Mary Agnes Donoghue (26 March 1943 in Queens) is an American screenwriter and director. Following early jobs as a secretary and short story writer, Donoghue's first writing credit was the 1984 film The Buddy System. She went on to pen the screenplays for Beaches (1988) and Paradise (1991), which was also her directorial debut. Donoghue co-wrote and co-produced Deceived (1991) and two years later, her first play, Me and Mamie O'Rourke, made its debut at the Strand Theatre in London. In the 2000s, Donoghue wrote the screenplay for White Oleander (2002) and co-wrote Veronica Guerin (2003) with Carol Doyle. In 2013, Donoghue wrote and directed Jenny's Wedding.
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Early and personal life
Donoghue was born in Queens, New York City. Before becoming a screenwriter, she worked various secretarial jobs. Donoghue was also a short story writer and poet. Donoghue lived with her partner, writer and journalist Chris Robbins for 19 years, before marrying him in 1996. Robbins died on December 24, 2012, from pancreatic cancer.
Career
Donoghue's first writing credit was the 1984 romantic comedy drama The Buddy System, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Susan Sarandon. Donoghue then adapted Iris Rainer Dart's 1985 novel Beaches for the screen. The film which starred Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey was released in 1988. During filming, the director Garry Marshall asked Donoghue to add "a couple more sugars" to the script. When she refused, Marshall fired her and hired a team of comedy writers to change the script. After three weeks, the head of the studio saw the script, which was described as being "really, really bad" and Donoghue's script was reinstated.
