Nora Kirkpatrick (born December 6, 1984) is an American director, writer and musician.

Early life

Kirkpatrick grew up in rural Iowa. She graduated from La Quinta High School. She graduated with a BA in theater from

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

Career

Kirkpatrick was a founding member and accordion player for the Grammy Award winning and platinum record selling band

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American folk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2005. The group is led by singer Alex Ebert. The band's name is based on a story Ebert wrote in his youth, about a messianic figure named E ...

. After seven years touring on the road she turned her focus to writing and directing, selling series to CBS, Hulu and Comedy Central among others. In 2020, Kirkpatrick became a writer on two Amazon series: '' Daisy Jones & the Six'', produced by

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

, and ''Rodeo Queens'' starring

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, she made her film debut at age ten with a minor role in the dark comedy film ''Crazy in Alabama'' (1999) with her mothe ...

. In 2019, Nora created, wrote and directed a 15- episode interactive television show for EKO and FunnyOrDie. This series, ''The Coop'', co-starred

Tony Hale Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the Fox comedy series ''Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth. Hale played Gary Walsh on the HBO comedy ''Veep'' from 2012 until its ...

Bobby Moynihan Bobby Moynihan (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor, comedian and writer who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 until 2017. He also voiced Louie Duck on Disney's ''DuckTales'' from 2017 to 2021, Panda in ''We Bare Be ...

Bridget Everett Bridget Everett (born April 21, 1972) is an American comedian, actress, singer, writer, and cabaret performer. She has starred in the semi-autobiographical 2022 HBO series '' Somebody Somewhere'', the movie ''Fun Mom Dinner'', and in a one-hour ...

and

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

. She directed episode #712 of '' The Goldbergs'' for ABC and was the first woman ever to direct a campaign for

Bud Light Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...

. Nora helmed three commercials for the brand, shot during covid in 2020. In 2018, Nora created, wrote and directed ''Door No. 1'', a live-action VR comedy series, starring

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

and Ravi Patel, for Hulu. In a 2017 ''Forbes'' article, Kirkpatrick mentions virtual reality's ability to cause "spatial un-comfortability," and her aim to make the viewer the lead character of the story. In 2017, Nora sold her TV show ''Assisted Living'' to CBS, which was executive produced by

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

and

Jessica Elbaum Gloria Sanchez Productions is an American film and television production company. History In 2014, Jessica Elbaum founded the production company as a sister label of Gary Sanchez Productions, founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, with a focus ...

. In 2016, Nora co-wrote and directed a five-part VR comedy series, ''Virtually Mike and Nora'', with SNL alum Mike O'Brien, which is currently airing on Hulu. That same year, Nora sold her TV show, ''Best Seller'', to Comedy Central. It was produced by Gloria Sanchez Productions and

Olivia Wilde Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' ( ...

and co-written by SNL alum Dennis McNicholas. Her short films have played at film festivals all over the world garnering awards including Best Female Director at the Prague International Film Festival (2020) and the Grand Jury Prize at the

San Diego Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

, Sioux City Film Festival and the Femme Filmmakers Festival. She won a Davey Grant for her screenplay ''Long Time Listener, First Time Caller'', and the Best Screenplay award from both Shore Scripts and Hollyshorts for ''Best Seller''. As an actor, she is probably best known for her role as Katherine, the stern president of Panhellenic, on the

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

TV series ''

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

'', or for her recurring role on the ninth season of ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'' as Esther Bruegger, a neighboring farmer's daughter who becomes

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's girlfriend. Kirkpatrick starred in the 2015 film ''Pink Grapefruit'', which won the SXSW Grand Jury Award. She has played many other roles in film and TV, including ''

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Coli ...

'', ''

Jennifer Falls ''Jennifer Falls'' is an American sitcom created by Matthew Carlson, and starring Jaime Pressly in the title role. The series premiered on TV Land on June 4, 2014, and is the first single-camera comedy series for the network. It was cancelled on ...

'', ''

Don't Trust the B ''Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'' is an American television sitcom created by Nahnatchka Khan and starring Krysten Ritter that aired on ABC for two seasons from April 11, 2012 to January 15, 2013 and July 19 to September 6, 2014. Original ...

'', and ''

Chasing Life ''Chasing Life'' is an American television drama series that aired on Freeform (TV channel), ABC Family from June 10, 2014, to September 28, 2015. The series is adapted from the Televisa Spanish-language Mexican television series ''Terminales''. ...

''. She was one of the leads of the popular mockumentary web series ''

Dorm Life ''Dorm Life'' is a mockumentary web series created by former students of UCLA. It follows the fictional lives of the inhabitants of the college dorm floor 5 South. It is produced by Attention Span Media, a Los Angeles based social media studio an ...

'', in which she played Courtney Cloverlock.

Music

Kirkpatrick played the accordion in the band

. She is a founding member and together they won a Grammy in 2013. She left the band after seven years in 2014 to focus on her directing career.

Personal life

Kirkpatrick married filmmaker

Bryn Mooser Bryn Mooser (born September 20, 1979, in Los Angeles) is a filmmaker and entrepreneur. In 2012, Mooser co-founded RYOT, a media company specializing in documentary film, virtual/augmented reality and branded content. Over his career, he has prod ...

in 2016.

Filmography

Directing & Writing

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkpatrick, Nora 1984 births Living people UCLA Film School alumni 21st-century American actresses People from Peru, Illinois Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros members