Winnie Holzman (born August 18, 1954 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

) is an American dramatist, screenwriter, and poet. She is known for having created the ABC television series ''

My So-Called Life ''My So-Called Life'' is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995. It is distributed by The B ...

'', which led to a nomination for a scriptwriting Emmy Award in 1995, as well as her work writing for ''

thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust any ...

'' and '' Once and Again''. Holzman has garnered fame for her work on Broadway, most notably for co-writing the smash stage musical ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

''.

Early life

Holzman was born in

but grew up in Roslyn Heights, New York on Long Island in a

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 ...

family. Although she was shy, she wanted to become an actor. At 13, she attended the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York.

Career

Holzman graduated with a degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. She won many poetry awards, including the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreach ...

Prize. Holzman had been performing in sketch comedy for years, "determined to never make a dime," but on the recommendation of a college friend, she applied to attend the

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

program at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. She eventually got her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Musical Theatre Writing on a full scholarship.

Arthur Laurents Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter. After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S. Army during World War II ...

was one of her mentors. Other teachers included Stephen Sondheim,

Hal Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...

Betty Comden Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned ...

Adolph Green Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Ar ...

, and Leonard Bernstein.

Theater

Her stage writing credits include ''Serious Bizness''. While at NYU she wrote the musical ''

Birds of Paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of ...

'' (with composer David Evans), which was produced off-Broadway in 1987 and directed by Laurents. It got scathing reviews. Holzman made her

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 ...

debut in 2003 when she wrote the

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...

for the Stephen Schwartz musical ''

'', based on the novel of the same name by

Gregory Maguire Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', '' Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many ...

. She won the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. For two years, in addition to the award ...

and was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...

Television writing

In 1988, Holzman's husband, actor-writer

Paul Dooley Paul Dooley (born Paul Brown; February 22, 1928) is an American character actor, writer and comedian. He is known for his roles in '' Breaking Away'', '' Sixteen Candles'', and ''Popeye''. Early life Dooley was born Paul Brown on February 22, ...

, got a job in Los Angeles on the TV series '' Coming of Age''. While visiting her brother, cinematographer Ernest Holzman, on the set of ''

'', writer Richard Kramer suggested she should write for the show.

Ed Zwick Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker and producer of film and television. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and epic historical film genres, including ''About Last Night, Glory, Legends of the Fall,'' and ' ...

and

Marshall Herskovitz Marshall Schreiber Herskovitz (born February 23, 1952) is an American film director, writer, and producer, and currently the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America. Among his productions are ''Traffic'', '' The Last Samurai'', '' ...

bought a

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

from Holzman, and she went on to become a staff writer on'' thirtysomething'' in 1989. She wrote nine episodes during its last two seasons. Zwick and Herskovitz later executive produced ''

'', a show about a teenage girl. Holzman went from story editor to executive story editor to a creator and writer of the show. Holzman has collaborated on various short films with her daughter, Savannah. They penned a TV

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

based on the Sasha Paley novel ''Huge'', which ABC Family

greenlit To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...

in January 2010 with a direct-to-series order. ''

Huge Huge may refer to: * Huge cardinal, a number in mathematics * ''Huge'' (Caroline's Spine album), 1996 * ''Huge'' (Hugh Hopper and Kramer album), 1997 * ''Huge'' (TV series), a television series on ABC Family * Huge (digital agency) * ''Huge'' ...

'' premiered in late June 2010. The show team included Holzman, Dooley, her daughter, and her brother, who was the cinematographer. The series was cancelled on October 4, 2010 due to low ratings compared with the network's other summer hits. From 2014 to 2016, Holzman was one of the producers and writers of the Showtime series ''

Roadies Roadie refers to support personnel who travel with a band on tour. Roadie or roadies may also refer to: * ''Roadie'' (1980 film), a 1980 film starring Meat Loaf * ''Roadie'' (2011 film), a 2011 American comedy film * ''Roadies'' (TV series), an A ...

,'' a behind-the-scenes comedy about people working with a touring rock band created by

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

(executive producing), and Holzman, that ran for a season. The series starred Luke Wilson,

Imogen Poots Imogen Gay Poots (born 3 June 1989) is an English actress and model. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic '' Jimi: All Is by My Side'' (2013), Debbie Raymond in ...

Keisha Castle-Hughes Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand actress who rose to prominence for playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana in the film '' Whale Rider''. She was nominated for several awards, including the Academy Award for Bes ...

, Peter Cambor, Rafe Spall and Carla Gugino.

Acting

Holzman has had a number of acting spots, primarily cameo roles on her own TV shows and a role as a therapist on '' Curb Your Enthusiasm''. She also had a small role in the film ''

Jerry Maguire ''Jerry Maguire'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama sports film written, produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe; it stars Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, and Regina King. Produced in part by James L. Brooks, it was ins ...

''. She wrote and performed several personal essays at the Un-Cabaret spoken word shows in Los Angeles and is featured on their CD ''Play the Word (Vol. 1)''.

Filmography

Writing credits

*''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...

'' (1990) (TV) (one episode only) *''

Thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust any ...

'' (1990–1991) (TV) *''

'' (1994–1995) (TV) (Creator) *''

'Til There Was You ''Til There Was You'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by Scott Winant and starring Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dylan McDermott, and Sarah Jessica Parker. The screenplay, written by Winnie Holzman, traces thirty-odd years in the paral ...

'' (1997) *'' Once and Again'' (1999–2002) (TV) *''

'' (2003) (Stage) *''

'' (2010) (TV) (Co-creator) *''

'' (2016) (TV) *'' Wicked: Part One'' (2024) *'' Wicked: Part Two'' (2025)

Acting credits

*''

'' as Sherry Eisen (1990) (TV) *'' Major Dad'' as Mrs. Burns (1992) (TV) *''

'' as Cathy Kryzanowski (1994) (TV) *''

'' as Women's Group Member (1996) *'' Love, American Style'' as Miss Hepker (1999) (TV) *'' Once and Again'' as Shelley (2000–2002) (TV) *'' Roswell'' as Madame Vivian (2000–2002) (TV) *''

Hopeless Pictures ''Hopeless Pictures'' is an American adult animated comedy series starring the voices of Lisa Kudrow and Bob Balaban, and produced and broadcast by the IFC. The cartoon follows fictional film producer Mel Wax, voiced by Michael McKean Michael ...

'' as Actress (2005) (TV) *'' Curb Your Enthusiasm'' as Dr. Salvin (2007) (TV) *''Checkmate'' as "Mrs. Sappington" (2009) (short film)

Personal life

Holzman has been married to character actor

, whom she met at an improv acting class in New York, since November 18, 1984. Holzman notes that their 26-year age difference is "... a big part of our lives, but in a way it's meaningless." They have a daughter Savannah Dooley and live in

Toluca Lake Toluca Lake is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owner ...

Los Angeles, California 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' ...

References

External links

*
Internet Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holzman, Winnie 1954 births 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American television actresses Television producers from California American women television producers American television writers American women poets Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni Drama Desk Award winners Living people Tisch School of the Arts alumni Princeton University alumni American women dramatists and playwrights American women screenwriters Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American poets American women television writers Writers from New York City People from Roslyn Heights, New York People from Toluca Lake, Los Angeles 20th-century American women writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Television producers from New York City Screenwriters from California