Imaginary Friends (Author Biography)

Author Biography

Nora Ephron was born on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on May 19, 1941 to Henry and Phoebe Ephron, prominent screenwriters of such classic films as Daddy Long Legs, Desk Set, and Carousel. The family moved to Beverly Hills when Nora was three years old, thus exposing her to Hollywood and setting the scene for her career in screenwriting. Ephron was raised in a family that valued verbal jousting. In an article from Vanity Fair, Nora's sister commented that their nightly dinner table resembled the Algonquin Round Table. Ephron's finely honed verbal skills became one of the most popular characteristics of her written work.

Ephron graduated from Wellesley College in 1962 with a degree in journalism. She used this degree to get work as an assignment reporter for The New York Post and as an essayist for Esquire and New York magazines. During this time, she authored three books, Scribble, Scribble, Crazy Salad, and Wallflower at the Orgy, that were filled with her observations of human relationships. In 1983, Ephron wrote the bestselling novel Heartburn, a satire of her failed marriage to Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein. Heartburn was later made into a film starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson and won Ephron her first Academy Award Nomination.

Ephron began writing screenplays as a way to support herself and her two sons, Jacob and Max, after her divorce. Her first screenplay Silkwood (1983) won an Academy Award Nomination for best original screenplay. In 1987, she married Nicholas Pileggi, journalist and screenwriter of Goodfellas and Casino. In 1989, When Harry Met Sally, Epron's most popular screenplay, was awarded an Academy Award for Best Script. In 1993, Sleepless in Seattle was released, which won Ephron another Academy Award for best script. Ephron also co-authored screenplays for the films Michael, Mixed Nuts and You've Got Mail.

As Ephron observed her parents and friends' screenwriting careers, which were effectively over by the time they turned 50, she decided to get involved in writing plays and directing films. Ephron began her directing career in 1992 with This Is My Life and her playwriting career with Imaginary Friends. Ephron is an active member of the Writers Guild of America, the Authors Guild, the Directors Guild of America, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.