1. Harriet Quimby (1875)

American Screenwriter

Aviator who was the first American woman to gain a pilot's license and the first woman to fly over the English Channel.

2. Salka Viertel (1889)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter and actress who frequently performed with and wrote screenplays for Greta Garbo.

3. Dudley Nichols (1895)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who is best known for refusing his Oscar for the film, The Informer because the Screen Writers Guild was on strike at the time.

4. Elwood Ullman (1903)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who wrote short bits for the famous comedy trio, The Three Stooges. He also wrote for many low-budget comedians during his career.

5. Ranald MacDougall (1915)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter of acclaimed films, including Mildred Pierce, June Bride, The Unsuspected, and 1954's The Naked Jungle. He also once worked as the President of the Writer's Guild.

6. Dean Riesner (1918)

American Screenwriter

Academy Award winning screenwriter, made famous for his film, Bill and Coo (1948).

7. Tracy McMillan (1964)

American Screenwriter

Relationship expert, TV personality, and writer who gained widespread renown for her 2011 blog post "Why You're Not Married." It went viral, and was the most-viewed article on Huffington Post...

8. Stewart Stern (1922)

American Screenwriter

Two time Oscar nominee for Best Screenplay who is best known for his films Rebel Without a Cause and Sybil.

9. Jon Hurwitz (1977)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who is best known for co-writing the 2004 stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.

10. Rod Serling (1924)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter and director best known for creating and hosting the original Twilight Zone TV anthology series. He was an outspoken political activist and a visible anti-war protestor throughout his lifetime. 

11. Ernest Kinoy (1925)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter and author known for his contributions to the NBC broadcasting network.

12. Alvin Sargent (1927)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1978 for the film Julia, and then again in 1981 for Ordinary People. He also co-wrote Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2...

13. Nick Schenk (1965)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter best known for his award-winning screenplay for the film Gran Torino, which was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood.

14. Meade Roberts (1930)

American Screenwriter

Famous Tennessee Williams collaborator who wrote screenplays like The Fugitive Kind (1959) and Summer and Smoke (1961) based on his original plays.

15. Matthew Weiner (1965)

American Screenwriter

Director, writer, and producer who created the nostalgic drama Mad Men on AMC and wrote for The Sopranos on HBO.

16. Mike Pallagi (1975)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter and producer known for his collaborations with Nintendo and McDonald's, as well as his work producing the film What Is It? in 2005.

17. Robert Towne (1934)

American Screenwriter

Director and screenwriter who won an Oscar for writing the screenplay for the Roman Polanski film Chinatown.

18. Mickey Rose (1935)

American Screenwriter

Comedy writer who penned both Bananas and What's Up Tiger Lily? with director Woody Allen.

19. Colin Jost (1982)

American Screenwriter

Known best for his work on Saturday Night Live, this Emmy-nominated comedian and television writer began anchoring SNL's Weekend Update segment in 2014.

20. Simon Kinberg (1973)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who is best known for writing the 2005 blockbuster smash, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

21. Jerry Juhl (1938)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who is best known for his work on Jim Henson's "Muppets" movies and TV shows.

22. Carol Sobieski (1939)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter known most for writing the screenplays for films Annie and Fried Green Tomatoes.

23. Ann Elder (1942)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who is most famous for her writing on the series, Mama's Family.

24. Derek Haas (1970)

American Screenwriter

Known for co-writing the screenplays of such Hollywood films as 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Double, he also penned the Silver Bear novel trilogy and created and produced the...

25. Charlie Kaufman (1958)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who is best recognized for penning the films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, Anomalisa, and Being John Malcovich. He made his directorial debut with 2008's Synecdoche, New...

26. Brian Jude (1971)

American Screenwriter

American screenwriter, film producer and director, most recognized for his work on the series, Erroneous Convictions.

27. Anne Spielberg (1949)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing of an Original Screenplay for penning the 1988 blockbuster Big.

28. Melissa Mathison (1950)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter most famous for writing the screenplay for the classic 1982 science fiction family film E.T.

29. Ann Biderman (1951)

American Screenwriter

American film and television writer most recognized for creating the TNT series Southland.

30. Nicholas Jarecki (1979)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter best recognized for his film, The Informers, which was originally a novel authored by Bret Easton Ellis.

31. Chuck Lorre (1952)

American Screenwriter

Writer, director, and producer who created The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and Dharma & Greg. He was also an executive producer for Roseanne.

32. David Twohy (1955)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter most recognized for writing the hit thriller, The Fugitive.

33. Don Roos (1955)

American Screenwriter

Writer and director, who is best known for penning the immensely successful film, Marley & Me. In 2011 he created the Showtime series Web Therapy.

34. Josh Schwartz (1976)

American Screenwriter

TV producer and creator of intense drama shows such as Gossip Girl on the CW and The OC on Fox.

35. Doug Ellin (1968)

American Screenwriter

Writer and producer most recognized for creating Entourage, a popular HBO series which was partly based on Mark Wahlberg's early experiences in hollywood.

36. Melissa Rosenberg (1962)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who wrote for the television drama Dexter, which aired on Showtime from 2006 to 2013.

37. Julie Plec (1972)

American Screenwriter

Known for her producing and writing work on the CW's The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and The Tomorrow People, she also produced such films as Teaching Mrs. Tingle and The Broken Hearts Club.

38. Andrew Kevin Walker (1964)

American Screenwriter

Nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for penning Seven starring Brad Pitt.

39. Audrey Wells (1960)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who is best known for penning romantic comedies, including notable films like The Truth About Cats & Dogs, Under the Tuscan Sun and Guinevere.

40. William Monahan (1960)

American Screenwriter

Award-winning screenwriter, who is best known for penning hits like The Departed, Oblivion, and 2010's Edge of Darkness.

41. Ed Solomon (1960)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter who's most recognized for penning the classic 1989 comedy, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

42. Max Landis (1985)

American Screenwriter

Renown screenwriter known for his work on the 2012 thriller Chronicle directed by Josh Trank and the 2015 comedy American Ultra starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart. He also penned Good Time Gang, a...

43. Chris Henchy (1964)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter and producer who is best recognized for his work on the popular HBO series Entourage.

44. Kevin Wade (1954)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter known most for films like Meet Joe Black and Working Girl, among others.

45. Jed Whedon (1974)

American Screenwriter

Though he is perhaps most famous for his Emmy and Streamy-winning web musical, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, this screenwriter and musical composer also contributed to Dollhouse, Drop Dead Diva, The...

46. Laeta Kalogridis (1965)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter known especially for her scripts Shutter Island and Alexander.

47. Paul Scheuring (1968)

American Screenwriter

Screenwriter known for creating and writing for the successful FOX series, Prison Break.

48. Jonathan Roberts (writer) (1956)

American Screenwriter

Jonathan Roberts is an American screenwriter television producer and author. He is best known for having co-written Disney's The Lion King.

49. Jose Molina (writer) (1971)

American Screenwriter

Jose Molina born in 1971 in San Juan Puerto Rico is a screenwriter. He wrote the episodes Trash and Ariel for the American cult TV show Firefly and multiple episodes...

50. Tess Slesinger (1905)

American Screenwriter

Tess Slesinger was an American writer and screenwriter and a member of the New York intellectual scene.