Shira Piven (born October 8, 1961) is an American director, actress, and producer. She directed the 2014 film ''

Welcome to Me ''Welcome to Me'' is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Shira Piven and written by Eliot Laurence. The film stars Kristen Wiig as Alice Klieg, a lottery winner with borderline personality disorder who uses her newfound wealth to write ...

''.

Early life and education

Piven was raised in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, a city just north of Chicago on Lake Michigan. Her parents, Joyce Piven and Byrne Piven, founded the Piven Theater Workshop in Evanston. Piven performed with the theater company during her adolescence and started teaching and directing theater in her 20s. She studied drama and music at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

, and graduated in 1983. Piven grew up in 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 ...

familyTimes of Israel: "The tribe at the Oscars, 2016"
by Nate Bloom. February 25, 2016

Career

Piven has directed more than 20 plays in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., including ''Fully Loaded'' in 2006, actor Patrick McCartney's one person show ''Sinister Kid'' in 2013, and ''Victims of Duty'' in 2018. In 1999, she founded the Water Theater Company in New York, and led the improv theater group Burn Manhattan. Piven directed her first feature film, ''Fully Loaded'' in 2011, an adaptation of the stage play she co-wrote and directed, about two single mothers on a night out in Los Angeles. In 2014, her second feature, ''

'', was co-produced by

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

and

Adam McKay Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. McKay began his career as a head writer for the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') from 1995 to 2001. After leaving ''SNL'', McKay co-w ...

and stars

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Wiig achieved stardom in the late 2000s for her ...

as a woman with borderline personality disorder who wins the lottery and launches her own talk show. Piven has also directed television episodes for '' Transparent,

Claws A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tars ...

Divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

, Sweetbitter,'' and '' One Mississippi.''

Personal life

Piven married writer and director

in 1999. She and McKay reside in Los Angeles with their daughters Lili Rose and Pearl. Her younger brother is actor

Jeremy Piven Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series '' Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the Britis ...

. Piven has taught theater to prison inmates and gang members. Piven and McKay both serve as board members of Jail Guitar Doors USA, a non-profit founded by

Wayne Kramer Wayne Stanley Kramer (''né'' Kambes; April 30, 1948 – February 2, 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and Film score, film and television composer. Kramer came to prominence in the 1960s as the lead guitarist of t ...

that provides musical instruments to inmates.

Filmography

; As director

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Piven, Shira 1961 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women Actresses from Evanston, Illinois American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American women film directors American women film producers Artists from Evanston, Illinois Bennington College alumni Film directors from Illinois Film producers from Illinois Jewish American actresses Living people Place of birth missing (living people)