Adrienne Shelly Biography

Fast Facts

• Intermittently suffered from episodes of Bell's palsy, which first appeared when she was 15, then again during her junior year of college
• Cofounded a nonprofit theater troupe named Missing Children, for which she penned the play Verbatim; she also acted and served as artistic director
• First big-screen role was in director Hal Hartley's 1989 feature debut The Unbelievable Truth, an indie dramedy that became a hit on the festival circuit
• Made her feature-film directing debut in 1997 with the black comedy Sudden Manhattan, in which she also starred
• Won the U
• S
• Comedy Arts Festival's Film Showcase Jury Award for Best Director in 2000 for her second feature, the romantic comedy I'll Take You There
• Following her death, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation was established to offer scholarships and grants to women studying and working in film