Kari Lizer
By her own admission, Kari Lizer turned to writing out of desperation. A working actress since she was a teenager--she had regular roles on the courtroom drama "Matlock" and the short-lived sitcom "The Van Dyke Show"--Lizer found jobs drying up when she hit 30. In the hope of getting her acting career back on track, she wrote a play for herself, which unexpectedly led to writing jobs on sitcoms. Lizer took full advantage, penning episodes for the good-natured "Empty Nest" and the teen romp "Weird Science." Later, she became a producer and writer for the madcap Emmy-nominated "Will & Grace." (The performing bug wasn't out of Lizer's system--she also acted in all three shows.) But Lizer became an in-demand talent by creating and writing the acclaimed sitcom "The New Adventures of Old Christine." Based on her own experiences as a single mother, the show ran for five seasons, earning star Julia Louis-Dreyfus an Emmy award and paving the way for Lizer to land a development deal with Warner Bros. Television.