Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Birth Name:
Ruth Prawer
Birth Place:
Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Profession
Writer, Soundtrack
Fast Facts
- Her novel "Heat and Dust," which later went on to become a movie, received the Booker Prize in 1975
- Fled to England from Nazi Germany, and kept herself occupied by reading Charles Dickens and "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell
- After moving to New York in 1975, she wrote many novels portraying lives of immigrants from post-Nazi Europe, using India as the setting of spiritual enlightenment several of her characters sought
- Was first assumed to be an Indian due to her portrayals and perspectives on Indian lifestyles, but when her identity was revealed, her sales in India fell
- Due to her services to Literature, she was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1998
- When first approached by Merchant Ivory Productions to film her screenplay "The Householder," she posed as a housemaid, seeking to avoid them
- She did not become a citizen of the United States until she was almost 60 years old
Awards
- 1984BAFTA Film Award - Best Screenplay - Adapted:Winner
- 1984ALFS Award - Screenwriter of the Year:Winner
- 1986NYFCC Award - Best Screenplay:Nominated
- 1987Oscar - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium:Winner
- 1987BAFTA Film Award - Best Screenplay - Adapted:Nominated
- 1987WGA Award (Screen) - Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium:Winner
- 1990NYFCC Award - Best Screenplay:Winner
- 1990USC Scripter AwardNominated
- 1992ACCA - Best Adapted Screenplay:Nominated
- 1993Oscar - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published:Winner
- 1993BAFTA Film Award - Best Screenplay - Adapted:Nominated
- 1993Golden Globe - Best Screenplay - Motion Picture:Nominated
- 1993USC Scripter AwardNominated
- 1993WGA Award (Screen) - Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published:Nominated
- 1994Oscar - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published:Nominated
- 1994BAFTA Film Award - Best Screenplay - Adapted:Nominated
- 1994CFCA Award - Best Screenplay:Nominated
- 1994Golden Globe - Best Screenplay - Motion Picture:Nominated
- 1994USC Scripter AwardNominated
- 1994WGA Award (Screen) - Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published:Nominated
- 2007Felix - Best Adapted Screenplay:Nominated
- 2013Felix - Best Adapted Screenplay:Nominated
- 2014Felix - Best Adapted Screenplay:Nominated