Jessie Nelson is an American film producer, director, and writer.

Career

Nelson began her career acting with the theater group

Mabou Mines Mabou Mines is an experimental theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City. Founding and history Mabou Mines was founded by David Warrilow, Lee Breuer, Ruth Maleczech, JoAnne Akalaitis, and Philip Glass, at the house of Akalait ...

at the

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American ...

in New York and she went on to perform in

Shakespeare In The Park Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare's plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This c ...

. Nelson began her directing career with the award-winning short film ''To the Moon, Alice'' (1990), which she also wrote. The film starred

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), ''October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' Ca ...

and was part of a television program for Showtime titled ''The Showtime 30-Minute Movie''. Her first feature film was '' Corrina, Corrina'' (1994) which she wrote, directed, and produced. It starred

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

and

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Primet ...

. The film was suggested by her life. She went on to write, direct, and produce ''

I Am Sam ''I Am Sam'' (stylized i am sam) is a 2001 American comedy film co-written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with an intellectual disability, Dakota Fanning as his bright and inquisitive daughter, and Michelle ...

'' (2001) starring

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

. She received the first

Stanley Kramer Award The Producers Guild of America Awards were originally established in 1990 by the Producers Guild of America as the Golden Laurel Awards, created by PGA Treasurer Joel Freeman with the support of Guild President Leonard Stern, in order to honor ...

from the Producers Guild for ''I Am Sam'' in 2002. Her most recent film is '' Love the Coopers'' (2015), starring a large ensemble cast, including

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...

, and

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

. She co-wrote '' Stepmom'' (1998) and '' The Story of Us'' (1999), and co-wrote and produced ''Because I Said So'' and produced ''

Fred Claus ''Fred Claus'' is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, screenplay by Dan Fogelman and a story by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Eliz ...

'' based on a bedtime story she would tell her daughter. In 2014 she produced '' Danny Collins'' which starred Al Pacino and

Annette Bening Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominati ...

. She wrote the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical adaptation of the movie ''

Waitress Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending ...

'' with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, directed by

Diane Paulus Diane Marie Paulus (born 1966) is an American theater and opera director who is currently the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.Colleen Walsh"Paulus reaches beyond boards" ''Harvar ...

, which premiered on Broadway in April 2016. She co-wrote and directed the musical '' Alice by Heart'' with

Steven Sater Steven Sater is a Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Laurence Olivier Award-winning American poet, playwright, lyricist, television writer and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the book and lyrics for the Tony Award-winning 2006 Broadway musi ...

and music by

Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed m ...

, which opened Off-Broadway in February 2019. Nelson co-authored the 2011 children's book ''Labracadabra'' (Penguin, 2011, ) with Karen Leigh Hopkins.

Personal life

She is married to director Bryan Gordon. They have a daughter, actress

Molly Gordon Molly June Gordon is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the drama TV series '' Animal Kingdom'' (2016–2018), as Nicky, and in the comedy films '' Life of the Party'' (2018) as Maddie, ''Booksmart'' (2019) as Triple A, and ...

. She is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Jessie American film directors American film producers 20th-century American screenwriters University of California, Santa Cruz alumni American women film directors American women screenwriters Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American children's writers American women children's writers American women film producers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers American musical theatre librettists Women librettists