Callie Khouri facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Callie Khouri
Born	Carolyn Ann Khouri (1957-11-27) November 27, 1957 (age 67) San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Film/television writer, director, producer, feminist speaker
Spouse	David W. Warfield (m. 1990; divorced) T Bone Burnett ​ (m. 2006)​

Carolyn Ann "Callie" Khouri (born November 27, 1957) is an American writer, producer, and director for movies and TV shows. She is famous for writing the movie Thelma & Louise. This movie won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for her. Thelma & Louise is now seen as a classic film. It was even added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2016.

Callie Khouri also wrote other movies like Mad Money (2008). She also wrote Respect (2021), a movie about the singer Aretha Franklin. She created the TV series Nashville, which started in 2012. This show was very popular and ran for six seasons.

Early Life and Family

Callie Khouri was born in San Antonio, Texas. She grew up in Kentucky. Her father was from a Lebanese-American family. Their family name, Khouri, means "priest" in Arabic.

Callie became interested in theater when she was in high school plays. After high school, she first studied landscape architecture at Purdue University. But she soon changed her mind and decided to study drama instead.

She later moved to Los Angeles. There, she worked as a waiter and studied acting. However, she quickly realized that acting was not for her. She once said, "I can't stand people looking at me."

In 1985, she started working in film production. She helped make commercials and music videos. In 2006, she married musician T Bone Burnett.

Callie Khouri's Career

Callie Khouri is known for writing, directing, and producing. She also gives talks and writes non-fiction. While working on music videos, she started writing Thelma & Louise. This was the first movie script she ever had produced.

Thelma & Louise brought her many awards. She won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. She also won a Golden Globe Award and a PEN Literary Award.

Khouri loved writing Thelma & Louise. She said it was the most fun she ever had. She felt very free creatively while writing it. Winning awards was great, but it wasn't as fun as writing the story itself.

After winning the Academy Award, she felt inspired. She wanted to speak up about the lack of female directors in Hollywood. She believes that movies often don't show women as they truly are. She wants to write more complex and real female characters.

The Story of Thelma & Louise

Callie Khouri didn't plan to write movie scripts at first. She was looking for a creative path. She kept thinking about ideas until she had a big one. It was about "two women going on a crime spree." This idea excited her a lot.

She first imagined Louise as a secretary in Texas. Louise thought women could not be powerful. She believed women would always have limited goals.

The character of Thelma was first written as a mother. But Callie changed her to be more like a child herself. This helped the story. Callie wanted the movie to be enjoyable. She wanted viewers to see these women gaining control of their lives. Even though their journey had a sad ending, they became more themselves.

Other Projects

Callie Khouri's second movie as a writer was Something to Talk About (1995). It was a romantic comedy-drama.

In 2002, she directed her first movie, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. This film made over $73 million worldwide.

In 2008, Khouri directed Mad Money. This crime movie starred Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes.

In 2012, she created the TV show Nashville. It was a drama about country music. Her husband, T Bone Burnett, worked on the music for the first season. Nashville was very popular with critics. The show later moved to CMT in 2016.

Teaching and Advocacy

Callie Khouri also teaches about filmmaking. She has taught classes at the Athena Film Festival and Columbia University. She shares her experiences writing and directing, especially with Thelma & Louise.

Views on Gun Control

Callie Khouri has strong opinions about gun control. She believes that countries with less access to guns have fewer mass shootings. She thinks it's wrong to say violent video games are the main cause. She argues that "people don't kill people – guns kill people, and people with guns kill people." She believes America needs stricter gun laws.

Supporting Women's History

Callie Khouri supports the National Women's History Museum (NWHM). This group celebrates powerful women in film. The museum also gets support from other famous women like Shonda Rhimes and Meryl Streep.

In 2014, Callie Khouri was honored by the NWHM. This was for winning her Academy Award and other awards. Actress Geena Davis praised Khouri. She said Callie creates female characters who are strong and control their own lives.

Callie Khouri's Work

Here are some of the movies and TV shows Callie Khouri has worked on:

Film

TV movies

TV series

Awards and Nominations

Callie Khouri has won many awards for her work:

See also

In Spanish: Callie Khouri para niños