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| Aline Brosh McKenna | |
|---|---|
| Name | Aline Brosh McKenna |
| Birth date | 1967 |
| Birth place | New York City, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, playwright, producer, television writer |
| Notable works | The Devil Wears Prada, Morning Glory, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend |
Aline Brosh McKenna is an American screenwriter, playwright, and producer known for her work in contemporary film and television comedy and drama. She gained prominence with screenplays that blend sharp social satire, workplace dynamics, and character-driven narratives, working across Hollywood studios, Broadway-adjacent theaters, and streaming platforms. Her career intersects with major figures and institutions in film, television, and theater.
Born in New York City, she grew up in a family environment linked to the arts and journalism, attending schools in Manhattan and later the Boston metropolitan area. She studied sociology at Boston University before transferring to and graduating from Columbia University, where she earned a degree that preceded her pursuit of dramatic writing. McKenna trained in playwriting and dramatic structure at institutions associated with Off-Broadway workshops and developed early projects influenced by New York theatrical communities and writers connected to The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Atlantic cultural scenes.
McKenna began in theater and magazine circles before transitioning to television writing rooms and motion picture screenwriting, collaborating with producers and executives in the Hollywood studio system. Early career steps included staff writing and staff development positions on series linked to networks such as NBC, ABC, and cable outlets like HBO and Showtime. She wrote feature scripts for major companies including 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Pictures, and worked with producers and directors from the likes of David Frankel, Garry Marshall, and studio executives associated with franchises and independent cinema. McKenna later created and produced series for streaming services and network television, engaging with production companies affiliated with Sony Pictures Television and Lionsgate Television.
Her breakthrough screenplay adapted a best-selling novel and was developed into a high-profile feature directed by a filmmaker whose credits include romantic comedies and dramas; the film starred actors associated with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and produced box-office and awards-season attention. McKenna wrote original screenplays for ensemble comedies and workplace dramas such as a film about broadcast journalism that reunited behind-the-scenes talent from late-20th-century newsroom films and television series tied to Kathryn Bigelow-adjacent storytelling. She contributed teleplays and story material to episodic series including musical-comedy dramas and serialized comedies linked to creators of Darren Criss-era television and producers connected to Rachel Bloom and other contemporary showrunners. Several of her scripts were optioned for stage adaptation by producers active on Broadway and in regional theater circuits including theaters in Los Angeles and Chicago.
McKenna's prose and screenplay structure reflect influences from comic dramatists and satirists associated with Nora Ephron, Woody Allen, and Billy Wilder, combined with workplace comedies inspired by The Mary Tyler Moore Show lineage and ensemble films akin to His Girl Friday and Network. Critics and collaborators have noted echoes of novelists and humorists published in The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, as well as dramatists connected to Second City and improv traditions. Her dialogue-driven approach emphasizes character arcs reminiscent of screenwriters who worked with directors such as Mike Nichols and Richard Curtis, while thematic concerns often parallel writers engaged with gender dynamics explored by figures like Jane Austen-adaptation directors and contemporary feminist critics.
Her screenplay work has earned nominations and wins from organizations and ceremonies including guilds and festivals associated with the Writers Guild of America, critics' circles, and film festivals where industry awards are presented. Films she scripted received nominations at major ceremonies where performers and directors from the projects competed for honors at events hosted by bodies similar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Golden Globe Awards, and industry-specific festivals that spotlight screenplay achievement. Her television work has been acknowledged by television academies and songwriting and composing collaborators in awards contexts related to musical-comedy writing.
McKenna resides in the United States and maintains connections to theatrical workshops, screenwriting labs, and academic programs that support emerging writers, including fellowships and guest-teaching roles tied to universities and institutions where screenwriters such as Aaron Sorkin, Shonda Rhimes, and Joss Whedon have lectured. She participates in panels and industry events alongside producers, directors, and executives from companies like Paramount Pictures and Netflix, contributing to mentorship programs and writers' advocacy initiatives.
Category:American screenwriters Category:Women screenwriters