Emily V. Gordon (born May 3, 1979) is an American writer, producer and podcast host. She co-wrote the 2017 romantic comedy film ''

The Big Sick ''The Big Sick'' is a 2017 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter and written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. It stars Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Adeel Akhtar, and Anupam Kher. Gordon and Nanji ...

'', based on her relationship with her husband and frequent collaborator, comic

Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی ننجیانی, ; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-wri ...

. Gordon and Nanjiani won an

Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay is one of the annual awards given by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It was first presented in 1994 with David O. Russe ...

for ''The Big Sick''; they were also nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Awards, Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Be ...

, among many other nominations. Gordon began her career as a family and couples therapist before becoming a writer and comedy producer. She co-created the live show ''

The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail ''The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail'' is a stand-up comedy television series that aired on Comedy Central in the United States. It was hosted by stand up comedians Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی نن� ...

'' and its television counterpart for

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

, and has written for television (''

The Carmichael Show ''The Carmichael Show'' is an American sitcom television series created by Nicholas Stoller, Jerrod Carmichael, Ari Katcher, and Willie Hunter that premiered on August 26, 2015, on NBC and concluded on August 9, 2017, after three seasons and 32 ...

''), a book (''Super You''), and for several online and print publications.

Early life

Gordon was born and raised in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. She received a BA in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from the

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

and an MS/EdS in couples and family counseling from the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

Career

Counseling career

Gordon was a practicing therapist from 2004 to 2009, working in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(where she moved in 2005) and

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

(where she moved in 2007).

Writing and comedy

Gordon began her comedy career in New York, where she worked at Comix comedy club and produced a live show with

Pete Holmes Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Musings on spirituality and religion are frequent themes in his works. Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, ...

. By the time she moved to

Los Angeles 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' ...

in 2010, Gordon was pursuing comedy and freelance writing full-time. Gordon has written two webseries aimed at teenagers, called ''Power Up'' and ''ExploreD'', at Disney.com. She wrote for the second season of ''

'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, writing an episode called "New Neighbors". In addition to writing, Gordon also produces comedy. In 2010, she created a weekly live show co-hosted by

Jonah Ray Jonah Ray Rodrigues (born August 3, 1982) is an American actor, comedian and writer from Los Angeles. He stars as Jonah Heston, the most recent primary host of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. He is a former host of ''The Nerdist Podcast'' and w ...

and

called ''

'', located in the back of comic bookstore Meltdown Comics; Gordon served as producer and booker. In 2011, she was asked by

Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosts ''Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' The ...

, who wanted to turn the space into a curated comedy venue, to act as program director. She served as program director of the Nerdist Showroom at Meltdown Comics from 2011 to 2012. In 2013,

ordered a pilot for ''The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail'', which was made a series in 2014; Gordon was an executive producer. From 2011 to 2015, Gordon and Nanjiani co-hosted a

Nerdist Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...

network podcast called ''The Indoor Kids'', which "isn't just about video games, but it isn't not about video games." In 2020, Gordon and Nanjiani co-hosted a podcast called
Staying In with Emily and Kumail
', about the quarantine due to COVID-19. Gordon was signed to adapt Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney's 2016 novel '' The Nest'' for Amazon's film studio.

Joey Soloway Joey Soloway (previously Jill Soloway; born September 26, 1965) is an American television creator, showrunner, director and writer. Soloway is known for creating, writing, executive producing and directing the Amazon original series ''Transparent' ...

and

Andrea Sperling Andrea Sperling (born c. 1968/69) is an independent film producer based in Los Angeles. The films she has produced include '' Totally Fucked Up'', '' But I'm a Cheerleader'', '' D.E.B.S.'' and ''Itty Bitty Titty Committee'' and the Sundance Top ...

will produce the feature film.

''Super You''

Gordon's first book, ''Super You: Release Your Inner Superhero'', a tongue-in-cheek self-improvement guide, was released in 2015.

''The Big Sick''

Gordon also co-wrote the screenplay of and co-executive produced the 2017 film ''

'', with her husband

. The critically acclaimed film is based on the beginning of their relationship, with Nanjiani playing himself, and Gordon (renamed Emily Gardner) played by

Zoe Kazan Zoe Swicord Kazan (; born September 9, 1983) is an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter. She made her acting debut in the film ''Swordswallowers and Thin Men'' (2003) and later appeared in films such as '' The Savages'' (2007), ''Revol ...

. ''The Big Sick'' was directed by

Michael Showalter Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's ''The State'', which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the ''Wet Hot ...

and produced by

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...

. Gordon and Nanjiani's script won the

. It was also nominated for a 2018

, as well as screenwriting awards from the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

, the

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

, and a dozen critics' associations.

Personal life

Gordon has been married to actor and comedian

since 2007. It is her second marriage. She met Nanjiani at a comedy show in Chicago where he was performing and she lightly heckled him, an encounter depicted in ''The Big Sick''. In the ensuing months, they began dating but Gordon fell seriously ill and was put into a medically induced coma before being diagnosed with Still's disease. Gordon recovered and three months later—a year after meeting—they married. They previously lived in Chicago and New York but later moved to Los Angeles.

Filmography

Selected credits

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Emily V. 1979 births American comedy writers American television writers American women screenwriters Living people University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni American women television writers Writers from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Independent Spirit Award winners Screenwriters from North Carolina 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters