Jessica Sharzer (born October 26, 1972) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and editor. She is known for her work on the Showtime drama series ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'' and the FX horror series ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

''. She wrote the screenplays for the films ''

Nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...

'' (2016), ''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romance film, romantic drama film, drama Dance in film, dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tel ...

'' (2017), and '' A Simple Favor'' (2018).

Life and career

She was born in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

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. She grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, graduated from the

Horace Mann School Horace Mann School (also known as Horace Mann or HM) is an American private, independent college-preparatory school in the Bronx, founded in 1887. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from the New Yo ...

, Wesleyan University, and studied film 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 ...

. Sharzer was all set for a career in academia, until she took a summer film course at

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...

. Realizing then that she was "not meant for academia," Sharzer left Berkeley and enrolled in NYU Film School. In 2002, she won the school's Wasserman Award for her graduate thesis film, ''The Wormhole''. She was a crew member on the film ''

Happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

'', then went on to be an assistant director on the short film ''Billy Twist''. She finished out the 1990s as a crew member on several short films. In 2003, Sharzer met Paul Gutrecht at a luncheon for the Los Angeles Film Festival. They married in 2005. She co-produced, directed, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2004

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

'' Speak'', based on the novel of the same name. The film garnered her a nomination for a

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

in children's television scriptwriting, a nomination 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 ...

Award for outstanding directorial achievement in children's programs, and won her the Woodstock Film Festival's Audience Award for best narrative feature. In 2007, she directed an episode for the Showtime

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

, ''

''. She also wrote the 2010 television movie, ''Turn the Beat Around'', which was produced by

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 ...

and

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. In 2011, she became an episode writer and supervising producer for the serial horror-

television series ''

'', created by Ryan Murphy and

Brad Falchuk Bradley Douglas Falchuk (born March 1, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating the television series ''Glee'', ''American Horror Story'', '' Scream Queens'', and '' Pose'' with Ryan Murph ...

. The series airs on the cable television channel FX. The Horror Writers Association awarded her the 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Screenplay for her episode " Afterbirth". In 2016, she wrote the screenplay of the feature film ''

'', based on the novel of the same name, as well as the musical ''

'', a television remake of the 1987 hit film. She adapted Darcey Bell's novel '' A Simple Favor'' into a screenplay for a 2018 film of the same name.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharzer, Jessica 1972 births Screenwriters from New York (state) Jewish American screenwriters American television producers New York Film Academy alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Living people Writers from Iowa City, Iowa American women screenwriters