Sarah Dunn (born 1970) is an American author and television writer. She is known for her novels ''The Big Love'' and ''Secrets to Happiness'', and the ABC sitcom ''

American Housewife ''American Housewife'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 11, 2016, to March 31, 2021. It is created and written by Sarah Dunn and co-executive produced with Aaron Kaplan, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener, and for the ...

'', starring

Katy Mixon Katy Mixon (born March 30, 1981) is an American actress. She began her career playing supporting roles in films such as ''The Quiet'' (2005), ''Four Christmases'' (2008), and '' State of Play'' (2009), before landing the female leading role in th ...

Life and career

After graduating from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, Dunn spent several years working service jobs in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, the experience of which informed her first book, ''The Official Slacker Handbook''. Shortly afterward, she moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where she wrote for television series including ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...

'', ''

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, ...

'', ''

Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's ...

'', and ''

Bunheads ''Bunheads '' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Lamar Damon that aired on ABC Family from June 11, 2012, to February 25, 2013. Starring Sutton Foster, the show centers on a Las Vegas showgirl who ...

''. With ''Spin City'' co-creator Bill Lawrence, Dunn penned

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...

's final episode of the series. Dunn is also a novelist whose works include ''The Big Love'' (2005), ''Secrets to Happiness'' (2009), and ''The Arrangement'' (2017). Her books have been translated into 19 different languages . Dunn is a member of the all-female television writers group “The Ladies Room”, which also includes Vanessa McCarthy, Stephanie Birkitt, and Julie Bean. The group was founded in July 2016. In November 2020, it was announced that, after an "extensive" HR investigation that took place between the fourth and fifth seasons of ''American Housewife'' following allegations of a toxic workplace made by Carly Hughes, Dunn would no longer have an active producing role in the series.

Family

Dunn is married to former ''New York Observer'' executive editor Peter Stevenson. They married in 2007.

Selected works

* ''The Official Slacker Handbook'', 1994. * ''The Big Love'', 2005. * ''Secrets to Happiness'', 2009. * ''The Arrangement'', 2017

References

External links

Review of ''Secrets to Happiness'' in the New York ''Times''.

Review of ''The Big Love'' in USA Today.

"A Barn of One's Own" - Sarah's writing space profiled in Upstate House.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Sarah 1975 births Living people American television writers American television producers American women television producers University of Pennsylvania alumni American women television writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists American women novelists