Jessie Nelson is an American film producer, director, actress and writer.
Career
Nelson began her career acting with the theater group
Mabou Mines at the
Public Theater in New York and she went on to perform in
Shakespeare In The Park.
Nelson began her directing career with the award-winning short film ''To the Moon, Alice'' (1990), which she also wrote. The film starred
Chris Cooper and was part of a television program for
Showtime titled ''The Showtime 30-Minute Movie''.
Her first feature film was ''
Corrina, Corrina'' (1994) which she wrote, directed, and produced. It starred
Whoopi Goldberg and
Ray Liotta. The film was suggested by her life. She went on to write, direct, and produce ''
I Am Sam'' (2001) starring
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...
.
She received the first
Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild for ''I Am Sam'' in 2002.
Her most recent film is ''
Love the Coopers'' (2015), starring a large ensemble cast, including
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
,
John Goodman, and
Alan Arkin.
She co-wrote ''
Stepmom'' (1998) and ''
The Story of Us'' (1999), and co-wrote and produced
''Because I Said So'' and ''
Fred Claus'', the latter of which is based on a bedtime story she would tell her daughter. In 2014 she produced ''
Danny Collins'' which starred
Al Pacino and
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. With a career spanning over four decades, she is known for List of Annette Bening performances, her versatile work across screen and stage. Bening has received List of awards an ...
.
She wrote the
Broadway musical adaptation of the movie ''
Waitress'' with music and lyrics by
Sara Bareilles
Sara Beth Bareilles ( ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. Bareilles has earned various accolades, including ...
, directed by
Diane Paulus, which premiered on Broadway in April 2016. She also co-directed and co-produced the
live film recording of the musical's 2021 remounting, which will premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
in June 2023. She co-wrote and directed the musical ''
Alice by Heart
''Alice by Heart'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater, and a book by Sater with Jessie Nelson (filmmaker), Jessie Nelson. The musical is inspired by Lewis Carroll, Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel ''Alice's ...
'' with
Steven Sater and music by
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has com ...
, which opened
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
in February 2019.
Nelson co-authored the 2011 children's book ''Labracadabra'' (Penguin, 2011, ) with Karen Leigh Hopkins.
Personal life
She is married to director
Bryan Gordon. They have a daughter, actress
Molly Gordon (b. 1995).
She is
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 ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Jessie
Film directors from Los Angeles
American film producers
20th-century American screenwriters
University of California, Santa Cruz alumni
American women film directors
American women screenwriters
Jessie Nelson
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Year of birth missing (living people)
American children's writers
American women children's writers
American women film producers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American women writers
American musical theatre librettists
Women librettists