Jessica Goldberg (born 1975) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, screenwriter, and television writer. In 1999, she won the

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

for her play, '' Refuge''. Goldberg is the creator of the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

series '' The Path'' and served as the showrunner for the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair * ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms * ''Away'' (TV series ...

''.

Early life and education

Goldberg is from

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...

. She was raised Jewish and grew up in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

. Goldberg is a graduate of the dramatic writing program at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Career

She was a Tennessee Williams Fellow at the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee, United States. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an off ...

and a recipient of the Le Compte de Nouy stipend, the first annual Helen Merrill Award, and a 2000 Berrilla Kerr Foundation Award. She was also a resident at New River Dramatists, a member of the

PEN American Center PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide thr ...

. Her play ''What You Need'' was commissioned by the

Atlantic Theater Company The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...

. ''Refuge'' premiered at Playwrights' Horizons and won the 1999

. Goldberg's television and screen work includes "The Prince of Motor City" (2008) for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, starring

Piper Perabo Piper Lisa Perabo ( ; born October 31, 1976) is an American actress. Following her breakthrough in the comedy-drama film '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000), she starred in ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), its sequel '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), '' ...

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an Irish-American actor. He made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984), and has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), '' Stakeout'' (1987) ...

Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell is known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. She has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman for ...

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...

, and

Morris Chestnut Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film ''Boyz n the Hood''. He has appeared in feature films such as ''G.I. Jane'', ''The Brothers (2001 film), The B ...

. Goldberg created the television series '' The Path'', which aired three seasons on Hulu before being cancelled in 2022. Goldberg served as the

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

for the 2020 Netflix series ''

''. She received a

Gracie Award The Gracie Awards are awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWM) in the United States, to celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contr ...

in 2021 in the category, "Showrunner Fiction – Drama," for her work on ''Away''.

Personal life

Goldberg married actor and playwright

Hamish Linklater Hamish Linklater (born July 7, 1976) is an American actor and playwright. He is known for playing Matthew Kimble in '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'' (2006–2010), Andrew Keanelly in '' The Crazy Ones'' (2013–2014), and Clark Debussy i ...

in 2002. They have one child, Lucinda Rose, but later divorced.

Works

Plays

* ''Babe'' (2022) * ''Better'' (2014) * ''Affair Play'' * ''Katzman and the Mayor'' * ''The Schaubuhne'' * ''Body Politic'' * ''Sex Parasite'' * * * * Premiered at Theatre Off-Park, New York City in 1999 * ''The Hunger Education'' * ''What You Need'' * ''Ward 57''

Screenplays

* ''

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

'' * ''Absent Hearts'' * ''The Amadou Ly Story'' for

The Kennedy/Marshall Company The Kennedy/Marshall Company (K/M) is an American Filmmaking, film and television production company, based in Santa Monica, California, founded in 1992 by spouses Kathleen Kennedy (producer), Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall (filmmaker), Fra ...

* ''Passing Strange'' for HBO * ''Delerium'' for Mazur/Fox 2000 * ''Heart of a Soldier'' for Universal/Josh Schwartz

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

*
''JESSICA GOLDBERG'', doollee

"9 Touchstones", Jessica Goldberg, Florida Stage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Jessica 1975 births Living people American women dramatists and playwrights American women screenwriters 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers Tisch School of the Arts alumni Juilliard School alumni Sewanee: The University of the South fellows People from Provincetown, Massachusetts American showrunners American women television producers Television producers from Massachusetts Jewish women writers