Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jessica Kaplan sold her first screenplay (Havoc) to New Line Cinema at the age of 17. She went on to pen The Dancer, (produced by Luc Besson), the adaptation of The Basic Eight for New Regency and wrote an original screenplay, entitled The Way Out, for Paramount. She died far too young at 24, robbing the world of a most original voice.Jessica was courageous, comic, tenacious, and a romantic of the highest order who believed that because you write what you are, you had better live an interesting life. The Jessica Kaplan Screenwriting Series at the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women was founded to honor Jessica's enthusiastic approach to life and her unquestionable passion for film.