Emma Forrest (born 26 December 1976) is an English film director, screenwriter and novelist.

Early life

Forrest was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. Her American mother, Judy Raines, was also a writer, mainly for British television, and her father is British.

Journalism

At age fifteen, Forrest wrote a story on

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

for the ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

''. She left school to write her "Generation X" column for the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', writing about various

britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

/ indie bands "on the road". The vanished Manic Street Preacher member

Richey Edwards Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...

was the first person Forrest interviewed for the column. Forrest has worked for '' Vogue'', '' Vanity Fair'', ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'', '' Time Out'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' and ''Interview and Blackbook'', for whom she interviewed

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

and

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

. In the autumn of 2011, she contributed an essay to the album '' Ceremonials'' by

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band formed in London in 2007 by lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden and harp ...

that was included in the CD booklet.

Novels

Forrest has written four novels: ''Namedropper'' (1998), ''Thin Skin'' (2002), ''Cherries in the Snow'' (2005) and ''Royals'', which was released in the UK on 31 October 2019.

Anthologies

In 2001 Forrest contributed to an anthology on the writer J. D. Salinger titled ''Love & Squalor'', with an essay describing Salinger's influence on some current young writers. In 2007 she co-wrote and edited her first non-fiction book, ''Damage Control – Women on the Therapists, Beauticians, and Trainers Who Navigate Their Bodies'', which was an anthology of essays of the emotional pain women suffer for their own physical wellbeing. The book features contributions from many well-known women, including Helen Oyeyemi, Marian Keyes and Sarah Jones.

Memoir

Forrest wrote a memoir, ''Your Voice in My Head'' (2011), concerning the death of her psychiatrist and her subsequent break-up with her partner. The memoir was announced as a feature film adaptation to be written by Forrest and directed by Francesca Gregorini, with Emma Watson in the lead role. In August 2022, Forrest published a second memoir, ''Busy Being Free'', concerning her divorce and return to living in London as a single parent.

Screenwriting

A screenplay by Forrest about musician

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

, ''Becoming Music'', was bought by Brad Pitt's production company

Plan B Entertainment Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November 2001 by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston. The company first signed with Warner Bros. as a replacement for ...

in September 2000. In 2009 her screenplay ''LIARS (AE)'' was bought by Scott Rudin at

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

, with

Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...

attached to direct. In 2009 she was listed on '' Variety''s "Top Ten Screenwriters to Watch". Other screenplays in development:''Know Your Rights'' ( Film4) and ''How Could You Do This To Me'' (

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Personal life

Forrest was in a relationship with actor

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...

, whom she met in 2008. She refers to him in her memoir as "GH", short for "Gypsy Husband". In June 2012, Forrest married Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn. They had one child together in 2014 and divorced in 2016. She has been diagnosed with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

and

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive, long-term pattern of significant interpersonal relationship instability, an acute fear of Abandonment (emotional), abandonment, and intense emotiona ...

Filmography

* '' Untogether'' (2017) (director, screenplay)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Emma 1976 births Living people 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists English women journalists English women novelists British women screenwriters Jewish English writers English women non-fiction writers People with bipolar disorder People with borderline personality disorder Writers from London 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century American Jews English women memoirists