Wagner, Jane, 1935-

Jane Wagner (born on February 2, 1935) is an American writer, director and producer. Wagner was born and raised in Morristown, Tennessee, where she enjoyed writing at an early age; by the time she was in high school, she was also drawn to the theater. At the young age of seventeen, Wagner moved to New York City where she auditioned for acting roles in the New York theater, studied painting and sculpture at the School for Visual Arts, and played the piano to pay the rent. She is one of America's most distinguished playwrights, has won numerous, awards, including several Emmys, a Writer's Guild Award for her work in television. Wagner has also won a New York Drama Critics' Circle Special Award and a New York Drama Desk Award for her broadway success The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, a CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film adaptation of The Search; three Grammy nominations for comedy albums she wrote with Lily Tomlin, Modern Scream, And That's the Truth, and On Stage; and two Peabody Awards--the first for the CBS television special, J.T., and the second for the ABC television special, Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noel. Biographical Source:http://www.lilytomlin.com/lily/janebio.htm , 2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Wagner , 2008.