Gillian Robespierre (born June 29, 1978) is an American director and writer, known for writing and directing the films ''

Obvious Child ''Obvious Child'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Gillian Robespierre (in her directorial debut) and stars Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann and David Cross. The story follows Donna, a stand-up com ...

'' and ''

Landline A landline is a physical telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber from the subscriber's premises to the network, allowing multiple phones to operate simultaneously on the same phone number. It is also referred to as plain old ...

''.

Early life

Robespierre was born to a Jewish family and raised in New York City. In 2005 she graduated from the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

, where she majored in Film and Video.

Career

Robespierre began her career working as a production assistant on big budget features like '' American Gangster''. She also worked for the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

until 2014. In 2009, Robespierre co-wrote (with Anna Bean and Karen Maine) and directed the short film ''Obvious Child'', about a young woman who is impregnated after a one-night stand and decides to have an abortion. Robespierre approached

Jenny Slate Jenny Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and writer. After early acting and stand-up roles on television, Slate gained recognition for her live variety shows in New York City and for co-creating the children's ...

to star in the lead role after seeing her perform at a comedy club. Robespierre later expanded the short into her 2014 feature film debut ''

'' with Slate once again playing the lead role. The film premiered at the

2014 Sundance Film Festival The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Utah, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opene ...

where it was acquired by

A24 Films A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company was founded in 2012 by ...

. In early 2015, Robespierre announced she was developing a comedy pilot for FX with Elisabeth Holm, who co-wrote ''

'', starring

and

Ari Graynor Ariel Geltman Graynor (born April 27, 1983) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''The Sopranos'' (2001), ''Fringe'' (2009-2010), ''Bad Teacher'' (2014), '' I'm Dying Up Here'' (2017), and '' Monsters: ...

. Robespierre's second film, ''

'', premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

on January 20, 2017, followed by a theatrical release on July 21, 2017. The film stars

Abby Quinn Abby Quinn (born ) is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2023 M. Night Shyamalan horror film ''Knock at the Cabin''. Early life and education Quinn was born in Bloomfield, Michigan. Her parents divorced when she was young. S ...

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. A prominent figure in American television, she is known for her roles both on stage and screen and has received numerous accolades including four Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe A ...

John Turturro John Michael Turturro ( ; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award a ...

, and

Jay Duplass Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr. (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author widely known for his films ''The Puffy Chair'' (2005), ''Cyrus'' (2010), and '' Jeff, Who Lives at Home'' (2011), made in collaboration with his younger br ...

. It was announced in January 2021 that Robespierre would direct an adaptation of

Melissa Broder Melissa Broder (born August 29, 1979) is an American author, essayist and poet. Her work includes the novels ''The Pisces'' (Penguin Random House 2018), ''Milk Fed''Simon and Schuster2021), and ''Death Valley'' (Scribner, 2023); the poetry collec ...

's novel ''The Pisces'', about a woman and her "erotic infatuation with a merman". The film will star

Claire Foy Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix drama series ''The Crown (TV series), The Crown'' (2016–2023), for which List of awards and nominations r ...

Filmography

As director

Television *'' Casual'' (4 episodes) (2017–18) * '' Crashing'' (6 episodes) (2018–19) * ''

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

'' (1 episode) (2018) * ''Jenny Slate: Stage Fright'' (2019) * '' Shrill'' (1 episode) (2019) * '' Mrs. Fletcher'' (2 episodes) (2019) * ''

A Teacher Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms, Inc, also known as A Teacher Partylist, is a party-list in the Philippines. In the May 14, 2007 election An election is a formal gro ...

'' (2 episodes) (2020) * ''

Only Murders in the Building , creator = Steve Martin & John Hoffman , starring = {{Plainlist, * Steve Martin * Martin Short * Selena Gomez * Aaron Dominguez * Amy Ryan * Cara Delevingne * Adina Verson * Michael Cyril Creighton , music ...

'' (2 episodes) (2021) * '' And Just Like That...'' (2 episodes) (2021) * '' Everything's Trash'' (1 episode) (2022) * ''

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine. The protagonists in these stories are teens or pre-teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the p ...

'' (2 episodes) (2025) * ''The Answers'' (1 episode) (TBA); also executive producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robespierre, Gillian 1978 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women writers American women film directors American women film producers Film producers from New York (state) Film directors from New York City Jewish American screenwriters Jewish women writers School of Visual Arts alumni Writers from Brooklyn