Marta Fran Kauffman (born September 21, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the co-creator of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom ''

Friends ''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 ...

'' with her longtime friend, David Crane. Both Kauffman and Crane were also executive producers of the show, along with

Kevin Bright Kevin S. Bright (born November 15, 1954) is an American television executive producer and director whose credits include '' Dream On'' and '' Friends''. Early life Born to a Jewish-American family in New York City, Bright attended the East Sid ...

. Kauffman and Crane produced ''

Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American sitcom television series created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, that aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997, to December 7, 2000. The show stars Kirstie Alley as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, ...

'' and ''

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

''. From 2005 to 2006 she was an executive producer on ''

Related ''Related'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB from October 5, 2005, to March 20, 2006. It revolves around the lives of four close-knit sisters of Italian descent, raised in Brooklyn and living in Manhattan. The ...

''. Both writers were the creators of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series '' Dream On''. Without Crane, she co-created the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Grace and Frankie ''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 ...

''.

Early life and education

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in the Philadelphia suburbs,Jewish Journal: "For Kauffman, Making ‘Match’ Was a Blessing" by Danielle Berrin
January 16, 2009 Kauffman attended Marple Newtown High School, located in the

Marple Newtown School District 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 . According to 2000 federal census ...

near Philadelphia, where she was a thespian and student director of the school play "Our Town" in 1974. Kauffman attended

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

and received her BA in theater in 1978. During her time there, she was a sister of

Sigma Delta Tau Sigma Delta Tau () is an American sorority and member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Sigma Delta Tau was founded on March 25, 1917 at Cornell University by Jewish women. However, there is no religious requirement for membership to the ...

sorority. Kauffman also studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York City.

Personal life

Kauffman married Michael Skloff, who would later be the composer of the ''Friends'' theme song, and lived in Los Angeles. The couple had three children together. Kauffman is a registered

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Career

Okay Goodnight production company was headed by partners Kauffman, Robbie Rowe Tollin and Hannah KS Canter.

Fox 21 Television Studios The second incarnation of Touchstone Television (formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios) was an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Disney Media Networks' Walt Disney Television owned by The Walt Disney Company. It ...

signed Okay Goodnight to multi-year first-look agreement in January 2020 starting with ''The Dreamers'' novel adaptation together with The Littlefield Company.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * 1956 births Living people Television producers from California American women television producers Showrunners Writers from Los Angeles Jewish American screenwriters Brandeis University alumni Writers from Philadelphia American women screenwriters American television writers American women television writers Screenwriters from California Television producers from Pennsylvania Jewish American television producers {{US-tv-bio-stub