# Emma Forrest

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{{Short description|British-American film director, screenwriter and novelist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Infobox writer
| image = Emma Forrest 2025.jpg
| caption = Forrest in 2025
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1976|12|26}}
| birth_place = [London](/source/London), England
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| occupation = Writer, director
| nationality = British<br/>American
| period = 1993–present
| genre = 
| children = 1
| subject = 
| movement = 
| notableworks = 
| website = {{URL|emmaforrest.com}}
| spouse = {{Marriage|[Ben Mendelsohn](/source/Ben_Mendelsohn)|2012|2016|reason=divorced}}
}}
'''Emma Forrest''' (born 26 December 1976) is an English<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/10/i-showed-bruce-springsteen-my-bruce-springsteen-tattoo-he-said-he-didnt-like-it | title=I showed Bruce Springsteen my Bruce Springsteen tattoo. He said he didn't like it | newspaper=The Guardian | date=10 April 2023 | last1=Forrest | first1=Emma }}</ref> film director, screenwriter and novelist.

==Early life==
Forrest was born in [London](/source/London), England, to a [Jewish](/source/Jewish) family.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-features/46964/interview-emma-forrest |first=Brigit |last=Grant |date=24 March 2011 |title=Interview: Emma Forrest |newspaper=[The Jewish Chronicle](/source/The_Jewish_Chronicle)}}</ref> Her American mother, Judy Raines, was also a writer, mainly for British television, and her father is British.

==Journalism==
At age fifteen, Forrest wrote a story on [Madonna](/source/Madonna) for the ''[London Evening Standard](/source/London_Evening_Standard)''. She left school to write her "Generation X" column for the ''[Sunday Times](/source/Sunday_Times)'', writing about various [britpop](/source/britpop)/[indie](/source/Indie_(music)) bands "on the road". The  [Manic Street Preacher](/source/Manic_Street_Preachers) member [Richey Edwards](/source/Richey_Edwards) was the first person Forrest interviewed for the column.

Forrest has worked for ''[Vogue](/source/Vogue_(magazine))'', ''[Vanity Fair](/source/Vanity_Fair_(magazine))'', ''[Harper's Bazaar](/source/Harper's_Bazaar)'', ''[Time Out](/source/Time_Out_(company))'', ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'', ''[NME](/source/NME)'' and ''Interview and Blackbook'', for whom she interviewed [Snoop Dogg](/source/Snoop_Dogg) and [Brad Pitt](/source/Brad_Pitt). In the autumn of 2011, she contributed an essay to the album ''[Ceremonials](/source/Ceremonials)'' by [Florence and the Machine](/source/Florence_and_the_Machine) that was included in the CD booklet.<ref>http://emmaforrest.blogspot.com/ {{User-generated source|date=August 2022}}</ref>

==Novels==
Forrest has written five novels: ''Namedropper'' (1998), ''Thin Skin'' (2002), ''Cherries in the Snow'' (2005), ''Royals'' (2019), and ''Father Figure'', which was released in the UK July 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Risbridger |first=Ella |date=21 July 2025 |title=Father Figure by Emma Forrest review – a slippery tale of teenage obsession |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jul/21/father-figure-by-emma-forrest-review-a-slippery-tale-of-teenage-obsession |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Anthologies==
In 2001, Forrest contributed to an anthology on the writer [J. D. Salinger](/source/J._D._Salinger) titled ''Love & Squalor'', with an essay describing Salinger's influence on some current young writers. In 2007, she co-wrote and edited her first non-fiction book, ''Damage Control – Women on the Therapists, Beauticians, and Trainers Who Navigate Their Bodies'', which was an anthology of essays of the emotional pain women suffer for their own physical wellbeing. The book features contributions from women, including [Helen Oyeyemi](/source/Helen_Oyeyemi), [Marian Keyes](/source/Marian_Keyes) and Sarah Jones.

==Memoir==
thumb|right|Emma Forrest talks about ''Your Voice in My Head'' on Bookbits radio.
Forrest wrote a memoir, ''Your Voice in My Head'' (2011), concerning the death of her psychiatrist and her subsequent break-up with her partner.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jan/08/emma-forrest-your-voice-my-head-extract |first=Emma |last=Forrest |title=Your Voice in My Head (extract) |date=8 January 2011 |newspaper=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/when-your-shrink-dies-emma-forrests-therapy-memoir |title=When Your Shrink Dies: Emma Forrest's Therapy Memoir |date=2 May 2011 |first=Maud |last=Newton |work=[The Awl](/source/The_Awl)}}</ref> The memoir was announced as a feature film adaptation to be written by Forrest and directed by [Francesca Gregorini](/source/Francesca_Gregorini), with [Emma Watson](/source/Emma_Watson) in the lead role.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://collider.com/emma-watson-your-voice-in-my-head-francesca-gregorini/ |first=Adam |last=Chitwood |date=7 September 2013 |title=Emma Watson to Star in "Your Voice in My Head" for Director Francesca Gregorini |work=[Collider](/source/Collider_(website))}}</ref>

In August 2022, Forrest published a second memoir, ''Busy Being Free'', concerning her divorce and return to living in London as a single parent.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Notes from a Hollywood divorce: 'We had a primal connection. But we hung by a thread for years' |newspaper=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/06/notes-from-hollywood-divorce-emma-forrest-ben-mendelsohn}}</ref> She shares further memoir-style insights on her [Substack](/source/Substack), which is titled 'The Peaceful Transfer of Power.'<ref>{{cite web |url=https://emmaforrest.substack.com/ |title= The Peaceful Transfer of Power|date=26 October 2026 |first=Emma |last=Forrest |work=[Substack](/source/Substack)}}</ref>

==Screenwriting==
A screenplay by Forrest about musician [Jeff Buckley](/source/Jeff_Buckley), ''Becoming Music'', was bought by Brad Pitt's production company [Plan B Entertainment](/source/Plan_B_Entertainment) in September 2000. In 2009, her screenplay ''LIARS (AE)'' was bought by [Scott Rudin](/source/Scott_Rudin) at [Miramax](/source/Miramax), with [Richard Linklater](/source/Richard_Linklater) attached to direct. In 2009 she was listed on ''[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))''{{'}}s "Top Ten Screenwriters to Watch".<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006599.html?categoryId=3186&cs=1 |title=Emma Forrest: 10 Screenwriters to Watch |first=Adam |last=Dawtrey |date=28 July 2009 |journal=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))}}</ref> Other screenplays in development include ''Know Your Rights'' ([Film4](/source/Film4)) and ''How Could You Do This To Me'' ([Paramount Pictures](/source/Paramount_Pictures)).

==Personal life==
Forrest was in a relationship with actor [Colin Farrell](/source/Colin_Farrell), whom she met in 2008. She refers to him in her memoir as "GH", short for "Gypsy Husband".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2011/05/01/an-affair-to-remember-3/ |newspaper=[New York Post](/source/New_York_Post) |first=Sheila |last=McClear |title=An affair to remember |date=1 May 2011}}</ref>

In June 2012, Forrest married Australian actor [Ben Mendelsohn](/source/Ben_Mendelsohn).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/from-red-carpet-to-wedding-aisle/story-fn6bn80a-1226393521049 |title=From red carpet to wedding aisle |date=12 June 2012 |newspaper=[Herald Sun](/source/Herald_Sun)}}</ref> They had one child together in 2014 and divorced in 2016.

She has been diagnosed with [bipolar disorder](/source/bipolar_disorder) and [borderline personality disorder](/source/borderline_personality_disorder).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/cutting-words-2461738 |title=Cutting Words |newspaper=[The Scotsman](/source/The_Scotsman) |date=1 June 2005 |accessdate=8 May 2023}}</ref>

==Filmography==
* ''[Untogether](/source/Untogether)'' (2017) (director, screenplay)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Emma}}
Category:1976 births
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century English novelists
Category:21st-century English novelists
Category:English women journalists
Category:British women screenwriters
Category:Jewish English writers
Category:People with bipolar disorder
Category:People with borderline personality disorder
Category:Writers from London
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:English women memoirists
Category:20th-century English women novelists
Category:21st-century English women novelists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Emma Forrest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Forrest) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Forrest?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.