Gillian Robespierre (born June 29, 1978) is an American director and writer, known for writing and directing the films ''

Obvious Child ''Obvious Child'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Gillian Robespierre (in her directorial debut) and stars Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann and David Cross. The story follows Donna, a stand-up comed ...

'' and ''

Landline A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...

''.

Early life

Robespierre was born to a Jewish family and raised in New York City. In 2005 she graduated from the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

, where she majored in Film and Video.

Career

Robespierre began her career working as a production assistant on big budget features like '' American Gangster''. She also worked for the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

until 2014. In 2009, Robespierre co-wrote (with Anna Bean and

Karen Maine Karen Maine (born June 15, 1985) is an American film director and screenwriter known for ''Obvious Child'' and '' Yes, God, Yes''. Career Maine co-wrote the 2014 film ''Obvious Child'' and the 2009 short film it's based on. Maine wrote and di ...

) and directed the short film ''Obvious Child'', about a young woman who is impregnated after a one-night stand and decides to have an abortion. Robespierre approached

Jenny Slate Jenny Sarah Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American actress, comedian, and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the ...

to star in the lead role after seeing her perform at a comedy club. Robespierre later expanded the short into her 2014 feature film debut ''

'' with Slate once again playing the lead role. The film premiered at the

2014 Sundance Film Festival The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opened with '' Whiplash'' directed by D ...

where it was acquired by

A24 Films A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Prior ...

. In early 2015, Robespierre announced she was developing a comedy pilot for FX with Elisabeth Holm, who co-wrote ''

'', starring

and

Ari Graynor Ariel Geltman Graynor (born April 27, 1983) is an American actress, known for her roles in TV series such as ''I'm Dying Up Here'', ''The Sopranos'' and ''Fringe'', in stage productions such as '' Brooklyn Boy'' and ''The Little Dog Laughed'', an ...

. Robespierre's second film, ''

'', premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2017, followed by a theatrical release on July 21, 2017. The film stars

, Abby Quinn,

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

, and

Jay Duplass Lawrence Jay Duplass (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor and author widely known for his films '' The Puffy Chair'' (2005), ''Cyrus'' (2010), and ''Jeff, Who Lives at Home'' (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, ...

. It was announced in January 2021 that Robespierre would direct an adaptation of Melissa Broder's novel ''The Pisces'', about a woman and her "erotic infatuation with a merman". The film will star

Claire Foy Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

Filmography

As director

Television *'' Casual'' (4 episodes) (2017–18) * '' Crashing'' (6 episodes) (2018–19) * ''

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

'' (1 episode) (2018) * ''Jenny Slate: Stage Fright'' (2019) * '' Shrill'' (1 episode) (2019) * '' Mrs. Fletcher'' (2 episodes) (2019) * ''

A Teacher ''A Teacher'' is a 2013 American drama film written and directed by Hannah Fidell, in her feature directorial debut. It revolves around a female high school teacher's illicit sexual relationship with a male student that turns from infatuation in ...

'' (2 episodes) (2020) * ''

Only Murders in the Building ''Only Murders in the Building'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. The ten-episode first season premiered on Hulu in August 2021. The plot follows three strangers played by Steve M ...

'' (2 episodes) (2021) * '' And Just Like That...'' (2 episodes) (2021) * ''

Everything's Trash ''Everything's Trash'' is an American comedy television series that premiered on July 13, 2022 on Freeform. It was created by Phoebe Robinson. In November 2022, the series was canceled after one season. The series was removed from Hulu and Disney ...

'' (1 episode) (2022) * ''The Answers'' (1 episode) (TBA); also executive producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robespierre, Gillian American women film directors School of Visual Arts alumni Living people Film directors from New York City Film producers from New York (state) American women film producers Writers from Brooklyn 1978 births Jewish American writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women