Happy 37th Birthday, Greta Gerwig! Born today in 1983 as Greta Celeste Gerwig, this American actress and filmmaker garnered attention after working on and appearing in several mumblecore films.
The term "mumblecore" is a subgenre of independent film characterized by naturalistic acting and dialogue, low-budget film production, and an emphasis on dialogue over plot.
It also focuses on the personal relationships of people in their twenties and thirties.
As a young girl, Gerwig attended St. Francis High School; an all-girls Catholic school in Sacramento, California. She had described herself as having been "an intense child."
Gerwig showed an early interest in dance, and had intended to complete a degree in musical theatre in New York, but ended up graduating from Barnard College with a degree in English and philosophy.
Outside of class, Gerwig performed in the Columbia University Varsity Show with American actress, comedian and musician Kate McKinnon.
Gerwig originally intended to become a playwright, but turned to acting when she was not admitted to playwriting MFA programs. Gerwig later moved to New York City, New York at nineteen to attend Barnard College.
In 2006, while still studying there, she was cast in a minor role in American independent film director, producer writer and actor Joe Swanberg's 2006 American independent mumblecore film 'LOL'.
Two years later, Gerwig appeared in the 2008 American comedy horror film 'Baghead'.
The film was made by American film director, author and actor Jay Duplass and his American film director and producer, actor, musician, screenwriter, and author brother Mark Duplass.
During this time, Gerwig began a partnership with Swanberg, which resulted in the duo's co-writing the 2007 American independent mumblecore film 'Hannah Takes the Stairs'.
Together, they both shared writing, producing and directing duties on the 2008 American independent mumblecore film 'Nights and Weekends'.
Through these films, Gerwig became known as a key figure in of the rising mumblecore film movement, often referred to as an "it girl".".
Although she had an association with a number of other mumblecore filmmakers and appeared in several films, mainstream success remained elusive.
Two years later, Gerwig starred in American filmmaker Noah Baumbach's 2010 American comedy-drama film 'Greenberg' with Ben Stiller, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Welsh actor and musician Rhys Ifans.
In an appraisal of Gerwig's work in this and other films, American journalist and chief film critic of The New York Times A. O. Scott described her as an "ambassador of a cinematic style that often seems opposed to the very idea of style."
"She seems to be embarked on a project," Scott wrote, "however piecemeal and modestly scaled, of redefining just what it is we talk about when we talk about acting."
Later that same year, Gerwig made her first talk show appearance on the American late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003–present).
From 2011-15, Gerwig voiced one of the main characters, Pony Merks, in the Adult Swim American adult animated sitcom series China, IL.
During this time, Gerwig appeared in Woody Allen's 2012 American magical realism/romantic comedy film 'To Rome with Love'.
Later that same year, Gerwig and Baumbach co-wrote their next film. This was Baumbach's 2012 American black and white comedy-drama film 'Frances Ha'.
Among her most notable collaborations with Baumbach, the film starts Gerwig as twenty-seven-year-old Brooklyn dancer Francis Halladay.
The following year, Gerwig received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her performance. This occurred at the 70th Golden Globe Awards in mid-January 2013.
In 2014, Gerwig was cast in the lead role in a spin-off of the American romantic comedy sitcom How I Met Your Mother titled How I Met Your Dad. However, it was not picked up to series.
Two years later, Gerwig co-starred in Chilean filmmaker Pablo LarraÃn's 2016 American biographical drama film 'Jackie'. This was as White House Social Secretary Nancy Tuckerman, later earning acclaim for her performance.
Later that same year, Gerwig guest-starred in two episodes of the American romantic comedy series The Mindy Project (2012–2017).
The following year, Gerwig wrote and directed her solo directorial debut, being the first film of which she is best known. This was the 2017 American coming-of-age drama/comedy film 'Lady Bird'.
Set in 2002 Sacramento, the film tells of Marion McPherson (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse. She works tirelessly to keep her family afloat after her husband, Larry (Tracy Letts), loses his job.
She also maintains a turbulent bond with a teenage daughter, Christine "Lady Bird'" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan). A senior at a Catholic high school, she is just like her mother: loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated.
The film also co-stars Timothée Chalamet as Kyle Scheible. He is a student at the boy's school of whom Lady Bird meets upon taking a job at a coffee shop.
Upon release, 'Lady Bird' was met with widespread critical acclaim, with critics particularly lauding Gerwig's screenplay and direction.
The film was later chosen by the National Board of Review, the American Film Institute, and Time as one of the Top 10 Films of 2017.
The following year, 'Lady Bird' won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Musical or Comedy (Saoirse Ronan).
It also received nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf) and Best Screenplay (Greta Gerwig). This occurred at the 75th Golden Globe Awards in early January 2018.
Two months later, the film received five nominations. This included Best Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf), Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Original Screenplay and Best Director (Greta Gerwig) and Best Picture. This occurred at the 90th Academy Awards in early March 2018.
With the nominations announced, Gerwig had become the fifth woman in cinematic history to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Director.
When she found out about the nominations, Gerwig said she was "in various states of laughing and crying and yelling with joy."
Later that same year, Gerwig was part of the voice cast of Wes Anderson's American stop-motion animated science-fiction adventure film 'Isle of Dogs'. This was as providing the voice of Tracy Walker, a foreign exchange student from Ohio.
One year later, wrote and directed the second film of which she is best known, This was the 2019 American coming-of-age period drama/romance film 'Little Women'.
It is the seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by American novelist, short story writer and poet Louisa May Alcott.
he following year, 'Little Women' won an Oscar for Best Costume Design (Jacqueline Durran). This occurred at the 92nd Academy Awards in early February 2020.
According to Gerwig's personal life, she now resides in Brooklyn with Baumbach, of whom has been her partner since late 2011. In March 2019, it was announced that Gerwig and Baumbach had welcomed a son.
Gerwig's films tend to be based on her own experiences. In a behind-the-scenes video on the set of 'Lady Bird' she said, "I tend to start with things from my own life, then pretty quickly they spin out into their own orbit."
Gerwig presses her actors to incorporate who they are personally into their performances as well, and says of her writing and directing, "it's all about actors."
In addition, she allows little line improvisation and the script is followed fairly closely.
Gerwig's works have common themes: the growth and emotional maturation of the leading woman, and relationships among family members, friends, and significant others, with a special interest in female dynamics.
Characters are reportedly never villainized, and all are sympathetic. She tends to imbue her films with a unique and specific deadpan sense of humor.
Visually they also carry a very specific atmosphere – simultaneously having the warmth of looking back on something in memory and displaying things as they are, stripped of any sort of showiness.
Though Gerwig began her career with playwriting ambitions, Gerwig soon skirted to fame as one of the preeminent actresses in "mumblecore" films.
As led by the Amerindie filmmakers, this movement of early-21st century American cinema relied on shoestring budgets and characterized itself via such elements as shaky, handheld photography, loosely strung narratives, and ultra-informal, from-the-hip dialogue that sustained the illusion of complete spontaneity.
Gerwig has been active from 2006–present.
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