Life and Career
English was born in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of Anne and Richard English, who was an electrical engineer. She graduated from Nardin Academy in Buffalo, New York, and then from Buffalo State College in 1970.
In 1986, she became the executive producer of the Pam Dawber sitcom My Sister Sam, which ran for two seasons on CBS and co-starred Rebecca Schaeffer. In 1988, she created the CBS television series Murphy Brown, for which she won one Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and two for Outstanding Comedy Series. In 1992, English stirred up controversy when the title character of Murphy Brown decided to have a child out of wedlock. Vice President Dan Quayle strongly voiced his disapproval of this decision, opining that English was mocking the importance of a father's role in the rearing of a child. Quayle was also joined in his protest by English's brother Richard English, who is a Baptist preacher in Western New York. Several years later, President Bill Clinton stated that Quayle made some valid points in his remarks.
English later created the comedy series Love & War, first with Susan Dey and then with Annie Potts, which ran from 1992 to 1995 on CBS.
In 2007, English began shooting The Women, her feature film directorial debut. The comedy, which is a remake of the 1939 George Cukor film of the same name, stars Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes, and Annette Bening, and was released in 2008, to mostly negative reviews, although tripling its budget worldwide.
In 2008, English and the ensemble cast of The Women were honored with the Women in Film Crystal award.
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