Karen Leigh Hopkins

Biography

Karen Leigh Hopkins is an American writer, director and producer for film and television who started out in front of the camera. She grew up in Sandusky, Ohio, and as an actress was cast in The Breakfast Club, only for her scenes to be cut. Recognition of her name helped when her first script, The Kindness of Strangers, sold to Paramount Pictures. Her first produced feature, Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990), had Jim Abrahams directing and Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels in the cast. Stepmom (1998) and the romantic comedy Because I Said So (2007) followed. She then made her directing debut with Miss Meadows (2014), which she also wrote; Katie Holmes starred and the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. For the Apple TV+ series Little Voice she was a consulting producer and co-wrote a pair of episodes. A Humanitas Prize came her way for Searching for David's Heart, and What Girls Learn brought an Emmy nomination.

Movie Career

Films: 3
Career span: 20 years1987 to 2007

Every film, newest first

2007Because I Said SoIMDb rating 5.6
1994Corrina, CorrinaIMDb rating 6.6
1987The Running ManIMDb rating 6.6

Genres

Did you know?!

A role that slipped away
Hopkins was working as an actress when she was cast in The Breakfast Club, though the final film did not include her scenes.
Big break
Karen Leigh Hopkins wrote The Kindness of Strangers, her first screenplay, in 12 days. An executive at Paramount Pictures bought it after recognizing her name from The Breakfast Club, which linked her acting work to screenwriting.
Behind the camera
In 2014, Hopkins wrote and directed Miss Meadows, her directorial debut, about a prim schoolteacher with a secret life as a vigilante. Filming took just under three weeks in and around Cleveland, Ohio.