Brenda Hampton
Encyclopedia
Brenda Hampton is an American
television show creator, writer
and producer
. She created, wrote and produced 7th Heaven
, Fat Actress
and The Secret Life of the American Teenager
.
, Georgia
. Her father was an electrical engineer for AT&T
and a television repairman. She studied journalism
at the University of Georgia
, graduating in 1973. After finishing her university studies, she worked as a technical writer
for the U.S. Navy, wrote speeches, technical manuals and corporate newsletters. In the 1980s, she moved to Los Angeles
and began writing for Sister Kate, an American
situation comedy which aired on the NBC
television network in 1989 and lasted one season. After Sister Kate finished, she worked as a story editor
on the CBS
television comedy
, Baghdad Café, featuring Whoopi Goldberg
. Hampton has worked on a number of television programs, including, the CBS sitcom, Lenny, the NBC comedy-drama, Blossom
, and the NBC comedy, Mad About You
. In 1994 she worked with David Landsberg
to develop and executive produce
the CBS series Daddy's Girls
, featuring Dudley Moore
and Keri Russell
in her first main television role.
Hampton has three adopted children.
Hampton created, wrote and executive produced the drama series 7th Heaven, which lasted 11 seasons and was nominated for and won a range of awards, including, numerous Young Artist
, and Teen Choice Awards and an Emmy
nomination.
In 2008, Hampton's new television show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager was released. The show, created, executive produced and written by Hampton, is filmed in Los Angeles by Hampton's production company, Brendavision. It is a youth-oriented drama series, aired on the ABC Family
network. When The Secret Life of the American Teenager premiered, it became ABC Family's most-watched series premiere.
On February 10, 2010, Hampton accepted the Francis M. Wheat Community Service Award for her work as a child advocate, and for her work on The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television show creator, writer
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
. She created, wrote and produced 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
, Fat Actress
Fat Actress
Fat Actress is an American sitcom television series starring Kirstie Alley. It aired on Showtime in the United States in the spring of 2005, on Movie Central in Western Canada, The Movie Network in Eastern Canada, FX in the UK, Network Ten in Australia and VOX and Das Vierte in Germany...
and The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The Secret Life of the American Teenager is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It first aired on ABC Family on July 1, 2008. The show was renewed for a second season consisting of 24 episodes on February 9, 2009, which began airing on June 22, 2009...
.
Life and career
Hampton grew up in AtlantaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Her father was an electrical engineer for AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and a television repairman. She studied journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, graduating in 1973. After finishing her university studies, she worked as a technical writer
Technical writer
A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, creates, and maintains technical documentation...
for the U.S. Navy, wrote speeches, technical manuals and corporate newsletters. In the 1980s, she moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and began writing for Sister Kate, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
situation comedy which aired on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network in 1989 and lasted one season. After Sister Kate finished, she worked as a story editor
Story editor
Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". A story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits stories for screenplays....
on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television comedy
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
, Baghdad Café, featuring Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
. Hampton has worked on a number of television programs, including, the CBS sitcom, Lenny, the NBC comedy-drama, Blossom
Blossom (TV series)
Blossom is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC from January 3, 1991 to May 22, 1995. The series stars Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, a teenage girl living with her father and two brothers. It was created by Don Reo.- Synopsis :...
, and the NBC comedy, Mad About You
Mad About You
Mad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City. Reiser played Paul Buchman, a documentary film maker. Hunt played Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist...
. In 1994 she worked with David Landsberg
David Landsberg
David Landsberg is an American actor, writer, producer and director who was born in Brooklyn, New York. Landsberg graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in business and marketing and soon found himself working at a large advertising firm, but he was not happy with it and quickly...
to develop and executive produce
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
the CBS series Daddy's Girls
Daddy's Girls (1994 TV series)
Daddy's Girls is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in the fall of 1994. The series followed Dudley Walker , the owner of a New York fashion house who loses his wife and his business partner when, after a years-long secret affair, they run off together leaving him as the primary caretaker to his...
, featuring Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
and Keri Russell
Keri Russell
Keri Lynn Russell is an American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe...
in her first main television role.
Hampton has three adopted children.
Hampton created, wrote and executive produced the drama series 7th Heaven, which lasted 11 seasons and was nominated for and won a range of awards, including, numerous Young Artist
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
, and Teen Choice Awards and an Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination.
In 2008, Hampton's new television show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager was released. The show, created, executive produced and written by Hampton, is filmed in Los Angeles by Hampton's production company, Brendavision. It is a youth-oriented drama series, aired on the ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
network. When The Secret Life of the American Teenager premiered, it became ABC Family's most-watched series premiere.
On February 10, 2010, Hampton accepted the Francis M. Wheat Community Service Award for her work as a child advocate, and for her work on The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Select television credits
- The Secret Life of the American TeenagerThe Secret Life of the American TeenagerThe Secret Life of the American Teenager is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It first aired on ABC Family on July 1, 2008. The show was renewed for a second season consisting of 24 episodes on February 9, 2009, which began airing on June 22, 2009...
- Fat ActressFat ActressFat Actress is an American sitcom television series starring Kirstie Alley. It aired on Showtime in the United States in the spring of 2005, on Movie Central in Western Canada, The Movie Network in Eastern Canada, FX in the UK, Network Ten in Australia and VOX and Das Vierte in Germany...
- Safe HarborSafe Harbor (TV series)Safe Harbor is an American television drama series that aired on The WB Television Network from September 20, 1999 to November 28, 1999. The series was created and executive produced by Brenda Hampton, who at the time was best known for work on the fellow WB series 7th Heaven, the series was paired...
- 7th Heaven7th Heaven7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
- The John Larroquette ShowThe John Larroquette ShowThe John Larroquette Show is a situation comedy that ran on the NBC network from 1993 to 1996. The show, created by Don Reo, was a vehicle for John Larroquette following his run as Dan Fielding on Night Court. The series took place in a seedy bus terminal in St. Louis, Missouri and focused on the...
- BlossomBlossom (TV series)Blossom is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC from January 3, 1991 to May 22, 1995. The series stars Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, a teenage girl living with her father and two brothers. It was created by Don Reo.- Synopsis :...
- Mad About YouMad About YouMad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City. Reiser played Paul Buchman, a documentary film maker. Hunt played Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist...
External links
- Longworth, James L., Chapter 9, "Brenda Hampton - Friend of the family", TV Creators: Conversations With America's Top Producers of Television Drama (The Television Series), Syracuse University Press, November, 2000, pp 137–154