Callie Khouri Biography

Fast Facts

• Served on the board of directors for the Writer's Guild of America and on the board of trustees for the Writer's Guild Foundation
• Won Best Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America, the PEN Center USA West Literary Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle for "Thelma & Louise․"
• Serves as a member of the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Women's Media Watch Project
• Studied landscape architecture and drama at Purdue University
• Married acclaimed soundtrack and record producer T-Bone Burnett in 2006
• Started working on the script for "Thelma & Louise" while working at a commercial production company, first as a receptionist and later as a music video production assistant
• Quote: "So much of writing is about getting quiet enough so you can hear your characters talking․"
• Best known for writing the screenplay for the 1991 film 'Thelma & Louise," which earned her an Academy Award
• Puts detailed thought into her characters to the point that when she found out Geena Davis had said that she trusted Khouri to know what kind of toothpaste her character used, Khouri immediately knew the character used the kind with the stripe
• Typically includes strong female roles in her films
• Was considered to direct "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban․"
• Was on the dramatic jury at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival