Gail Parent

It came as no surprise when, at the end of its first season on CBS, "The Carol Burnett Show" earned an Emmy nomination for writing. What should have been surprising was despite the series being headlined by and tailored for the talents of a woman, there was only one female among the writing nominees. That woman, Gail Parent, had become successful as a comedy writer—a field dominated by men in the 1960s. Parent not only became one of the key comedy writers in the medium, but was also instrumental in creating one of the true cult series of the seventies, "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." In addition she dabbled in film and theater, and wrote the best seller "Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York." She also contributed to the smash hit "The Golden Girls" and branched out into producing, a duty she assumed for "Tracey Takes On…," among other shows. A reliable talent when it comes to knowing what makes not just women, but people in general funny, Parent believes that writers needn’t be categorized according to sex. “With writers it is what is on the page. By the time it gets on the page, sex doesn’t count.”

Doing double duty as producer and writer, Parent ended up with four more Emmy nominations. Parent has also written a television movie for Disney teen star Hilary Duff, "Cadet Kelly," as well as the screenplay for the Lindsay Lohan comedy "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen."