Ephron made her directorial debut with the comedy THIS IS MY LIFE (1992), coscripted by her sister Delia, starring Julie Kavner as a single mom who struggles to establish herself as a stand-up comic. Ephron followed up by helming and co-writing SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993), a romantic comedy wherein lovers Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are separated for most of the film. Less about love than about love in the movies, the film drew inspiration from the beloved shipboard romance AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (Leo McCarey, 1957), starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.
Other notable writing credits, alone or in collaboration, include MY BLUE HEAVEN (1990, also exec. producer), MIXED NUTS (1994, also director), MICHAEL (1996, also director), YOU'VE GOT MAIL (1998, also producer & director), HANGING UP (2000, also producer), BEWITCHED (2005, also producer & director) and FLIPPED (2008, also producer & director).
She collaborates with her sister, writer-producer Delia Ephron; her other sister, Amy Ephron, has also written and produced. Ephron is the daughter of stage and screenwriting team Henry and Phoebe Ephron, who used her infancy as the subject of their play Three's a Family, and based their comedy Take Her, She's Mine on letters their daughter wrote them from college. Their screenplays include THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS (1954), CAROUSEL (1956) and DESK SET (1957).
Formerly married to novelist Dan Greenberg, then to investigative journalist Carl Bernstein, Ephron is now wed to crime journalist/screenwriter (GOODFELLAS, 1990) Nicholas Pileggi.
Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen) 1983: SILKWOOD (w. Alice Arlen)
Nominated for Best Screenplay Written Directly For the Screen 1989: WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...
Nominated for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen 1993: SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (w. David S. Ward & Jeffrey Arch)
3 nominations