Women Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Liz Friedlander

Today’s Women Behind the Scenes spotlight is shone on film and TV director and producer Liz Friedlander.

Liz hails from New York, but moved to Pennsylvania to attend the Drama Conservatory at Carnegie Mellon University. She then moved to Los Angeles where she attended the University of California Santa Cruz and then the UCLS School of Theater, Film and Television where she graduated as valedictorian of her class.

She got her start by directing music videos, starting in the mid-1990s. For over a dozen years she worked with recording artists such as Maxwell, Alanis Morissette, Megadeath, Paula Cole, Celine Dion, Shawn Mullins, Seal, Dido, 3 Doors Down, Michelle Branch, Semisonic, U2, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, LeAnn Rimes, The Calling, Ashlee Simpson, Joss Stone, John Mayer, Colbie Caillat and Jessica Simpson [among many others].

It was during the latter part of her career as a music video director that she directed her first feature film, the 2006 movie Take the Lead, that starred Antonio Banderas. She then began working as a TV series director in 2008. Since that time she has directed episodes of Privileged, One Tree Hill, Melrose Place, Pretty Little Liars, Outlaw, The Vampire Diaries, 90210, Gossip Girl, The Secret Circle, Sleepy Hollow, Revolution, Stalker, Secrets and Lies and Heartbeat. She also served as a supervising producer for The Secret Circle and as co-executive producer on Stalker.

Her most recent project is the upcoming drama Conviction that will star Marvel’s Agent Carter star Hayley Atwell where she will serve as co-creator (with Liz Friedman), writer and director.

Conviction will debut on ABC on Monday, October 3 at 10/9c.

Who would you like to see in our next spotlight? Please share your suggestions with me @RuebenRambling. And, please make sure to check out our previous spotlights on women behind the scenes like Jennifer Gwartz, Vanessa Piazza, Nichole Millard and Kathryn Price and K.J. Steinberg.