Jessica Bendinger (born November 10, 1966) is an American screenwriter and novelist.

Education

Bendinger graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1988. She is a classmate of screenwriter Andrew W. Marlowe. While at Columbia, Bendinger interned for the music magazine ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

''. After graduation, she worked for

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

Career

In 1991, Bendinger directed a music video for

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

's song "Fly Girl." The video was nominated for a ''Billboard'' Music Award. Bendinger has written several films, including 2000's '' Bring It On'', 2004's '' First Daughter'' and 2006's '' Aquamarine''. She was also a writer and creative consultant for ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'', as well as a producer of the 2005 film '' The Wedding Date'', starring

Debra Messing Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the television series ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox (1995–1997) an ...

. She wrote and directed ''

Stick It ''Stick It'' is a 2006 American teen comedy-drama film starring Jeff Bridges, Melissa Peregrym and Vanessa Lengies written and directed by '' Bring It On'' writer Jessica Bendinger; the film marks her directorial debut and to date her onl ...

'', released in April 2006 as her directorial debut. Bendinger is a former

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

who worked for designer Stephen Sprouse, and appeared on the runway in the film ''Slaves of New York''. Bendinger's first novel, ''The Seven Rays'', was published in 2009 by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. The story follows 17-year-old Beth Michaels, who uncovers elements of the supernatural on her journey of self-discovery. In 2011, the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

filed an injunction against the creators of '' Bring It On: The Musical'', arguing that Bendinger had rights in the licensing of the theater production. "In a complaint..., the Writers Guild of America accused the producers of the movie of exploiting the screenwriter’s rights by producing a new musical based on the story." They said they would allow the musical to proceed if Bendinger were properly credited and compensated. In 2011, Bendinger co-wrote "Hurts to Think", a track on

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music, country singer. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place ...

's album '' Four the Record''; and "Mostly Grey", co-written with Emerson Hart, which appears on his 2014 album ''Beauty in Disrepair''. In 2019 Bendinger, alongside her friend Michael Seligman, a writer for ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

'', hosted the podcast ''Mob Queens'', uncovering the forgotten history of Anna Genovese, wife of mobster

Vito Genovese Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American ''American Mafia, mafioso'' and the leader of the Genovese crime family in New York City. A childhood friend and criminal associate of Lucky Luciano, Genovese ...

, who testified against him in court and ran drag clubs in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

Awards and acknowledgments

She was named by '' Glamour Magazine'' as one of Hollywood's "Most Powerful Women Under 40" in 2005. Bendinger was inducted into the

Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

(AMPAS) in July 2014.

Filmography

References

External links

Official websiteJessica Bendinger's blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bendinger, Jessica American women screenwriters American women film directors 1966 births Living people Film directors from Illinois 21st-century American novelists American women novelists 21st-century American women writers Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American screenwriters Columbia College (New York) alumni Screenwriters from Illinois 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers