Linda Woolverton
| Linda Woolverton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
California State University, Long Beach California State University, Fullerton |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, playwright, novelist |
| Notable work | |
| Style | Fantasy, fairy tale, comedy-drama |
| Spouse(s) | Lee Flicker |
| Children | Keaton |
Linda Woolverton is an American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist, whose most prominent works include the screenplays and books of several acclaimed Disney films and stage musicals. She became the first woman to write an animated feature for Disney by writing the screenplay of Beauty and the Beast, the first animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the 64th Academy Awards. She also wrote the screenplay of The Lion King, and adapted her own Beauty and the Beast screenplay into the book of the Broadway adaptation of the film, receiving a Tony Award nomination for this.
Her most recent works include the screenplay of Alice in Wonderland, a huge box office success, making her the first and only female screenwriter with a sole writing credit on a billion-dollar film, and the screenplay of Maleficent.
Linda Woolverton was born in Long Beach, California, in 1952. As a child, she began acting in the local children's theater as an escape from what she has described as a "traumatic childhood." She graduated from high school in 1969 with honors in the school's theater program. She attended the California State University, Long Beach, graduating with a BFA in Theater Arts in 1973. After the college graduation, she attended the California State University, Fullerton, to receive a master's degree in Theater for Children. She completed her master's degree in 1976.
Upon the completion of her master's degree, she formed her own children's theater company. She wrote, directed and performed all over California in churches, malls, schools, and local theaters. She also began to work as a coach to children acting in commercials in 1979. In 1980, she began working as a secretary for CBS, where she eventually became a programming executive concentrating on both children's and late-night programming. During her lunch breaks, Woolverton wrote her first novel, the young adult Star Wind. Eventually quitting the job in 1984, she began to work as a substitute teacher when she wrote her second novel, the also young-adult Running Before the Wind. Released in 1986 and 1987, respectively, both were published by Houghton Mifflin.
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