Nell Scovell facts for kids

Helen Vivian "Nell" Scovell is an American writer and producer. She is famous for creating the TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch. This popular show aired from 1996 to 2003. Nell Scovell also helped write the well-known book Lean In.

Early Life and School

Nell Scovell grew up in a Jewish family. She was one of five children. Her family lived near Newton, Massachusetts. Her father, Melvin E. Scovell, led a health-care company.

When she was in high school at Newton South High School, Nell managed the boys' track team. She later went to Harvard University. There, she spent her time writing and editing sports stories. She worked for the college newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. In her last year at Harvard, she also wrote for the sports section of The Boston Globe. Nell graduated from Harvard in 1982 with honors, which is called cum laude.

Nell Scovell's Career

After college, Nell moved to New York City. In 1986, she became the first writer hired by Spy magazine. Later, she worked at Vanity Fair. She wrote interesting articles about money and culture. An old editor from Spy suggested she try writing for television.

Writing for Television

Nell wrote a sample script for a TV show called It's Garry Shandling's Show. This script was bought, which was a big step! She then worked on the TV show Newhart. After that, she wrote for Late Night with David Letterman.

Nell Scovell was one of the first women to write an episode of The Simpsons. She wrote the episode "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" in season two. She also wrote "Sorry Not Sorry" in season 32. Her other TV writing jobs include shows like Coach, Monk, Murphy Brown, Charmed, The Critic, and NCIS. She even wrote an episode for Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

Directing and Magazine Work

Nell Scovell has also directed two TV movies. One was called Hayley Wagner, Star for Showtime. The other was It Was One of Us for Lifetime.

Besides TV, Nell has written for many famous magazines. These include Vogue, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times Magazine. She also writes articles for Vanity Fair's website.

Books by Nell Scovell

In 2013, Nell Scovell helped write the book Lean In with Sheryl Sandberg. This book became very popular.

In 2018, Nell wrote her own book. It is called Just the Funny Parts: ... And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boys' Club. Sheryl Sandberg wrote the introduction for this book.

Nell's Family Life

Nell Scovell is married to Colin Summers, who is an architect. They have two sons together. Her sister, Claire Scovell LaZebnik, is also a writer. Claire is married to Rob LaZebnik, whose brothers are also screenwriters.

The famous comedian and magician Penn Jillette once said that Nell Scovell is "one of the funniest people alive."

See also

In Spanish: Nell Scovell para niños