Jill Sprecher

Jill Ann Sprecher (born 27 July 1957) is an American film director, producer, and writer. Sprecher collaborates on her film projects with her sister, Karen Sprecher, who writes. She is known for her films Clockwatchers and Thirteen Conversations About One Thing and her contributions to Big Love on HBO. Her films feature stories about realistic human experiences and the struggles of women. Biography Jill Sprecher grew up in Madison, Wisconsin with her two siblings and parents, Peter, an insurance broker, and Phyllis (née Willingham) Sprecher, a medical technologist. Jill's father worked in insurance. Depending on where Pete found insurance jobs, the family moved between Madison and Milwaukee. The children attended Memorial High School. Jill studied literature and philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. Jill moved to New York the day after she graduated to study film and begin her career in the industry. She graduated from New York University with a Masters in cinema studies. In New York, Jill experienced two muggings. She required brain surgery after the second instance. Despite the trauma and injury, she chose to remain in New York, instead of returning home to Wisconsin. A year after the surgery, she was hit on the head while riding the subway. In tears, she looked up to see another passenger smiling at her, which renewed her belief that not all strangers were bad people. This event inspired the climactic scene in Thirteen Conversations About One Thing.