Ilene Chaiken facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ilene Chaiken
Chaiken at the White House in 2023
Born	(1957-06-30) June 30, 1957 (age 68) Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Television director, producer and screenwriter
Years active	1988–present
Known for	The L Word
Partner(s)	LouAnne Brickhouse
Children	2

Ilene Chaiken (born June 30, 1957) is an American television producer, director, and writer. She also founded a company called Little Chicken Productions. Chaiken is well-known for creating, writing, and producing the TV series The L Word. She has also been an executive producer for other popular shows like Empire, The Handmaid's Tale, and Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Early Life and School

Ilene Chaiken was born in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. She went to the Rhode Island School of Design. In 1979, she earned a degree in graphic design.

Her Work in Television

Chaiken started her career learning about the entertainment business. She worked for important people like Aaron Spelling and Quincy Jones.

Early Projects

In 1988, she helped produce The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She was also an associate producer for the movie Satisfaction. Later, she wrote screenplays for TV films like Damaged Care (2002). One of her TV films, Dirty Pictures, won a Golden Globe Award in 2000.

Creating The L Word

In 2004, Chaiken helped create The L Word. This TV series explored the lives and relationships of a group of diverse women.

Other Projects and Spin-offs

In 2007, Chaiken and other women in entertainment started a social website called OurChart. It was a place for women and their friends to connect online. The website was active until 2008.

Around that time, a spin-off show from The L Word was being planned. It was called The Farm. Chaiken wrote two pilot episodes for it, but the show was never made.

Chaiken was also a showrunner for ABC's The Black Box. This show was on TV for one season.

Big TV Hits

Chaiken helped develop the TV show The Handmaid's Tale. This show became a very successful Hulu original series. Chaiken left the project to work on Fox's show Empire. However, she was still given credit as an executive producer for The Handmaid's Tale.

In January 2019, a new show continuing The L Word was announced. It was called The L Word: Generation Q. This show started airing on December 8, 2019. It continued the story of the original series ten years later.

More recently, Chaiken's company, Little Chicken Productions, made a deal with Universal Television. In 2020, Chaiken helped create Law & Order: Organized Crime. This show is a spin-off from the very long-running series Law & Order. She worked as a writer and showrunner for the series in 2021.

Personal Life

Ilene Chaiken married LouAnne Brickhouse in 2013. LouAnne used to be an executive at Disney. They live in Los Angeles. They enjoy taking care of many different kinds of birds and other animals at their home. They often share pictures and videos of these animals on Instagram.

Chaiken also has twin daughters, Tallulah and Augusta. She co-parents them with her former partner, Miggi Hood.

Film and TV Shows

Here are some of the films and TV shows Ilene Chaiken has worked on:

Films

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Ilene Chaiken para niños

• List of female film and television directors

External links

Images for kids

• Barb Wire (1996 film).jpg