Born August 4th, 1983 in Sacramento, CA

Personal Success Definition

I define success as someone who has built or created that has impacted the world in a good and well-intended way. Greta Gerwig has created widely renowned and Oscar-nominated films and has impacted the film industry in a great way.

Skills for Success

Greta Gerwig is a 1. Director, 2. Actress, and 3. an ex competitive fencer. Greta started out with the intention to become a playwright at first but while at Barnard College got cast in a minor role in a show (2.) She later went on to partnering with the director of the show , Joe Swanberg, in co-directoring Hannah Takes The Stars which helped begin her directing career (1.) In high school, Greta was a competitive fencer but ended up quitting due to a high cost.

How They Used These Skills

Greta used her acting skills to get in the door of the film industry and begin making connections with those in it as well. Whether it be actors, directors, or cinematographers she got to know them all. She used her old passion for playwrighting to help her learn to write screenplays and then went to directing. She also used the competitive attitude that she gained from fencing to help keep her motivated and always wanting to win and do better.

Challenges Overcome

During the early days of her acting career, she became depressed and really struggled. A quote of hers is as follows, “This is supposed to be the best time and I’m miserable’ but it felt like acting was happening for me, and I went back to acting classes.” (Found on Wikipedia, see Resources below) She felt the stress of being the ‘it girl’ for new ‘mumblecore’ films.

Significant Work

Greta Gerwig directed the Oscar-nominated Film LadyBird. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Bird_(film)

Resources

EXAMPLES:

Cite at least one of these sources within the text of your writing