to Watch" of 2007. In 2012, Fox developed a half hour comedy for FOX based loosely on her older brother. The show, ''

'', premiered on September 25, 2012. Fox is good friends with fellow writers

Diablo Cody Brook Maurio (''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, '' Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unl ...

('' Juno''),

Lorene Scafaria Lorene Scafaria (born 1978) is an American filmmaker, playwright, musician, and former actress. She wrote and directed the films '' Seeking a Friend for the End of the World'' (2012), '' The Meddler'' (2015), and '' Hustlers'' (2019), in additio ...

(''

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist ''Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Written by Lorene Scafaria and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and D ...

''), and Liz Meriwether ('' No Strings Attached'') with whom she collaborates in a writing group they call the "Fempire". In 2012, Fox and the "Fempire" received th
Athena Film Festival
Award for Creativity and Sisterhood.The Athena Film Festival: http://athenafilmfestival.com

Personal life

Fox was born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, New York, and lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Fox married Quinn Emmett on October 23, 2010 at

Historic Jamestowne Historic Jamestown is the cultural heritage site that was the location of the 1607 James Fort and the later 17th-century town of Jamestown in America. It is located on Jamestown Island, on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia and operated as ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Dana 1976 births Living people Screenwriters from New York (state) American women screenwriters People from Brighton, Monroe County, New York Stanford University alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Film producers from New York (state) American women film producers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers