Tamara Jenkins
Tamara Jenkins (born May 2, 1962) is an American filmmaker and occasional actress. She is best known for her feature films Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), The Savages (2007), and Private Life (2018). She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Savages.
Tamara Jenkins

Ernesto Di Stefano via Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Tamara Jenkins
- Born
- 2 May 1962
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Film director
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- New York University Tisch School of the Arts
- Honours
- Guggenheim Fellowship
- Languages
- English
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Tamara Jenkins (born May 2, 1962) is an American filmmaker and occasional actress. She is best known for her feature films Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), The Savages (2007), and Private Life (2018). She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Savages.
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Tamara Jenkins (born 1962) is an American actor, actress and animator, among other activities. The actor was born in Philadelphia. Tamara Jenkins studied at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Languages used include English. Works by the actor are held at Eye Filmmuseum. Tamara Jenkins received Guggenheim Fellowship.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 28 September 2026
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wikidata · Q524733 · wikipedia · Tamara Jenkins
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tamara Jenkins • Born — 2 May 1962 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Children — 1 • Years Active — 1991–present • Occupation — * Film director • screenwriter • actress
Early life
Early life
Jenkins was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Lillian and Manuel Jenkins.[1] Her father is Jewish, and her mother is Italian American.[2][3] After her parents divorced, her father, a former nightclub owner, took custody of her and her three brothers, moving the family to California to work as a car salesman.[4][5] She lived in Beverly Hills with her father and brothers, and attended Beverly Hills High for a year and a half. In the 1980s, Jenkins moved to New York City where she performed in various productions, including the first national tours of Chicago, Les Miserables, and Cats, as well as the 1993 Broadway Revival of My Fair Lady.[6] She enrolled in the graduate filmmaking program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in the 1990s.[7] Winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship for filmmaking, Jenkins also attended the Sundance Institute Screenwriting and Filmmakers Lab.[8] While in film school, Jenkins worked various jobs, including as a waitress and an assistant.[9]
Career
Career
Jenkins began her career with a short film, 1991's Fugitive Love, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Afterwards, she completed a congressional mandate associated with PBS to bring diverse programming to public television that was funded by the Independent Television Service. Another black-and-white short, 1993's Family Remains, followed, which received a Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Short Filmmaking at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.[10] Her debut feature film, 1998's semi-autobiographical Slums of Beverly Hills, which she wrote and directed, played at both Sundance and the Cannes Film Festival.[11] Based on her own experience growing up in Beverly Hills in the 1970s, the film is a dark comedy about a nomadic family in Los Angeles. Using photographs Jenkins had kept from her time at Beverly Hills High School, art director Scott Plauch and production designer Dena Roth were able to create an accurate period depiction of Beverly Hills, while also staying true to the autobiographical element which is key to the film's success.[12] Starring Alan Arkin, Natasha Lyonne and Marisa Tomei, Slums of Beverly Hills was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay). Jenkins took a nearly decade-long hiatus to complete her next feature film. In the nine-year gap between her two films, she worked on an eventually abandoned screenplay about photographer Diane Arbus. Before returning to her next feature film, Jenkins branched out to explore theater, essay publications, and nonprofit film and TV work. In 2003, she directed The New Group's theater production of A Likely Story, written and performed by David Cale.[13] Shortly after her marriage, Jenkins went to Yaddo, the artists' colony in Saratoga Springs, New York, to work on the screenplay that would eventually become 2007's The Savages. For this tragicomedy about a dysfunctional family dealing with the aftershocks of its patriarch's elderly dementia, Jenkins took inspiration from her experiences with her grandmother and father, both of whom were in nursing homes with dementia.[14] Jenkins' father, who was much older than Jenkins’ mother, first needed care when she was in her 30s.[15] Additionally, Jenkins built upon her theater work at The New Group, departing from her previously straight dramas to something far more absurd. The film layers a bright, doll-like color palette upon a bleak and often morbid story, relying on the savage wit of her screenplay to tie the film together.[16] The project was initially with Focus Features, which she says had given her a "blind deal" to write any script she wanted, but she sought to get a deal elsewhere after what she characterized as a disagreement over casting. Fox Searchlight picked up the film with a modest budget ($8 million) and compressed shooting schedule of 30 days. Starring Laura Linney (who received her third Academy Award nomination for her role) and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the film became a critical success after screening at numerous film festivals, including Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival. Jenkins was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. After the success of The Savages, it took Jenkins eleven years to make her third feature film, Private Life. When discussing the more than a decade-long hiatus, Jenkins noted that successful female directors do not often produce films at the same pace as their male counterparts, stating “It’s systemic. It’s gotta be systemic. There is something in the water.”[17] Private Life, which starred Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Shannon, and Kayli Carter, was also written by Jenkins. The film began production in April 2017,[18] and was given a limited release in theaters on October 5, 2018, by Netflix, which also streamed the film.[19][20] Private Life follows a couple dealing with infertility, and is based on Jenkins’ own struggles to have a child.[21] Rolling Stone magazine described the movie as "not only about infertility... a tender but unflinching portrait of a couple in the throes of a midlife crisis." Jenkins was nominated at the 2019 Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay for the film.[22] Private Life holds a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it Jenkins' highest-rated film on the site.[23] In addition to her work in film, Jenkins' writing has been published in Zoetrope: All-Story and Tin House Magazine. Most recently her essay, "Holy Innocents" appeared in the book Lisa Yuskavage: Small Paintings 1993-2004. She has also directed theater at The New Group, worked with teens creating a sex-education film for the nonprofit organization Scenarios, and directed a series of public service announcements for Amnesty International.
Personal life
Personal life
Jenkins has been married to fellow screenwriter, Jim Taylor, since 2002—himself an Academy Award winner for Sideways (2004), among other nominations.[27] They have one daughter and live in New York City[28] As of 2019. The couple co-wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film, Juliet, Naked (adapted from Nick Hornby's homonymous novel), along with Evgenia Peretz—sister of the film's director, Jesse Peretz.[29]
Actress
Actress
• Cheap Flight (1996) • Happy Accidents (2000) • Love in the Time of Money (2002)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1962
Tamara Jenkins born at Philadelphia.
Feature films
Feature films
• Year — Title — Director — Screenwriter — Producer • 1998 — Slums of Beverly Hills • 2007 — The Savages • 2018 — Private Life • 2018 — Juliet, Naked
Short films
Short films
• Year — Title — Director — Screenwriter • 1991 — Fugitive Love • 1993 — Family Remains • 2004 — Choices: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Style and influences
Her process as a filmmaker often begins with images, as she came to filmmaking from the experimental-theatre scene. Her earliest use of film was using slide projectors to project still images as part of a performance piece.[24] Seeing Stranger Than Paradise by Jim Jarmusch inspired her to switch from performance art to filmmaking.[25] She takes inspiration from Lorrie Moore, Lynda Barry, Spalding Gray. Her favorite movies include Dog Day Afternoon and 400 Blows.[26]
Awards and nominations
• Year — Association — Category — Nominated work — Result — Ref • 1999 — Film Independent Spirit Awards — Best First Screenplay — Slums of Beverly Hills • Best First Feature • 2008 — Academy Awards — Best Original Screenplay — The Savages • Film Independent Spirit Awards — Best Director • Best Screenplay • 2018 — Gotham Awards — Best Screenplay — Private Life • 2019 — Film Independent Spirit Awards — Best Director • Best Screenplay

Tamara Jenkins in 2013
Ernesto Di Stefano via Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sg.movies.yahoo.com. Tamara Jenkins - Yahoo! Singapore Movies. November 30, 1961.
- 2.Jweekly.com. Civilization makes a comeback in 'The Savages' | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California. December 14, 2007.
- 3.Jweekly.com. Celebrities | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California. February 22, 2008.
- 4.Lim, Dennis. Unblinking Look at Death Without Nobility. The New York Times. November 7, 2007.
- 5.Giles, Jeff. "Dysfunction Junction." Newsweek 132.7 (1998): 61. Academic Search Complete. Web. May 15, 2012.
- 6.Tamara Jenkins Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos. www.broadwayworld.com.
- 7.Tobias, Scott. Tamara Jenkins Interview. The A.V. Club. November 29, 2007.
- 8.Klein, Joshua. 90210: Tamara Jenkins. The A.V. Club. August 26, 1998.
- 9.Screenwriter and director Tamara Jenkins on holding onto your vision – The Creative Independent. thecreativeindependent.com.
- 10.Tamera Jenkins at Fox Searchlight.
- 11.Fear, David. Tamara Jenkins Gets Savage. Movie Maker. February 1, 2008.
- 12.Young, Lucie. The 70's in Beverly Hills, A Look That Will Not Die. The New York Times. F3. 1998-08-13.
- 13.Hernandez, Ernio. The New Group (naked) Launches With David Cale's A Likely Story, Dec. 1.
- 14.Exclusive interview with Tamara Jenkins.
- 15.Onstad, Katrina. Family matters: Director Tamara Jenkins discusses her film The Savages. CBC News. December 7, 2007.
- 16.Schwartz, Missy. "Tamara Jenkins." Entertainment Weekly 966/967 (2007): 114. Academic Search Complete. Web. May 9, 2012.
- 17.A mythic female director finally returns, with some pointed comments. Washington Post.
- 18.'The Savages' Director Tamara Jenkins to Helm Molly Shannon-Starring Netflix Drama 'Private Life'. March 16, 2017.
- 19.Fontoura, Maria. 'Private Life' Director Tamara Jenkins Always Looks on the Bright Side. Rolling Stone. October 11, 2018.
- 20.Rosenbaum, S.I. 137 Minutes With Tamara Jenkins. www.vulture.com. October 3, 2018.
- 21.Thompson, Anne. 'Private Life': A Decade After 'The Savages,' Tamara Jenkins Returns With a Personal Netflix Film. IndieWire. January 18, 2018.
- 22.Erbland, Kate. 2019 Independent Spirit Awards Nominees: 'Eighth Grade' & 'We the Animals' Lead. IndieWire. November 16, 2018.
- 23.Tamara Jenkins. Rotten Tomatoes.
- 24.Rosenbaum, S. I. Tamara Jenkins on Turning Life's Gloppiness Into Cinema. Vulture. 2018-10-03.
- 25.Salovaara, Sarah. Moment of Conception. Filmmaker Magazine. 2018-09-17.
- 26.The Protein of It All: A Conversation with Tamara Jenkins, BendFilm Festival's Indie Woman of the Year Interviews Roger Ebert. www.rogerebert.com. 2022-10-13.
- 27.Landes, Jennifer. Jenkins and Taylor: Masters of the Cinema Universe. The East Hampton Star. 2019-04-03. 04954053.
- 28.McCracken, Kristin. Screenwriting Explained: Tamara Jenkins + Jim Taylor on April 6. Hamptons International Film Festival. 2019-03-14.
- 29.Peretz, Evgenia. Juliet, Naked: How Adapting a Famous Novel was Like Solving a Puzzle for Its Screenwriter. NoFilmSchool. 2018-08-17.
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Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
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