Tonya Hurley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tonya Hurley
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| Born |
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Occupation | Writer, director |
| Spouse(s) | Michael Pagnotta |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Vince Clarke (brother-in-law) |
Tonya Hurley is an American writer and director. She creates stories for movies, TV shows, live performances, and even video games. She is well-known for her work on the TV series So Little Time, which starred the Olsen twins. She also worked with them on the cartoon Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action!.
Tonya Hurley is also a popular author of young adult books. Her most famous book series is ghostgirl, which became a The New York Times bestseller. She has written other books too, like Precious Blood, Passionaries, and Hallowed, which are part of The Blessed trilogy. Her books are read in almost 30 countries and in more than 20 languages.
Contents
Early Career and Music Connections
Tonya Hurley started her career in the music world. She worked as a publicist, helping famous musicians like Prince, George Michael, and Depeche Mode get noticed. Both Tonya and her twin sister, Tracy, first moved to New York hoping to become musicians themselves. Instead, they ended up working at a company owned by Michael Pagnotta, who later became Tonya's husband.
Writing and Directing Projects
Tonya Hurley has written and directed many different projects. She created short films like Solo-Me-O and Baptism of Solitude: A Tribute to Paul Bowles. Baptism of Solitude was shown at the Tribeca Festival and on the Independent Film Channel.
She also wrote a movie script called Good Mourning. It made it to the semi-finals of the Sundance Institute's Writer's Lab, which is a big deal for new screenwriters. Tonya has also directed music videos for the band Erasure, including "Gaudete" and "Make It Wonderful".
Television and Other Media Work
Tonya Hurley helped create and produce the TV show So Little Time for ABC Family. She also worked on the animated series Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action! for ABC. Both shows starred Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
She was also in charge of creating content for the official mary-kateandashley website. She helped create and produce video games for the mary-kateandashley brand for PlayStation 2 and Game Boy. She even wrote and directed commercials for their videos, games, and toys. She also helped develop Mary-Kate and Ashley dolls and board games for Mattel.
Tonya and her sister Tracy also ran their own company called Hurley Sisters Productions.
The ghostgirl Series
Tonya Hurley's popular book series, ghostgirl, first started online in 2002 on ghostgirl.com. It was later published as a young adult book series by Little, Brown, and Co. in 2008. The first book received great reviews from many important book critics. It became a New York Times best-seller in September 2008. The ghostgirl books might even become a movie! Director Matthew Vaughan has bought the rights to make the film, and Tonya Hurley will be an executive producer.
Awards and Memberships
Tonya Hurley is a member of important groups like the Writers Guild of America, East and the Horror Writers Association. She writes articles for The Huffington Post. She also helps judge a Teen Writing Essay Contest for Gilda's Club NYC. She edited an ebook called Living With Cancer: A Teen Perspective, which has a special introduction by actress Emma Stone. Tonya is also one of the people who helped start the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, New York.
Personal Life
Tonya Hurley is married to Michael Pagnotta, who works as a publicist and artist manager. Her twin sister, Tracy Hurley Martin, was the CEO of the Morbid Anatomy Museum. Tracy was married to Vince Clarke, a musician from the band Erasure and a founding member of Yazoo and Depeche Mode. Tracy passed away in January 2024.
Tracy and Tonya used to own and run a TV and film production company together called Kill Your Darlings, Inc.
