Susannah Grant is a stay-at-home soccer mom who proudly leads a double life: She’s a screenwriter, most recently of “Charlotte’s Web.”
When she’s not feeding her husband, her 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, Grant is at her home-office computer, feeding her imagination.
“I’m a screenwriter,” she said. “It’s writing the script for the movie. You write the dialogue. You write the description. You write the inner world of the characters.”
Grant wrote the screenplays for “28 Days,” “In Her Shoes” and “Erin Brockovich,” for which she earned an Oscar nomination. She co-wrote the screenplays for “Ever After” and “Pocahontas.”
Grant believes that parenting helps her craft.
“I think I’m a richer person for being a parent, and that can only reflect well on my work,” she said.
A Love of Reading and Writing Came Late
The red carpet premiere of “Charlotte’s Web” was the first time Grant and her husband, Chris Henrikson, exposed their kids to a Hollywood spectacle. They understand the importance of a good education for their children, though reading was not a high priority when Grant was a child.
“I avoided reading … very artfully. I resisted the whole concept of homework. It just seemed like a big imposition on my time,” she said. “So I didn’t really get reading until I was in high school. And then I got onboard and realized what a life enhancer it was.”
Thanks to developing a love of reading and writing, Grant is not only a screenwriter — she’s also a filmmaker. “Catch and Release,” starring Jennifer Garner, was Grant’s directorial debut. She also wrote the film’s screenplay.
While she loves directing, writing allows Grant to dictate her own schedule, something crucial for any mom.
“I get to sit and play around with my imagination all day long. I get to have a full career on my own schedule, which is the most valuable thing if you’re going to parent and work at the same time,” she said. “It’s a great job, and daily … I’m thankful that I landed in it.”
[ABC News]
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