Marta Kauffman

Last updated

Marta Kauffman
Born
Marta Fran Kauffman

(1956-09-21) September 21, 1956 (age 68)
Alma mater Brandeis University
Occupation(s)TV producer, writer
Known forCo-creator of Friends
Spouse
Michael Skloff
(m. 1984)
Children3

Marta Fran Kauffman (born 21 September 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom Friends with her longtime friend, David Crane; Crane and Kauffman similarly were in a friend group with four other people. [1] Both Kauffman and Crane were also executive producers of the show, along with Kevin Bright. Kauffman and Crane produced Veronica's Closet and Jesse . From 2005 to 2006 she was an executive producer on Related . Both writers were the creators of the HBO series Dream On . Without Crane, she co-created the Netflix series Grace and Frankie .

Contents

Early life and education

Born in the Philadelphia suburbs, Kauffman was raised in a conservative Jewish household. [2] [3] Kauffman attended Marple Newtown High School, located in the Marple Newtown School District near Philadelphia, where she was a thespian and student director of the school play "Our Town" in 1974. Kauffman attended Brandeis University and received a BA in theater in 1978. During her time there, she was a sister of Sigma Delta Tau sorority. Kauffman also studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York City. She then moved to Sherman Oaks, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Career

Okay Goodnight production company was headed by partners Kauffman, Robbie Rowe Tollin, and Hannah KS Canter. Fox 21 Television Studios signed Okay Goodnight to a multi-year first-look agreement deal in January 2020, starting with The Dreamers novel adaptation; The Littlefield Company is also in the deal. [1]

Personal life

Kauffman married Michael Skloff, who composed the Friends theme song, and lived in Los Angeles. [3] The couple have three children together. [3] Kauffman is a registered Democrat. [4] [5]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1987 Everything's Relative Writer1 episode
1990–1996 Dream On Creator, writer (1990–1996), producer (1990 14 episodes), co-executive producer (1991–1992 – 40 episodes), creative consultantTV series
1991 Sunday Dinner Writer1 episode
1992–1993 The Powers That Be Creator, writerTV series
1993 Family Album Co-creator, writer, executive producer (6 episodes)TV series
1994CouplesWriter, associate producerTV movie
1994–2004 Friends Creator, writer, executive producer, extraCasting director – uncredited
1997–2000 Veronica's Closet Creator, writer, executive producer (66 episodes)TV series
1998–2000 Jesse Executive producer (34 episodes)TV series
2005–2006 Related Executive producer, writerTV series
2007GiftedExecutive producerTV movie special
2008Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah SeneshExecutive producerDocumentary
2010–2015Independent LensesExecutive producerTV series documentary
2011 Five Creator, executive producerTV movie
2012 Hava Nagila: The MovieProducerDocumentary
2012GeorgiaWriter, director (3 episodes)TV series
2013 Call Me Crazy: A Five Film Creator, executive producer
2014Mimi and DonaExecutive producerDocumentary
2015–2022 Grace and Frankie Co-creator, writer, executive producer, directorTV series; alongside Howard J. Morris
2018 Seeing Allred ProducerDocumentary
2018 Beetlejuice The Musical. The Musical. The Musical. ProducerMusical
2021 Friends: The Reunion ProducerTV movie special

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryStanding
2002 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Comedy SeriesFriends (TV Series)Winner
2003, 2000, 1999, 1996, 1995Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Comedy Series – Friends (TV Series)Nominee
1993Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series – Dream On (TV Series)Nominee
1994, 1993, 1991 CableACE Award Comedy SeriesNominee
1993CableACE AwardWriting a Comedy Series – Dream On (TV Series)Winner
1992CableACE AwardComedy Series – Dream On (TV Series)Winner
2004 Gold Derby Awards – TV Award Episode of the Year – Friends (TV Series)Nominee
2002 Online Film & Television Association – Television Award Best Writing in a Comedy Series – Friends (TV Series)Winner
2020 PGA Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in TelevisionWinner
2004TV Quick Awards, UKBest Comedy Show – Friends (TV Series)Winner
2012 Women's Image Network Awards Outstanding Show Produced by a Women – Five (Movie)Winner

Related Research Articles

Friends is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, the show revolves around six friends in their 20s and early 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City. The original executive producers were Kevin S. Bright, Kauffman, and Crane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broomall, Pennsylvania</span> Census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States

Broomall is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marple Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,789 at the 2010 census.

Will & Grace is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler, a straight interior designer. The show was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998, to May 18, 2006, for a total of eight seasons, and returned to NBC on September 28, 2017, and permanently ended on April 23, 2020. Will & Grace has been one of the most successful television series with gay principal characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Green</span> Fictional character from the American sitcom Friends

Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appeared in the American sitcom Friends. Portrayed by Jennifer Aniston, the character was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and appeared in all of the show's 236 episodes during its decade-long run, from its premiere on September 22, 1994, to its finale on May 6, 2004. Introduced in the show's pilot as a naïve runaway bride who reunites with her childhood best friend Monica Geller and relocates to New York City, Rachel gradually evolves from a spoiled, inexperienced "daddy's girl" into a successful businesswoman. During the show's second season, the character becomes romantically involved with Monica's brother, Ross, with whom she maintains a complicated on-off relationship throughout the series. Together, Ross and Rachel have a daughter, Emma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Gilbert</span> American actress (born 1975)

Sara Gilbert is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its spin-off, The Conners (2018–present). She is also creator and former co-host of the CBS daytime talk show The Talk and had a recurring role as Leslie Winkle on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.

<i>Living Single</i> American television sitcom (1993–1998)

Living Single is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Denise Lee that aired for five seasons on the Fox network, from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centers on the lives of six New York City friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in a Brooklyn brownstone.

"The Pilot" is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American television sitcom Friends. The episode premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. It was written by the show's creators, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and directed by James Burrows. The pilot introduces six twenty-something friends who live and work in New York City: Monica Geller, a single sous chef in her mid 20s who is illegally subletting her grandmother's apartment; Ross Geller, Monica's older brother, a paleontologist whose marriage recently ended after he learned his wife, Carol, is a lesbian; Rachel Green, Monica's spoiled, self-centered, high-school best friend who has just left her fiancé at the altar and is financially cut off by her father; Chandler Bing, Ross's college roommate and best friend who lives across the hall from Monica; Joey Tribbiani, a struggling Italian-American actor and Chandler's roommate; and Phoebe Buffay, a laid-back, hippie-ish masseuse, singer and guitar player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoebe Buffay</span> Fictional character from the American sitcom Friends

Phoebe Buffay is one of the six main characters from the American television sitcom, Friends. She was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and portrayed by actress Lisa Kudrow.

The Powers That Be is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC, premiering on March 7, 1992. It was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, with Norman Lear as executive producer. It aired for two seasons, with 21 episodes, airing its final episode on NBC on January 2, 1993. During the week of January 18-22, 1993, USA network aired episodes that never aired on NBC

The second incarnation of Touchstone Television, formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios, was an American television production company and a subsidiary of the Disney Television Studios, a subsidiary of the Disney Media Networks business segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was founded in 2014 from the merger of Fox Television Studios and Fox 21 and given its second name in mid-2020 following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin S. Bright</span> American television executive producer and director

Kevin S. Bright is an American television executive producer and director. He is best known as the showrunner of the sitcoms Dream On and Friends.

"The One with the Morning After" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the American television situation comedy Friends and 64th overall, which aired on NBC on February 20, 1997. The plot, which is darker than most Friends episodes, centers on Ross dealing with the repercussions of sleeping with another woman hours after he and Rachel took a break.

"The One with the Embryos" is the twelfth episode of Friends' fourth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on January 15, 1998. In the episode, Phoebe agrees to be the surrogate mother for her brother Frank Jr. and his older wife Alice Knight. Meanwhile, a display by Chandler and Joey of how well they know Monica and Rachel by guessing the items in their shopping bag leads to a large-scale bet on a quiz, for which Ross acts as the gamemaster.

David Crane is an American writer and producer. He is best known as one of the co-creators of the television sitcoms Friends and Episodes.

"The Last One", also known as "The One Where They Say Goodbye", is the series finale of the American sitcom Friends. The episode serves as the seventeenth and eighteenth episode of the tenth season, and the 235th and the 236th episode overall; the episode's two parts were classified as two separate episodes. It was written by series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and directed by executive producer Kevin S. Bright. The series finale first aired on NBC in the United States on May 6, 2004, when it was watched by 52.5 million viewers, making it the most watched entertainment telecast in six years and the fifth most watched overall television series finale in U.S. history as well as the most watched episode from any television series throughout the decade 2000s on U.S. television. In Canada, the finale aired simultaneously on May 6, 2004, on Global, and was viewed by 5.16 million viewers, becoming the second-highest viewed episode of the series.

"The One Hundredth" is the third episode of Friends' fifth season and 100th episode overall. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 8, 1998. Continuing from the previous episode, the group arrive at the hospital after Phoebe goes into labor and gives birth to her half brother Frank's and his wife Alice's triplets. Meanwhile, Rachel tries to set Monica and herself up with two male nurses, which causes problems between Monica and Chandler, and Ross supports Joey as he experiences kidney stones.

Christopher Adam Keyser is an American producer and writer of primetime dramas. He is best known for creating the television series The Society and Party of Five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marple Newtown School District</span> School district in Pennsylvania

Marple Newtown School District (MNSD) is a public school district which serves Newtown Township and Marple Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Marple Newtown School District encompasses approximately 21 square miles (54 km2). According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 35,437. The student demographic is about 86% Caucasian, 11% Asian, 2% Black, and 1% Hispanic with 51% being male and 49% being female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam F. Goldberg</span> American television and film producer

Adam Frederick Goldberg is an American television and film producer, and writer. Goldberg is best known as the creator and showrunner of The Goldbergs, a television sitcom based on his childhood in which he is portrayed by Sean Giambrone with Patton Oswalt taking on the role of narrating the show. He also created and led the sitcoms Breaking In, Imaginary Mary, and Schooled, a spin-off of The Goldbergs.

<i>Grace and Frankie</i> American comedy television series (2015–2022)

Grace and Frankie is an American comedy television series created by Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris for Netflix. The series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as the eponymous Grace Hanson and Frankie Bergstein, two aging women who form an unlikely friendship after their husbands reveal they are in love with each other and plan to get married. Sam Waterston, Martin Sheen, Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, June Diane Raphael, and Baron Vaughn co-star in supporting roles.

References

  1. 1 2 Low, Elaine (January 23, 2020). "Marta Kauffman's Okay Goodnight, Fox 21 TV Studios Ink First-Look Deal". Variety. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  2. "21 Jewish Facts About 'Friends' You Should Know". May 26, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Jewish Journal: "For Kauffman, Making 'Match' Was a Blessing" by Danielle Berrin Archived November 26, 2015, at the Wayback Machine January 16, 2009
  4. Friedlander, Whitney (August 3, 2017). "Inside Marta Kauffman's 'Grace and Frankie' Office". Variety. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  5. Daunt, Tina (August 29, 2013). "Democrats Expand Obama's Hancock Park Fundraiser". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.