Helen Fielding
Biography
Helen Fielding (born 19 February 1958)is a British journalist, novelist, and screenwriter best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones. HerFielding's first novel was set in a refugee camp in East Africa, and she started writing Bridget Jones in an anonymous column in London's Independent newspaper. This turned into an unexpected hit, leading to four Bridget Jones novels and three movies, with a fourth movie announced in April 2024 for release in 2025. Fielding credits Bridget Jones's success to tapping into the gap between what we feel we are expected to be and what we really are. Fielding's novel Bridget Jones's Diary (1996) became a surprise global bestseller, published in over 40 countries. Fielding continued to chronicle Bridget's life in the novels Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (1999), Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries (2017) and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2013), all of which became international bestsellers. In a survey by The Guardian, Bridget Jones's Diary was named one of the ten novels that best defined the 20th century. In 2024, the New York Times named Bridget Jones's Diary one of the twenty-two funniest novels since Catch 22. The movies chronicling these adventures, Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones's Baby, all did exceptionally well at the international box office with the most recent opening, with Bridget Jones's Baby breaking UK box office records. Fielding's novel, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2013), explored Bridget's life as a widowed mother to two small children and her attempts to re-enter the dating scene. It occupied the number one spot on the Sunday Times bestseller list for six months. In her review for the New York Times, Sarah Lyall called the novel "sharp and humorous" and said Fielding had "allowed her heroine to grow up into someone funnier and more interesting than she was before." The movie Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, announced for release in 2025, will see Renee Zellweger reprising her role as Bridget Jones for the fourth time. The movie will be based on Fielding's novel and original screenplay, further developed by a team including writers Dan Mazer and Abi Morgan. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, Fielding was named the 29th most influential person in British culture. In December 2016, the BBC's Woman's Hour included Bridget Jones as one of the seven women who had most influenced British female culture over the last seven decades. Bridget was the only woman included who was not a real-life person. Fielding is currently at work on a new non-Bridget novel. Description above from the Wikipedia article Helen Fielding, licensed under CC-BY-SA, a complete list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For & Full Filmography6 Titles
Drama Series - 1989, 16 episodes • as Helen Fielding (voice)
Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.
Drama Series - 2005, 16 episodes • as Self
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson, who is the third regular host of the Late Late Show franchise. It follows Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup, airing weekdays in the US at 12:37 a.m. It is taped in front of a live studio audience from Monday to Friday at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California, directly above the Bob Barker Studio. It is produced by David Letterman's production company Worldwide Pants Incorporated and CBS Television Studios. Since becoming host on January 3, 2005, after Craig Kilborn and Tom Snyder, Ferguson has achieved the highest ratings since the show's inception in 1995. While the majority of the episodes focus on comedy, Ferguson has also addressed difficult subject matter, such as the deaths of his parents, and undertaken serious interviews, such as one with Desmond Tutu, which earned the show a 2009 Peabody Award.
Drama Series - 2006, 16 episodes • as Self
A topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One.
Drama Series - 1995, 16 episodes • as Self
The Frank Skinner Show was a television chat show hosted by comedian Frank Skinner, which lasted nine series on British television between 1995 and 2005. As well as celebrity interviews, the shows included an initial stand-up routine, various sketches throughout the episode and usually concluded with a comedic song featuring Frank and the guest stars. The Frank Skinner Show became notorious over the years for the unconventional nature of the interviews, including some shocking revelations from the guests. The programme ended in 2005 after nine series. It was screened on BBC One from its first episode on 10 September 1995 until 3 June 1999. In 2000, the show moved to ITV. The programme was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award in 2001.
Drama Series - 2025, 16 episodes • as Self
An immersive look at how a young woman from a small village in 18th-century England became one of the UK's best-loved novelists.
Movie - 2020, 2h 15m • as Self
Marking 25 years since the creation of the Bridget Jones character for a column in The Independent newspaper, author Helen Fielding opens up her personal archive for the very first time to tell the story of how Bridget Jones’s Diary came to be. We meet Helen’s friends and family who inspired many of the characters and interview the stars of the hugely successful film adaptations, Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.