The late Adrienne Shelley was born in Queens, New York, to Sheldon Levine and Elaine Langbaum. After graduating Jericho High School, located in Jericho, New York, she went enrolled at Boston University, and majored in film production. After her junior year, she dropped out and moved to Manhattan where she made a name for herself in independent films, with her work in The Unbelievable Truth (1989) and Trust (1990). She eventually found herself behind-the-camera, writing and directing, I'll Take You There (1999), and Waitress (2007) (her final film). On November 1, 2006, Adrienne was murdered, she was survived by her husband, Andy Ostroy and her daughter Sophie.