Jane Anderson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jane Anderson
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| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, actress |
| Years active | 1982–present |
Jane Anderson is an American writer, director, and actress. She is known for creating movies and TV shows. For example, she wrote and directed the film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005). She also wrote the movie It Could Happen to You (1994), which starred Nicolas Cage. Jane won an Emmy Award for her writing on the TV miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014).
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Jane Anderson's Career Journey
Jane Anderson started her career as an actress. Later, she began writing for television. Her first writing job was for the sitcom The Facts of Life, where she also appeared as an actress. She then created her own sitcom called Raising Miranda.
Early Success in TV Movies
Jane's first big film project was writing the 1993 HBO movie The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom. This movie starred Holly Hunter and was highly praised by critics. Some TV experts even called it one of the greatest American TV movies ever made.
She went on to write and direct several other well-known TV movies. These include The Baby Dance (1998), which was based on her own play. She also directed When Billie Beat Bobby (2001) and Normal (2003). In 2000, she wrote a part of the HBO film If These Walls Could Talk 2. This segment helped Vanessa Redgrave win an Emmy Award for her acting.
Working on Popular TV Shows
In 2008, Jane Anderson joined the writing team for the popular AMC drama series Mad Men. She was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for her writing on the show's second season.
Documentaries and Recent Films
In 2015, Jane wrote a documentary called Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson. This film was about her great-aunt, Edith Lake Wilkinson, who was a painter. Jane has said that her great-aunt's art inspires her own drawing.
More recently, in 2017, Jane Anderson wrote the film The Wife, which starred Glenn Close.
Jane Anderson's Creative Works
Films She Wrote or Directed
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | It Could Happen to You | No | Yes | |
| 1995 | How to Make an American Quilt | No | Yes | |
| 2005 | The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson | No | Yes | Documentary |
| 2017 | The Wife | No | Yes |
Television Shows She Wrote For
| Year | Title | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Facts of Life | Yes | Wrote episodes like "The Apartment" |
| 1988 | Raising Miranda | Yes | Wrote episodes like "Black Monday" |
| 1989 | The Wonder Years | Yes | Wrote episode "How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation" |
| 1991 | The Hidden Room | Yes | Wrote episodes like "Dream Child" |
| 2008 | Mad Men | Yes | Wrote episode "The Gold Violin" |
| 2014 | Olive Kitteridge | Yes | Miniseries |
TV Movies She Directed or Wrote
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom | No | Yes | |
| 1998 | The Baby Dance | Yes | Yes | |
| 2000 | If These Walls Could Talk 2 | Yes | Yes | Directed and wrote the "1961" segment |
| 2001 | When Billie Beat Bobby | Yes | Yes | |
| 2003 | Normal | Yes | Yes |
Plays Written by Jane Anderson
- The Baby Dance (1989)
- Looking for Normal (2001)
- Defying Gravity
- The Quality of Life (2007)
- The Escort: An Explicit Play for Discriminating People (2011)
- The Baby Dance: Mixed (2018; a new version of The Baby Dance)
Awards and Recognitions
Jane Anderson has received many awards and nominations for her work:
- She won an Emmy Award for writing The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993).
- She was nominated for Emmy Awards for writing and directing The Baby Dance (1998) and for writing Normal (2003).
- She also received an Emmy Award nomination for writing a part of If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000).
- In 2000, she received the Lucy Award from Women in Film Los Angeles for her excellent work on If These Walls Could Talk 2, which helped improve how women are seen on television.
- She was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for directing Normal (2003).
- She won a Writers Guild of America Award for her writing on the second season of Mad Men (2008).
- Her play The Quality of Life won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and two Ovation Awards in 2008.
- In 2015, she won another Writers Guild of America Award and an Emmy Award for writing Olive Kitteridge.
