Nancy Meyers - Details

Biography

Director and producer NANCY MEYERS is a filmmaker who has the uncanny ability to fashion an entertaining, engaging romantic comedy in a classic Hollywood style with a contemporary social perspective. An astute observer of the human condition and the particular vagaries of the relationships between men and women, Meyers made her debut as director with the 1998 update of the classic "The Parent Trap," which she also wrote. As a writer/producer, Meyers first film was the groundbreaking "Private Benjamin," starring Goldie Hawn, which Meyers produced and co-wrote with Charles Shyer. Released in 1980, the film bucked conventional wisdom at the time, that a female lead could not open a movie without a male star.

"Private Benjamin," the story of a pampered young woman who joins the Army, became a huge hit with a worldwide gross of $150 million. The screenplay earned Meyers the Writers Guild of America Award, and the film earned three Oscar® nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. The film also garnered many Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture, Comedy or Musical and Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. After the success of "Private Benjamin," Meyers then co-wrote and produced the critically acclaimed "Irreconcilable Differences," followed by "Baby Boom," then the box-office hits "Father of the Bride," and "Father of the Bride Part II."

Meyers' screenplay for "Irreconcilable Differences," a comedy that took on the issue of divorce in an innovative and heart-warming way, was also highly praised, while "Baby Boom," starring Diane Keaton, earned a host of Golden Globe nominations.
Born in Philadelphia and educated at American University in Washington, D.C., Meyers moved to Los Angeles in 1972 as story editor for Rastar Productions.