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Jane Anderson (born c. 1954 in California) is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and director. She wrote and directed the feature film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005), and wrote the film It Could Happen to You (1994), starring Nicolas Cage. She won an Emmy Award for writing the screenplay for the miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014).
Jane Anderson | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1954 (age 69–70) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, playwright, screenwriter, director |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Spouse | Tess Ayers |
| Children | 1 |
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Jane Anderson got her start as an actress, before getting her first writing job as a writer and consultant on the sitcom The Facts of Life (on which she had also appeared). She followed this up by creating the short-lived sitcom Raising Miranda, which was cancelled in its first season. She then had several other TV series gigs, and wrote her first play, The Baby Dance (1989).
Her first film experience was writing the 1993 HBO film The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom, starring Holly Hunter; the film was critically acclaimed, and TV critics Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall in their 2016 book TV (The Book) named it the 2nd greatest American TV movie of all time, behind Steven Spielberg's Duel.[1] She later wrote and directed several other critically acclaimed television movies, including The Baby Dance (1998), based on her play and starring Stockard Channing and Laura Dern; When Billie Beat Bobby (2001) starring Holly Hunter and Ron Silver; and Normal (2003), based on her play Looking for Normal and starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson. She also wrote the segment "1961" of the 2000 HBO film If These Walls Could Talk 2, which won Vanessa Redgrave an Emmy Award for her portrayal of an elderly lesbian prevented from hospital visitation with her dying long-time companion.
She became a writer for the AMC television drama Mad Men for the show's second season in 2008. She was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series for her work on the second season.[2]
In 2015, Anderson wrote the documentary Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson about her great aunt, Edith Lake Wilkinson, a lesbian and painter who was institutionalized in the 1920s and spent the rest of her life in an asylum for the mentally ill.[3] Anderson cites Wilkinson as an inspiration for her own drawing.[3]
In 2017, Anderson wrote the Glenn Close-starring The Wife.
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As writer / director
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Facts of Life | Writer | "The Apartment", "Ready or Not", "Write and Wrong" |
| 1988 | Raising Miranda | Writer | "Black Monday", "Home for the Holidays" |
| 1989 | The Wonder Years | Writer | "How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation" |
| 1991 | The Hidden Room | Writer | "Dream Child", "A Type of Love Story" |
| 1993 | The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom | Writer | TV film |
| 1994 | It Could Happen to You | Writer | |
| 1995 | How to Make an American Quilt | Writer | |
| 1998 | The Baby Dance | Writer & director | TV film |
| 2000 | If These Walls Could Talk 2 | Writer & director | TV film, segment "1961" |
| 2001 | When Billie Beat Bobby | Writer & director | TV film |
| 2003 | Normal | Writer & director | TV film |
| 2005 | The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio | Writer & director | |
| 2008 | Mad Men | Writer | "The Gold Violin" |
| 2014 | Olive Kitteridge | Writer | TV miniseries |
| 2015 | Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson | Writer | Documentary |
| 2017 | The Wife | Writer |
As producer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Raising Miranda | 9 episodes |
| 2008 | Mad Men | "The Gold Violin", "A Night to Remember" |
| 2014 | Olive Kitteridge | TV miniseries |
| 2015 | Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson | Documentary |
As actress
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour | Regular performer | TV series |
| 1978 | Girlfriends | Omega Receptionist | Film |
| 1984 | P.O.P. | Dana McNeil | TV film |
| 1984 | E/R | Mrs. Grettie | "Only a Nurse" |
| 1985 | The Facts of Life | Karen | "We Get Letters" |
Other work
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–86 | The Facts of Life | Program consultant | 5 episodes |
| 1986 | Who's the Boss? | Program consultant | "Charmed Lives" |
| 1989 | The Wonder Years | Executive story editor | 7 episodes |
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- Emmy Award for writing The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993)
- Emmy Award nominations for writing and directing The Baby Dance (1998)
- Emmy Award nomination for writing Normal (2003)
- Emmy Award nomination for writing If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) (For episode "1961")
- Women in Film Lucy Award (2000) in recognition of excellence and innovation in a writing a creative work (If These Walls Could Talk 2) that has enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television[8]
- Directors Guild of America Award nomination for directing Normal (2003)
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series for her work on the second season of Mad Men (2008)[2]
- Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award (2008) for Outstanding World Premiere Play for writing The Quality of Life[9]
- Two Ovation Awards (2008) for writing The Quality of Life[10]
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Long Form Adapted Series for writing Olive Kitteridge (2015)
- Emmy Award for writing Olive Kitteridge (2015)
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