Valerie Curtin

As an actress, she's been seen in numerous supporting roles, but Valerie Curtin has made a greater impact in Hollywood as a screenwriter, often in partnership with Barry Levinson before, during and after their marriage. The duo earned an Oscar nomination for "...And Justice for All" (1979), which featured Al Pacino as an attorney fighting Maryland's judicial system. "Inside Moves" (1980) was an off-beat film about a suicide survivor finding self-esteem. Later, Curtin and Levinson also co-wrote "Best Friends" (1982), a semi-autobiographical romantic comedy in which Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds played writing partners who get married. (Curtin also had a role as Hawn's married-with-child friend.) Along with Richard Klane, they did a 1984 remake of "Unfaithfully Yours," based on the 1948 Preston Sturges feature about a symphony conductor who suspects his wife of infidelity. In 1992, a decade after their divorce, Curtin and Levinson again teamed with "Toys" (1992), which Levinson also directed. It was an unsuccessful effort starring Robin Williams as a man trying to keep his uncle from turning a toy manufacturer into a factory producing guns.