Robin Stender Swicord, born on October 23, 1952, in Columbia, South Carolina, is an acclaimed American screenwriter, film director, and playwright.
Raised in a military family, she spent part of her childhood in Barcelona, Spain, before settling in Florida.
Her early passion for writing developed through her education at Florida State University, where she double-majored in English and Theater, with an emphasis on stagecraft.
Swicord’s career began with short films and industrial filmmaking for IBM in Atlanta, followed by a stint as a copywriter in New York City.
Her transition to Hollywood came after selling her script Stock Cars for Christ to MGM, marking the start of a prolific career in screenwriting and directing.
Siblings
Robin has one known sibling, a brother named Steven Swicord.
However, not much is known about Steven, as Swicord’s personal life, beyond her immediate family and professional achievements, remains relatively private.
Career
Swicord’s breakthrough came with the 1994 film Little Women, where her meticulous research into Louisa May Alcott’s diaries and letters ensured a faithful and nuanced adaptation, earning her a Writers Guild Award nomination.
She followed this with screenplays for Matilda (1996), co-written with her husband Nicholas Kazan, Practical Magic (1998), The Perez Family (1995), and Shag (1989).
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Her adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), based on Arthur Golden’s novel, won her a Satellite Award for Best Screenplay.
Swicord’s work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, earned nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Beyond writing, Swicord made her feature directorial debut with The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), which she also adapted, and later wrote and directed Wakefield (2016), starring Bryan Cranston and Jennifer Garner.
She has also contributed to television, writing episodes for Ava DuVernay’s Emmy-nominated Netflix series When They See Us.
Swicord’s stage work includes two off-Broadway plays, Last Days at the Dixie Girl Café and Criminal Minds, both published by Samuel French.
Currently, she is working on projects like Welcome to the Tempest Hotel, a romantic comedy addressing climate change, and a limited series about Mark Twain and his wife, Livy Langdon Clemens.
Swicord has also served as a mentor for the Sundance Screenwriting Lab, Tribeca Film Festival, and Hedgebrook Screenwriting Workshop, and held leadership roles in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Accolades
Swicord’s screenplay for Memoirs of a Geisha earned a 2005 Satellite Award for Best Screenplay.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button brought her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay in 2009.
Her work on Little Women secured a Writers Guild Award nomination, reflecting her skill in crafting emotionally resonant adaptations.
Swicord’s involvement in When They See Us contributed to the series’ Emmy nomination.
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