Diablo Cody

Diablo Cody, born Brook Busey on June 14, 1978, in Lemont, Illinois, is an American writer and producer. She gained early recognition for her candid blog and her 2005 memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper. Cody achieved major critical acclaim with her screenwriting debut, the 2007 comedy-drama film Juno, which earned her an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. She has since expanded her career across feature films, television series, and musical theater.

Raised in the Chicago suburbs by her parents Pam and Greg Busey, Cody attended Catholic schools including Saints Cyril & Methodius School and Benet Academy. In 2000, she graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Media, during which time she worked in the main university library's acquisitions department. Her initial jobs after college included secretarial work at a Chicago law firm and copy proofreading for Twin Cities radio advertisements.

After moving to Minneapolis, Cody authored several blogs, including a parody blog titled Red Secretary, a personal blog as Darling Girl, and an adult blog called The Pussy Ranch under the pseudonym Diablo Cody. After trying an amateur night at a local strip club, she worked as a full-time stripper and at an adult novelty store. During this period, she began writing for the alternative weekly newspaper City Pages and later contributed to Jane magazine and Entertainment Weekly. Her writing caught the attention of manager Mason Novick, leading to a publishing contract with Gotham Books for her 2005 memoir Candy Girl.

Encouraged by Novick to write a screenplay, Cody completed the script for Juno in February 2005. The Jason Reitman-directed film was released to widespread acclaim, earning four Academy Award nominations. In addition to her Oscar and BAFTA wins, Cody received an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay, along with screenplay honors from the Writers Guild of America, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and the Satellite Awards.

Following the success of Juno, Cody created, wrote, and produced the Showtime series United States of Tara, which ran from 2009 to 2011, and co-created the Amazon Prime series One Mississippi. In film, she wrote the horror movie Jennifer's Body (2009) and the comedy-drama Young Adult (2011). In 2013, she made her feature directorial debut with the comedy-drama Paradise, which she also wrote and produced. She went on to write and produce Ricki and the Flash (2015), Tully (2018), and Lisa Frankenstein (2024).

Beyond screenwriting, Cody wrote the book for the Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill, based on the album by Alanis Morissette, winning the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. She hosted the online interview program Red Band Trailer starting in 2010 and has been a member of the Writer's Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2008. Her recent television work includes co-writing an adaptation of the novel Anon Pls and executive producing a series adaptation of Fang Fiction.