She’s been called “a smart, funny lady who makes smart, funny movies.” The daughter of Hollywood screenwriters, Nora Ephron was raised to “take notes...everything is copy.” And so she has, carving out a successful career as a journalist, novelist, screenwriter, playwright and director.

Named one of “The 25 Most Powerful Women in America” by Biography magazine, Ephron began as a general assignment reporter for The New York Post and essayist for Esquire and New York magazines. Her collected essays were published in Wallflower at the Orgy, Crazy Salad and Scribble, Scribble. In 1983 Ephron wrote the bestselling novel Heartburn, a hilarious fictional account of the breakup of her marriage. The book was made into a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep.
 
The prevailing theme in her work has been the adjustments and negotiations of the ever-evolving relationships between women and men. In her commencement speech at Wellesley College, Ephron admonished women “to be heroines of their lives....protagonists, not supporting actors.”

Before becoming a director, Ephron was adding her voice to movies as a screenwriter. She earned an Oscar nomination for her first film, Silkwood. In 1989 she received another Oscar nomination for her screenplay, When Harry Met Sally. Co-starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, it examined the possibility of a man and woman being friends without sexual tension getting in the way. It charmed millions worldwide and brought back new interest in romantic comedies.

In 1992 Ephron decided that true creative control in movie-making is with the director. Her directorial debut was an adaptation of the Meg Wolitzer novel, This is My Life.
 

She captivated the crowd... the perfect speaker.

National Council of Jewish Women

She followed that up with the cross-country romance, Sleepless in Seattle, starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. This heartwarming tribute to finding true love was nominated for several Oscars and grossed over $200 million worldwide, firmly establishing Ephron as one of Hollywood’s leading directors.

Ephron’s other films include: Michael, starring John Travolta; Mixed Nuts, starring Steve Martin; and Lucky Numbers, starring Travolta and Lisa Kudrow. In 1998 she reunited Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in the hit comedy, You’ve Got Mail. Ephron’s play, Imaginary Friends, debuted on Broadway in 2002. In 2005, Ephron wrote and directed Bewitched, starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell.

Ephron’s latest book, the #1 New York Times bestseller I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman (Random House, 2006), is a candid, humorous collection of essays about women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself.

Her next project is writing and directing an adaptation of the book, Julie and Julia, a memoir about a woman who attempts to conquer every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

In May of 2007, Ephron joined The New York Times as a guest columnist.