Lynn Shelton

Lynn Shelton worked in many areas in Hollywood as an actress, editor, writer and director. Shelton did a lot of making up for lost time because at first she didn't believe she could work in a creative field, until a revelation later in life told her she could make her own movies.

Born in 1965 in Oberlin, Ohio, Shelton grew up in Seattle. She attended Oberlin College in Ohio, then went to the University of Washington School of Drama, after which she went to New York, where she attended the School of Visual Arts. Shelton wanted to work in a creative field when she was young, but at first she didn't have the confidence.

Then when Shelton realized that Claire Denis made her directing debut in 1988 with "Chocolat" when she was in her early 40s, she knew it wasn't too late for her to make a movie when she was in her thirties. Shelton first broke into the business as an editor, and finally got her first film as a writer and director off the ground with "We Go Way Back" (2006), which was largely improvised on a miniscule budget.

Shelton's helming credits included "Humpday" (2009), a comedy about two close male friends who become lovers; "Touchy Feely" (2013), which starred Rosemarie DeWitt and Ellen Page; several episodes of the Zooey Deschanel sitcom "New Girl" (Fox, 2011- ), and the series "Fresh Off the Boat" (ABC, 2015 - ), based on chef Eddie Huang's memoir about his family making its way to America from Taiwan. Shelton had another feature released in 2014: "Laggies," starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Keira Knightley, and Sam Rockwell.

"Laggies" dealt with a woman who is still trying to grow up late in life, a theme that definitely hit home for a late bloomer who ended up blossoming beautifully as a storyteller. Lynn Shelton died on May 15, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 54.