Biography from deltorofilms.com; photo (2007) from the IMDb

theOscarSite Bio: Iris Yamashita is a Japanese-American screenwriter. She was hired by Clint Eastwood to write the Japanese side of the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima, once rumored to be titled "Lamps Before the Wind", then called "Red Sun, Black Sand", before being released as LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (2006). Eastwood had asked Paul Haggis, who wrote FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, if he would like to write the Japanese version as well. The writer of MILLION DOLLAR BABY and director of CRASH, Haggis was overbooked but thought Yamashita, who had helped him research FLAGS, might be able to do it. She met with Eastwood, and once again his gut spoke; he gave her the job and liked her first draft so much that he bought it. It was she who insisted on giving him a few rewrites she thought her script still needed.

· Achievement in Writing (Original Screenplay) 2006: LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (Story by Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis)