jenji Leslie kohan is an American
television writer producer and director
she is best known as the creator of the
Showtime comedy drama series weeds and
the netflix comedy-drama series orange
is the new black she has received seven
emmy award nominations winning one a
supervising producer of the comedy
series tracy takes on early life cohan
was born in Los Angeles California the
daughter of novelist ria cohen and
writer producer and composer father Alan
W booze Cohen Cohen has two older
brothers twins Jono and David she comes
from a show business family booze is an
Emmy award-winning television writer and
David is an Emmy award-winning
television producer Cohen says that
booze was the king of variety television
in his day writing and producing the
Oscars and other variety shows she said
he was very prolific very funny and a
craftsman as well Kohan thinks that a
lot of my ear for dialogue comes from my
mother who was a writer she grew up in
beverly hills california she first went
to brandeis university but then
transferred to columbia university as a
sophomore graduating from Columbia with
a degree in English in 1991 career early
career on her beginnings an ex-boyfriend
from college said told her that she had
a better chance of getting elected to
Congress than getting on the staff of a
television show she would later say that
this was the perfect thing for him to
say because my entire career is well
screw you she also stated that we broke
up and then I started writing I quit all
of my crappy odd jobs and I moved in
with a friend who was living in Santa
Cruz and every day we would go to these
little cafes in santa cruz and i would
work on spec scripts and study these
videotapes i had recorded off television
of Roseanne and Seinfeld and the
simpsons what ended up happening was my
sister-in-laws father worked in a
building with an agent and gave him my
scripts in an elevator and he read them
and I was on a show by spring
and it took off from there and I never
stopped working Kohan's first show was
fresh prince of bel-air witch kohan said
was a rough entrance to the business as
she was the only woman in the writers
room early in her career she worked for
her brother on Will & Grace she has
discussed the differences between her
and her brothers career saying a euro OE
David took the big commercial funny
route I was always a little darker
personally and not terrific within the
system I had to make my own way a euro
weeds kohan was the creator executive
producer showrunner and head writer of
the Showtime comedy drama weeds starring
mary-louise Parker as she sold the pilot
to show time with five words suburban
widowed pot dealing mom the show went on
to run for eight seasons orange is the
new black Kohan is the creator of
Netflix's orange is the new black an
adaptation that was inspired by the
memoir Piper Kerman about her experience
in a minimum-security women's prison on
why she chose nettle fix I took it to
HBO and Showtime and netflix and the
greatest thing about going to inflict
was that I pitched it in the room and
they ordered 13 episodes without a pilot
that's miraculous that is every
showrunners dream to just go to series
and have that faith put in your work
they paid full freight they were new
they were streamlined they were lovely
they were enthusiastic about it and I
love being on the new frontier I love
being first out of the gate it's really
really fun because I think it is the
future in a lot of ways of how people
consume media and it's great to be in
there early on her strategy for
populating the universe with a talented
unusually diverse cast you know it was
an embarrassment of riches you have this
huge talent pool that is generally
tapped for very limited visibility roles
but they're so good and to be able to
let them flex and shine is just so
exciting i would get these audition
tapes and it was just one after the
other so good
so we started creating more characters
because we wanted to use more of the
girls we saw in the audition tapes there
were just so many great latina actress
and black actress that hadn't had the
opportunity to really do this thing
especially in New York which was a fresh
pool for me in terms of faces and talent
like I said it was an embarrassment of
riches and we really got amazing people
Cohen runs her writers room for orange
from Los Angeles while the show films in
New York though she typically flies in
to be on set for the first and final
episodes the distance has enabled the
self-described control freak to maintain
a saner schedule and some sense of
normalcy with her family and flicks as a
streaming service distribution model of
TV and movie content is unique in that
it does not provide ratings information
so Cohen does not know exact ratings for
orange is the new black which has been
characterized as the most-watched
original series on Netflix in a new
distribution model where binge viewing
is enabled by full seasons of shows
being made available at once other
projects producing Cohen has an overall
deal with Lionsgate TV as of December
2013 she is working on a new series
about witches in Salem for HBO which is
under her overall deal with Lionsgate on
her definition of showrunner on Orange I
run the writers room I have final cut in
the editing room I approve all the
casting wardrobe sets one of my great
skills is hiring people who are really
good at their jobs and for the most part
letting them do them hayworth theatre
Kohan owns the historic hayworth theatre
a spanish colonial-style building named
after actress rita hayworth has changed
its identity many times since it opened
in 1926 on Wilshire Boulevard near
macarthur park kohan is planning on
using the second floor as production
offices for writers and editors on her
TV shows awards and nominations Cohen
has received seven emmy award
nominations winning a supervising
producer of tracy takes on she shared a
cable ace award in 1996 for her work on
that show
she received her first nomination for
her show weeds in 2009 for Outstanding
Comedy Series she was nominated for a
Producers Guild of America Award in 2007
and two writers guild of america awards
in 2014 cohan was named one of time's
100 most influential people in 2014
orange is the new black was nominated
for 12 Emmys personal life Cohan is
married to author and freelance
journalist Christopher Noxon they have
three children a son Charlie a daughter
Eliza and youngest son Oscar they live
in the Los fleurs section of Los Angeles
California Cohen and her family are
Jewish they belong to two synagogues and
hav a group and her children attend
Jewish day school and summer camp every
Friday Cohen and her extended family
have Shabbat dinner together Cohen's
bright multicolored hair was discussed
by a Hollywood Reporter article her
brightly colored locks she explains were
a way to have a little fun with the
Grays coming in as her mother once
advised if you can't fix it decorate it
so every three to six weeks she settles
into a chair at a Hollywood Boulevard
salon and lets her hairdresser Luna get
creative filmography 1994 The Fresh
Prince of bel-air euro writer 1996
Boston Common a euro writer 1996a euro
1999 Tracy takes on a euro writer
supervising producer producer 1997 mad
about you euro producer writer written
by credit 1998 Sex and the City euro
story 2000 Gilmore Girls a euro producer
writer 2002 Will and Grace a writer 2002
my wonderful life a euro writer
executive producer 2004 the stones a
euro writer executive producer 2005-2006
executive producer 2010 tough trade a
euro creator writer executive producer
2013 euro present orange is the new
black creator writer executive producer
references external links Jenji Kohan at
the internet movie database