Meyers, Nancy Jane
MEYERS, NANCY JANE
MEYERS, NANCY JANE (1949– ), U.S. director, producer, and writer. A Philadelphia native, Meyers earned a B.A. in journalism from American University in 1971. She moved to Los Angeles in 1972, where she started off supporting herself as a screenwriter by selling homemade cheesecakes. Meyers met her husband, screenwriter Charles Richard Shyer (1941– ), on a date with his best friend, Harvey Miller. Meyers and Shyer were a couple by 1976. Shyer was already established in Hollywood, having written for the tv series The Odd Couple and All in the Family as well as the films Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Goin' South (1978), starring Jack Nicholson. In 1976, Meyers and Shyer began collaborating on projects, joining Miller to pen a hit for fellow American University alumna Goldie *Hawn, in Private Benjamin (1980). The script earned an Academy Award nomination. Next, the two co-wrote Irreconcilable Differences, with Meyers as executive producer and Shyer as director. Their 1987 movie Baby Boom spawned an nbc tv series (1988–89) that the two produced. In 1991, the Meyers-Shyer remake of the 1950 film Father of the Bride was a success. The couple finally married in 1995 and also formed the Meyers/Shyer Company that year. The pair signed a development deal with Walt Disney Pictures in 1996 and remade the 1961 movie Parent Trap in 1998. It marked Meyers' directorial debut. The film's twin girls were named after Meyers and Shyer's daughters, Annie and Hallie. By that year, Meyers and Shyer's relationship had begun to dissolve and the two separated, personally and professionally. Meyers went on to direct What Women Want (2000) and Something's Gotta Give (2003), which she also wrote. Shyer directed The Affair of the Necklace (2001) and the 2004 remake of Alfie.
[Susannah Howland (2nd ed.)]