Leslie Dixon is an American screenwriter and producer best known for her work on numerous successful Hollywood films. She grew up in California’s Bay Area and is the granddaughter of acclaimed photographer Dorothea Lange and landscape painter Maynard Dixon. At 18, Dixon was living on her own in San Francisco without enough resources to attend college. Driven by her passion for writing, she moved to Hollywood at the age of 26 with the goal of breaking into the film industry. Without any connections, she spent several years working various office jobs before eventually becoming a script reader, where she carefully studied scripts to understand what made them successful.
While working as a script reader, Dixon gained valuable insights into the elements that made screenplays appealing to producers. She learned about script structure, formatting, and the types of stories that were in demand, giving her a strong foundation to build her own writing career. After about a year in Hollywood, she wrote her first screenplay with a co-writer. Their script caught the attention of agents and studios, ultimately selling to Columbia Pictures for $30,000. Although the screenplay was never produced, it marked the beginning of Dixon’s career in the industry.
From that early breakthrough, Leslie Dixon went on to establish herself as one of Hollywood’s most versatile screenwriters, known for hits such as Outrageous Fortune, Mrs. Doubtfire, Freaky Friday (2003), and Limitless (2011). Her career is a testament to determination, self-education, and a deep understanding of the storytelling craft, making her a respected figure in the world of film and television.
