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Sarah Gertrude Shapiro
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro is an American filmmaker and television writer best known for co-creating the Lifetime television series UnREAL with Marti Noxon.[1] Early lifeShapiro was born in Santa Barbara, California, to mother Diane Wolf (née Wallace) and father Perry Shapiro,[2] a professor.[3] She has a sister, Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza, who is an academic. Shapiro is Jewish and grew up celebrating the High Holidays and Passover.[4] Shapiro said she started writing when she was five years old, a book called Ergant Cries Ignored.[5][6] At the age of 16, after attending a film class at Santa Barbara City College, Shapiro decided she wanted to be a director.[1] Shapiro graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in with a BA in Fiction Writing and Filmmaking.[7] CareerAfter college, Shapiro interned at Christine Vachon's production company, Killer Films, and then worked for photographer David LaChapelle as a studio manager.[8] In 2002, affected by the events of September 11 attacks and wanting to be closer to family, Shapiro moved to Los Angeles, California.[1] In Los Angeles, Shapiro found work on the reality TV show High School Reunion, unknowingly signing a contract with the production company that allowed them to move her to different shows at their discretion, and which committed Shapiro to "unlimited renewable options for perpetuity."[9] Shapiro would eventually become a producer on The Bachelor TV franchise, a role she strongly disliked, but which would play an influential part in her later career.[1] She worked on the show for four seasons over the course of two years, going from associate producer to field producer.[9] In 2005, seeking to leave reality television and end her restrictive non-compete employment contract (which was only effective in California), Shapiro moved to Portland, Oregon,[10] where she worked at the advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy.[8] Shapiro was familiar with Portland from having interned at Portland's Northwest Film Center during college, where she met filmmakers Miranda July and other local artists and filmmakers.[10] Initially she planned to be a kale farmer.[1] At Wieden + Kennedy, Shapiro worked as a director, creating content in the form of short forms and documentaries.[1] Wieden + Kennedy was an early supporter of her creative endeavors, allowing Shapiro to take leave and providing funding for a Kickstarter campaign for Sequin Raze.[10] Shapiro worked on Sequin Raze, which she called a passion project, for four years while working at Wieden + Kennedy.[11][12] In 2012, she was one of eight women selected for the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women (DWW),[13] where she wrote and directed the short film Sequin Raze, starring Anna Camp, Ashley Williams, and Frances Conroy.[14] The film went on to win Honorable Mention at South by Southwest Film Festival's Short Film Jury Awards as well as screenings at the New Directors/New Films Festival in New York (MoMA/Lincoln Center) and Palm Springs International film festival.[8][11] UnREALA mentor at the ad agency in Portland, Sally DeSipio, connected Shapiro with Lifetime, where she pitched the show without an agent, and was paired with writer Marti Noxon.[10] On July 30, 2013, Lifetime placed a pilot order on UnREAL, inspired by Sequin Raze. The pilot was written by Shapiro and Marti Noxon and was produced by A+E Studios. On February 6, 2014, UnREAL was green-lit, with a 10-episode series order,[15] and premiered in June 2015.[9] Shapiro is credited as co-creator, writer, and supervising producer on the show. On July 6, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season of 10 episodes, to premiere in 2016.[16] She spoke about the creation of the series in a lengthy 2016 profile with The New Yorker writer D.T. Max.[17] Shapiro's previous job working as a field producer on the American reality dating series The Bachelor was the inspiration behind both the short film as well as the Lifetime series.[18] She talked about her journey navigating the world of Hollywood in an independent Tedx TED Conference.[5] Other workWhile attending Sarah Lawrence College, Shapiro formed the band The New England Roses with Brendan Fowler and JD Samson of indie band Le Tigre.[19] During her time while working on The Bachelor, Shapiro was in a band called Mean Streak.[5] Shapiro is also a visual artist who created and wrote the music for a hand-animated film called I Wish I was an Animal,[8][20] which was released on Doggpony Records.[21] Filmography
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