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American television writer, producer, and director From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jenji Leslie Kohan (born July 5, 1969) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the creator and showrunner of the Showtime comedy-drama series Weeds and the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black.[1][2] She has received nine Emmy Award nominations, winning one as supervising producer of the comedy series Tracey Takes On....
Jenji Kohan | |
|---|---|
Kohan at 2014 Paley Fest | |
| Born | Jenji Leslie Kohan July 5, 1969 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation(s) | Television writer, producer |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Buz Kohan Rhea Kohan |
| Relatives | David Kohan (brother) Jono Kohan (brother) |
Kohan was born to a Jewish family[3] in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Rhea Kohan[4][5][6] and Alan W. "Buz" Kohan.[7] She is the youngest of three siblings; the other two are twins Jono and David. Much of the family is in show business:
Kohan's paternal grandparents were Charles Kohan, who was born in Romania in 1902, and May E. Charles, who was born in New York City, to parents from Russia.[3] The two knew each other from childhood and grew up in a New York City settlement house on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.[11]
Kohan says that her father was the "king of variety television in his day," writing and producing the Oscars and other variety shows. Her mother was a novelist.[12]
Kohan grew up in Beverly Hills, California[13] and graduated from Beverly Hills High School, in 1987. She first attended Brandeis University, then transferred to Columbia University as a sophomore, where she graduated, with a degree in English language and literature, in 1991.[13]
Kohan's first job in the industry was with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, of which Kohan wrote one episode, and later said was a "rough entrance" to the business.[12] After a series of writing jobs on shows such as Mad About You, Tracey Takes On..., and Friends, she collaborated with her brother, David Kohan, writing an outside script for Will & Grace.[9] The siblings also worked together on the sitcom The Stones for CBS, which was ultimately unsuccessful.[1] She has discussed the differences between her and her brother's career saying, "David took the big, commercial, funny route; I was always a little darker personally, and not terrific within the system. I had to make my own way."[9]
Kohan was the creator of the Showtime dark comedy-drama television series Weeds, which she executive produced as showrunner and head writer at her writing studio, Tilted Productions, in Los Angeles, California throughout its entire eight season airing.[1][14][15]
Kohan created the Netflix comedy drama Orange Is the New Black, an adaptation that was inspired by Piper Kerman's memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison about her experiences in a minimum-security women's prison.[12][16][17] Kohan's executive producing duties as showrunner and head writer consists of running the writer's room, which is located at her writing studio, Tilted Productions, in Los Angeles, California. Principal photography takes place in New York.[18]
Netflix, as a streaming service distribution model of TV and movie content, is unique in that it does not provide ratings information, so Kohan does not know exact ratings for Orange Is the New Black, which has been characterized as the most watched original series on Netflix, in a new distribution model where binge viewing[19] is enabled by full seasons of shows being made available at once.[20]
Kohan has an overall deal with Netflix.[21] She served as Executive Producer on the Netflix series Teenage Bounty Hunters and The Decameron.[22]
Kohan owns the historic Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles.[23] One floor is used for production and two for postproduction. She plans on turning the auditorium into a venue for performances.[24]
Kohan has three children. The oldest was her son Charlie, who died in a skiing accident on December 31, 2019;[25] the middle child is her daughter Eliza, and the youngest is her son Oscar.[5] They live in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.[26] Kohan and her family are practicing Jews of the Reform denomination.[9][10]
| Primetime Emmy Awards | |||||
| Year | Category | Series | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Variety Series | Tracey Takes On... | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Tracey Takes On... | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Mad About You | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Variety Series | Tracey Takes On... | Won | |||
| Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Tracey Takes On... | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Variety Series | Tracey Takes On... | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Weeds | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Orange is the New Black | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Orange is the New Black | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Drama Series | Orange is the New Black | Nominated | |||
| Producers Guild of America Awards | |||||
| Year | Category | Series | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Episodic Comedy | Weeds | Nominated | |||
| Best Episodic Comedy | Weeds | Nominated | |||
| Best Episodic Comedy | Weeds | Nominated | |||
| Best Episodic Comedy | Orange is the New Black | Won | |||
| Best Episodic Comedy | GLOW | Nominated | |||
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