Emma Forrest
Emma Forrest | |
|---|---|
 Forrest in 2009 | |
| Born | 26 December 1976 London, England |
| Occupation | Writer, director |
| Nationality | British American |
| Period | 1993–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Emma Forrest (born 26 December 1976) is an English[1] film director, screenwriter and novelist.
Early life
[edit]Forrest was born in London, England, to a Jewish family.[2] Her American mother, Judy Raines, was also a writer, mainly for British television, and her father is British.
Journalism
[edit]At age fifteen, Forrest wrote a story on Madonna for the London Evening Standard. She left school to write her "Generation X" column for the Sunday Times, writing about various britpop/indie bands "on the road". The vanished Manic Street Preacher member Richey Edwards was the first person Forrest interviewed for the column.
Forrest has worked for Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Time Out, The Guardian, NME and Interview and Blackbook, for whom she interviewed Snoop Dogg and Brad Pitt. In the autumn of 2011, she contributed an essay to the album Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine that was included in the CD booklet.[3]
Novels
[edit]Forrest has written four novels: Namedropper (1998), Thin Skin (2002), Cherries in the Snow (2005) and Royals, which was released in the UK on 31 October 2019.
Anthologies
[edit]In 2001 Forrest contributed to an anthology on the writer J. D. Salinger titled Love & Squalor, with an essay describing Salinger's influence on some current young writers. In 2007 she co-wrote and edited her first non-fiction book, Damage Control – Women on the Therapists, Beauticians, and Trainers Who Navigate Their Bodies, which was an anthology of essays of the emotional pain women suffer for their own physical wellbeing. The book features contributions from many well-known women, including Helen Oyeyemi, Marian Keyes and Sarah Jones.
Memoir
[edit]Forrest wrote a memoir, Your Voice in My Head (2011), concerning the death of her psychiatrist and her subsequent break-up with her partner.[4][5] The memoir was announced as a feature film adaptation to be written by Forrest and directed by Francesca Gregorini, with Emma Watson in the lead role.[6]
In August 2022, Forrest published a second memoir, Busy Being Free, concerning her divorce and return to living in London as a single parent.[7]
Screenwriting
[edit]A screenplay by Forrest about musician Jeff Buckley, Becoming Music, was bought by Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment in September 2000. In 2009 her screenplay LIARS (AE) was bought by Scott Rudin at Miramax, with Richard Linklater attached to direct. In 2009 she was listed on Variety's "Top Ten Screenwriters to Watch".[8] Other screenplays in development:Know Your Rights (Film4) and How Could You Do This To Me (Paramount Pictures).
Personal life
[edit]Forrest was in a relationship with actor Colin Farrell, whom she met in 2008. She refers to him in her memoir as "GH", short for "Gypsy Husband".[9]
In June 2012, Forrest married Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn.[10] They had one child together in 2014 and divorced in 2016.
She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder.[11]
Filmography
[edit]- Untogether (2017) (director, screenplay)
References
[edit]- ^ Forrest, Emma (10 April 2023). "I showed Bruce Springsteen my Bruce Springsteen tattoo. He said he didn't like it". The Guardian.
- ^ Grant, Brigit (24 March 2011). "Interview: Emma Forrest". The Jewish Chronicle.
- ^ http://emmaforrest.blogspot.com/ [user-generated source]
- ^ Forrest, Emma (8 January 2011). "Your Voice in My Head (extract)". The Guardian.
- ^ Newton, Maud (2 May 2011). "When Your Shrink Dies: Emma Forrest's Therapy Memoir". The Awl.
- ^ Chitwood, Adam (7 September 2013). "Emma Watson to Star in "Your Voice in My Head" for Director Francesca Gregorini". Collider.
- ^ "Notes from a Hollywood divorce: 'We had a primal connection. But we hung by a thread for years'". The Guardian.
- ^ Dawtrey, Adam (28 July 2009). "Emma Forrest: 10 Screenwriters to Watch". Variety.
- ^ McClear, Sheila (1 May 2011). "An affair to remember". New York Post.
- ^ "From red carpet to wedding aisle". Herald Sun. 12 June 2012.
- ^ "Cutting Words". The Scotsman. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- 1976 births
- Living people
- 20th-century English novelists
- 21st-century English novelists
- English women journalists
- English women novelists
- British women screenwriters
- Jewish English writers
- English women non-fiction writers
- People with bipolar disorder
- People with borderline personality disorder
- Writers from London
- 20th-century English women
- 20th-century English people
- 21st-century English women
- 21st-century American Jews