Toni Graphia (born May 11, 1960) is an American writer and television producer.

Early life and education

Graphia was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of Anthony J. "Tony" Graphia, a prominent Louisiana judge and current Chairman of the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals. She attended Woodlawn High School before going to college. Graphia attended Louisiana State University for two years as an English major before moving west. She enrolled at the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with a B.A. in communications. She also studied journalism at Santa Barbara City College.

Career

Graphia got her start as part of a Writers Guild of America apprenticeship program where she "...went from opening fan mail to selling scripts in just a few years..." Her first work was as a researcher on the television series '' China Beach'', where she met co-creator John Sacret Young, and was eventually promoted into a screenwriting role. The two would work on further projects together, including '' Quantum Leap'', '' Cop Rock'', and '' Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman''. Through her history with Young, Graphia created, produced, and wrote '' Orleans'' with him, which aired on CBS in 1997. The show was based on Graphia's family and life growing up in New Orleans, with the character Judge Luther Charbonnet, played by

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera, ''Dal ...

, modeled after her father. Hagman was the first actor that Graphia thought about after creating the role of Charbonnet. Subsequent projects saw her produce and/or write for ''

Roswell Roswell may refer to: * Roswell incident Places in the United States * Roswell, Colorado, a former settlement now part of Colorado Springs * Roswell, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta * Roswell, Idaho * Roswell, New Mexico, known for the purported 194 ...

'', ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate ...

'', ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

'', '' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'', '' Mercy'', '' Alcatraz'', '' Grey's Anatomy'', and '' Outlander''.

Honors and awards

Graphia's work as screenwriter and producer was cited when R&D TV, in association with NBC Universal Television Studios, won the 2005

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for the 2005 season of ''

'', noting "...plotlines that are deeply personal and relatable, while never compromising their affinity and passion for science fiction."

Personal life

Graphia is based out of Los Angeles, California and has been openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

since February 2006 after

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

in a "public way" at a Writers Guild of America panel. Graphia has taught classes at her alma mater, the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as at the University of Southern California, University of California, Los Angeles, and

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graphia, Toni 1960 births Living people People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana People from Louisiana University of California, Santa Barbara alumni American television writers American television producers American women screenwriters LGBT screenwriters American LGBT writers LGBT people from Louisiana Screenwriters from Louisiana Screenwriting instructors American women television producers American women television writers 21st-century American women