Dame Frances Rosemary Walsh (born 10 January 1959) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

screenwriter and film producer. The partner of filmmaker

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

, Walsh has contributed to all of their films since 1989: as co-writer since ''

Meet the Feebles ''Meet the Feebles'' (also known as ''Frogs of War'' in New Zealand as the film's English fake working title) is a 1989 New Zealand adult puppet musical black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson, and written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Stephen ...

'', and as producer since ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

Trilogy''. She has won three

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for the final film of the trilogy, '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''.

Early life

Walsh was born into a family of Irish descent in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand. She attended Wellington Girls' College intent on becoming a fashion designer, but eventually became interested in music instead. Occasionally taking time off to perform in a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band named The Wallsockets, she attended

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

majoring in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

and graduating in 1981.

Career

Walsh got her screen break writing material for New Zealand producer Grahame McLean on 1983 television film ''A Woman of Good Character (It's Lizzie to those Close)''. Later she wrote scripts for his TV show '' Worzel Gummidge Down Under''. Walsh met Peter Jackson in the mid-1980s during the final stages of production on his low-budget movie '' Bad Taste'', in which aliens serve humans as fast food. Walsh has collaborated with Jackson on the scripts of all his subsequent films, after joining the writing quartet on his next film, the

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

'' (1989). The couple then reteamed with writer Stephen Sinclair on the horror-comedy film that they had begun writing before Feebles, the zombie movie '' Braindead'' (retitled ''Dead Alive'' in the United States, 1992). Walsh and Jackson have not married (2015). They explored new ground with the drama ''

Heavenly Creatures ''Heavenly Creatures'' is a 1994 New Zealand biographical film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh. It stars Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their feature film debuts, with Sarah Peirse, Dian ...

'' (1994). The film was Walsh's idea and was based on the friendship of the Parker-Hulme teenagers, who infamously later killed one of their mothers. The film earned the duo an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. Walsh gave birth to Billy in 1995 and Katie in 1996. Walsh and Jackson returned to a more familiar genre with

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

horror-comedy '' The Frighteners'' (1996), their first film funded by an American studio. They were in talks with Universal to remake ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

'' until 1998's ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

'' and '' Mighty Joe Young'' were first announced, and Universal decided against the film. Universal feared it would be thrown aside by the two higher budget movies. Wanting to try his hand at

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, Jackson turned to

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, ...

to make a film based on the works of writer J.R.R. Tolkien. In 1998,

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

provided the necessary financial backing to make a three-part adaptation of Tolkien's classic ''

''. Walsh, with Jackson and Philippa Boyens, is credited for writing the screenplays for ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) (Stephen Sinclair has a writing credit on the second film: ''The Two Towers''). They shared many awards, including an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for their adapted screenplay for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. She also was one of the film's producers and co-composer of two songs for ''Return of the King'', namely " Into the West" and "A Shadow Lies Between Us", the former song earning her one more Oscar that night. Walsh, Jackson, and Boyens continued their screenplay work together for the 2005 remake of ''

'', which was given the

green light Green Light, green light, green-light or greenlight may refer to: * Green-colored light, part of the visible spectrum * Greenlight, formal approval of a project to move forward Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * Green Light ( ...

by Universal after the Rings trilogy's success. The couple collaborated on the adaptation of the novel '' The Lovely Bones'' and on the three-film adaptation of ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

''. Walsh prefers to remain more private than Jackson or Boyens; she did not contribute an interview to the bonus features on ''The Lord of the Rings'' movie DVDs; however, she did feature on the director/writers' commentary (where she and Jackson discussed that they felt one of them should remain a private figure for the good of their family). Her vocals were used as a significant part of the screech of the Nazgûl in the films.

Honours and awards

She won three

in 2004, for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song, all for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. She has received seven Oscar nominations. In the 2002 New Year Honours, Walsh was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to film. In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, also for services to film.

Filmography

This is her selected filmography as screenwriter, unless noted: * '' Worzel Gummidge Down Under'' (1986–89) * ''

'' (1989) * '' Braindead'' (1992, screenplay, casting director, acting cameo) * ''

'' (1994) * '' Jack Brown Genius'' (1996) * '' The Frighteners'' (1996, screenplay, associate producer, acting cameo) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (2001, screenplay, producer, lyricist for "In Dreams", additional second unit director) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002, screenplay, producer, composer for "Gollum's Song") * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (2003, screenplay, producer, composer for " Into the West" and "A Shadow Lies Between Us") * ''

'' (2005, screenplay, producer) * '' The Lovely Bones'' (2009, screenplay, producer) * '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012, screenplay, producer) * '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'' (2013, screenplay, producer) * '' The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'' (2014, screenplay, producer) * '' Mortal Engines'' (2018, screenplay, producer) * '' Beatles '64 (2024, special thanks)

References

;General sources
"Fran Walsh: The Enigma"
TheOneRing.net. 23 December 2001. * LeVasseur, Andrea
"Fran Walsh: Biography"

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
"Fran Walsh"
NZ On Screen. 22 July 2011.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Fran 1959 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand women writers 21st-century New Zealand women writers Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award Golden Globe Award–winning musicians Golden Globe Award–winning producers Grammy Award winners Hugo Award–winning writers Mass media people from Wellington City Nebula Award winners New Zealand film producers New Zealand lyricists New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand screenwriters New Zealand women film producers New Zealand women screenwriters New Zealand women songwriters People educated at Wellington Girls' College Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Victoria University of Wellington alumni Women science fiction and fantasy writers