A graduate of American University with a degree in journalism, Meyers’ move to Los Angeles allowed her to pursue a path inspired by her love for The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She wanted to write. Initially working as a story editor, where she collaborated with screenwriters on their projects, Meyers would begin to write her own screenplays.

Paired with a writer she met while working at the film division of Motown, the cinematic partnership of Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer was born. Their first project out of the gate was Private Benjamin, with Golden Globe winner Goldie Hawn. Although numerous studios turned the script down – with one telling Hawn “If you make this movie, it’s a career-ender” – it would go on to become one the biggest hits of 1980. The comedy brought Shyer and Meyers their first Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

During the next twenty years the pair would go on to write Irreconcilable Differences, Protocol, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Golden Globe-nominated Baby Boom, Father of the Bride and its sequel, and I Love Trouble. With The Parent Trap, Meyers made her first foray behind the camera.

Admittedly not the type of writer or producer to sit on set behind her cell phone, Meyers was involved in all aspects of the shoot, from casting to editing. Just being a passenger in the car, as she had done all her life, wouldn’t be enough. “Sure, I knew a lot about cars,” she explained to the HFPA. “I have been in them. But, when you drive, it’s different. So, for The Parent Trap, I got my license.”

Much in the same way one must age into obtaining that permit, Meyers knew she needed to wait to direct until her two daughters were older. As she explained to the HFPA during her What Women Want press conference about that decision. She explains the decision: “I have always tried to be there for my children for everything. That is why I didn’t direct until they were older. I waited until The Parent Trap. It wasn’t because I wasn’t ready. It was because they weren’t ready. Had I taken one earlier, either they or the film might have suffered. So, I waited. There are only so many hours in a day and there are some things you just have to prioritize. I have two girls, and nothing comes before your children for me.”

Once Meyers tasted the long-gestating forbidden fruit, the floodgates opened to one of the most successful female writer/director careers in cinematic history. She went on to create some of the most memorable romantic comedies in Hollywood, working with the likes of Golden Globe Winners Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep,  and Kate Winslet as well as with Golden Globe Nominee Cameron Diaz. Many of Meyers’ stories focused on older, smart, sexual, and strong-willed women.

A great admirer of the classic screwball comedies of the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s that were crafted by such legendary writers as Golden Globe Winner Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin, Ernst Lubitsch, and Golden Globe Winner Billy Wilder, Meyers created full-fledged adults, flawed and complicated, nurtured by secure and strong friendships, longing for love but not willing to settle.

“I write what I know,” she revealed during a previous HFPA conversation for her film Something’s Gotta Give. “I write, from the heart of being a single woman my age without being too revealing, what certain moments have been like for me. And I tried to understand men more seriously than I ever have before.”

She continues by pointing out that Golden Globe Nominee Katharine Hepburn did some of her greatest work as she got older, even winning three of her four Oscars past age 60. “Look at magazines. They highlight women in their 20s, 30s, 40s and sometimes 50s. Then you are dead,” she laughed. “Older men and women have full lives. They are vibrant people. They are sexual. They are funny.”

Not only has her strong perspective on women resonated with audiences but her ability to bring in dollars to the box office has commanded studios’ attention. But don’t expect an avalanche of Meyers movies to hit your neighborhood screen anytime soon. Meyers generally spends a year writing, followed by six months of filming and another six months of editing. She’s known for her attention to detail, requiring numerous takes.

Diane Keaton, who has worked with Meyers on four films, spoke on the record and dismissed the indictment. While readily admitting the multiple takes, she praised them for giving her director more options in the editing room. Golden Globe Nominees David Fincher and Stanley Kubrick both received the same assessment. Meyers might consider that good company to be in.

Maybe Goldie Hawn summed it up best. “Nancy has the clout. She doesn’t have to own the clout.”