Sharon Maguire

Welsh director Sharon Maguire parlayed her career as a television documentarian into an ambitious and often successful career as a feature director on such hit films as "Bridget Jones's Baby" (2016). Born November 28, 1960 in Aberystwyth, Wales, she studied English and drama at the University of Wales Aberystwyth before earning her Postgraduate Certificate in Education in teaching. Maguire received a second postgraduate degree, this time in journalism, from City University in London, which led to a research job with "The Media Show" (BBC, 1987-1991). She quickly worked her way up to producing and directing assignments for the news program and later, for "The Late Show" (BBC, 1989-1995) and the long-running "Omnibus" (BBC, 1967-2003). In 2001, Maguire made her debut as director on a theatrical feature with "Bridget Jones' Diary" (2001), an adaptation of the popular novel by her friend, Helen Fielding, who had based a character in the book on Maguire. She returned to the director's chair seven years later with "Incendiary" (2008), a drama based on the novel by Chris Cleve about a woman (played by Michelle Williams) who loses her son and husband in a terrorist attack on a soccer stadium in Britain. The film earned mixed reviews, but her next assignment, the portmanteau film "Call Me Crazy: Five Films" (Lifetime, 2013), was widely praised for its depiction of mental illness and its impact on the lives of those that suffer from it. Maguire directed the most humorous episode, "Lucy," about a woman who feels overshadowed by the return of her sister from inpatient treatment. In 2016, she reunited with Fielding for "Bridget Jones's Baby" (2016), the second sequel to her feature debut, again starring Renee Zellweger as the plucky title heroine. The film was a box office and critical success in the U.K., netting $202 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million.