Sarah Dunn (born 1970) is an American author and television writer. She is known for her novels ''The Big Love'' and ''Secrets to Happiness'', and the ABC sitcom ''

American Housewife ''American Housewife'' is an American television sitcom created and written by Sarah Dunn and executive produced with Aaron Kaplan, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener, and for the pilot only Ruben Fleischer. The show, which premiered on ABC on October ...

'', starring

Katy Mixon Katy Mixon (born March 30, 1981) is an American actress and model. She began her career playing supporting roles in films such as '' The Quiet'' (2005), ''Four Christmases'' (2008), and '' State of Play'' (2009), before landing the female leading ...

Life and career

After graduating from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, Dunn spent several years working service jobs in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the experience of which informed her first book, ''The Official Slacker Handbook''. Shortly afterward, she moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where she wrote for television series including ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...

'', ''

Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. It aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997 to December 7, 2000. Kirstie Alley starred as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, the owner an ...

'', ''

Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996, to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's off ...

'', and ''

Bunheads ''Bunheads '' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Lamar Damon that aired on ABC Family from June 11, 2012, to February 25, 2013. Starring Sutton Foster, the show centers on a Las Vegas showgirl who ...

''. With ''Spin City'' co-creator Bill Lawrence, Dunn penned

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...

's final episode of the series. Dunn is also a novelist whose works include ''The Big Love'' (2005), ''Secrets to Happiness'' (2009), and ''The Arrangement'' (2017). Her books have been translated into 19 different languages . Dunn is a member of the all-female television writers group “The Ladies Room”, which also includes Vanessa McCarthy, Stephanie Birkitt, and Julie Bean. The group was founded in July 2016. In November 2020, it was announced that, after an "extensive" HR investigation that took place between the fourth and fifth seasons of ''American Housewife'' following allegations of a toxic workplace made by

Carly Hughes Carly Hughes (born October 1, 1982) is an American actress and singer, known for her role in the ABC comedy series, ''American Housewife'' (2016-2020). Early life Hughes was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Columbia, Maryland. Her first ...

, Dunn would no longer have an active producing role in the series.

Family

Dunn is married to former ''New York Observer'' executive editor Peter Stevenson. They married in 2007.

Selected works

* ''The Official Slacker Handbook'', 1994. * ''The Big Love'', 2005. * ''Secrets to Happiness'', 2009. * ''The Arrangement'', 2017

References

External links

Review of ''Secrets to Happiness'' in the New York ''Times''.

Review of ''The Big Love'' in USA Today.

"A Barn of One's Own" - Sarah's writing space profiled in Upstate House.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Sarah 1975 births Living people American television writers American television producers American women television producers University of Pennsylvania alumni American women television writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists American women novelists