Valerie Brandy, ’11

Valerie Brandy is a director, writer, and actress based in Los Angeles. She began her career by selling a spec feature-length script at just 20 years old, becoming one of the youngest members of the WGA west and subsequently writing for both television networks and film studios. Most recently, she served as a staff writer for Walt Disney studios, where she continues to work on multiple assignments under a first look deal. Her directorial debut, “Lola’s Last Letter,” — which she also wrote and starred in– was released in 2016 by Random Media and Sony’s “The Orchard” after a successful festival run, during which it received a five-star review from the Examiner, a special feature in Huffington Post, and a Best Principal Actress nomination from Los Angeles Film Review. Brandy’s feature coming-of-age spec “Dying with Daisy” was honored by the Nicholl Fellowships, and she is currently attached to direct and adapt the feature film “The Summer of Naked Swim Parties,” based on the young adult novel by Jessica Anya Blau. As an actress, Valerie recurred on FX’s “Justified” as the manipulative Trixie. Her debut novel, “Animals We Are,” was released in late 2019, and is the first in a feminist thriller trilogy. She graduated from UCLA in three years, with honors, as a prestigious Alumni Scholarship recipient.