Josh Singer Biography

Josh Singer (born 1972) is an American film and television writer and producer, whose work includes writing and producing episodes of The West Wing, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Lie to Me, and the FOX science-fiction series Fringe. In 2006, he was nominated for a WGA award. He co-wrote Spotlight (2015), which won him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Early life and education

Singer attended Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, where he appeared in musicals and was a member of math club, drama club, video club, and chorus. In high school, he was elected class treasurer, wrote for the school newspaper, and played for the school's baseball team. Singer won many awards, including the Upper Dublin Medal, science competition and literary prizes, and was co-winner of the school district's highest award. In his senior year, he was named class valedictorian, a Presidential Scholar and a National Merit Scholar.

Singer graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, with distinction in mathematics and economics. At Yale, he was a member and business manager of both The Whiffenpoofs and The Yale Alley Cats. Three to four months prior to going to graduate school, he worked for Children's Television Workshop (the name, at that time, of the production company for the TV show "Sesame Street",) and then began doing internships. He did an internship for Nickelodeon in New York and an internship for Disney Channel out in L.A., working for Roy Price at Disney TV Animation for four or five weeks. As a result, he developed an interest in script writing. He worked as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company before obtaining a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Career

After Singer graduated from Harvard, he was hired by showrunner John Wells to write for The West Wing.

In 2012, Singer wrote the screenplay for The Fifth Estate. In 2015, he co-wrote the screenplay for Spotlight, for which he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Personal life

In 2012, Josh married the American novelist Laura Dave. They reside in Los Angeles, California.

Singer was raised Jewish. His father was born Jewish, and his mother converted to Judaism (she herself was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother).

Writing credits

• The West Wing (editor, writer, 2004 to 2006)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (producer, 2007-2008)
• Lie to Me (supervising producer, 2009)
• Fringe (supervising producer, 2009-2010)
• Fringe (co-executive producer, 2010-2011)
• The Fifth Estate (2013)
• Spotlight (co-writer, 2015)