DIANE ENGLISH

Diane English was born on May 18, 1948 in Buffalo, New York. She graduated from Buffalo State College in 1970 and taught high school English and drama for a year after graduating before moving to New York City to work as a story editor for the public television station WNET. In 1980 English wrote PBS's first full-length TV-movie, The Lathe of Heaven. Throughout the 1980’s she wrote and produced the short lived CBS sitcoms Foley Square (1985) and My Sister Sam (1986) before finding huge success with Murphy Brown (1988) which she created and executive produced the first four seasons. The show spotlighted the working and private life of a successful TV newswoman (starring Candice Bergen) that drew obvious parallels with English's own high-profile media career. She was previously married to Joel Shukovsky with whom she formed the production company Shukovsky-English Entertainment. In 1998 she returned to Murphy Brown to write the series finale. In 2008 English made her directorial debut with the remake of the 1936 play by Clare Boothe Luce, The Women, which she also wrote and produced. In 2018 she returned to show business after a decade away with a Murphy Brown reboot.

"Women didn’t see themselves on television in a very accurate way. I think they were looking for someone to relate to."