Jane Anderson grew up in the Bay Area of Northern California, where her father, an inventor and electronics engineer, was one of the pioneering entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley.
Her passion for the theater led her to drop out of college after two years and move to New York City to pursue a career as an actress.
She was cast in the New York premiere of David Mamet's "Sexual Perversity in Chicago", which ran for over a year and helped establish Mamet's reputation.
Later, she turned to writing and performing her own material in cabarets and comedy clubs.
In the early 1980s, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she began writing for film and television and discovered her talent as a serious playwright.
Her career as a film director started in the late 1990s, when actor and producer Jodie Foster gave her the opportunity to direct the film adaptation of her play "The Baby Dance", which received numerous honors and awards.
Ms. Anderson's plays have been produced Off-Broadway and in theaters across the country, including Actors Theater of Louisville, The McCarter Theater, Long Wharf, ACT, the Geffen Theater, and The Pasadena Playhouse.
Her published plays include "Looking for Normal", "The Baby Dance", "Defying Gravity", "Smart Choices for the New Century", "Lynette at 3AM", and "The Last Time We Saw Her".
Her most recent play, "The Quality of Life", premiered at the Geffen Playhouse and was directed by Ms. Anderson herself.
