Lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her mother until age six

From age six to sixteen, lived with her father in Beverly Hills, California; experience formed the basis for debut feature

At age 16, moved to Boston to live with older brother

After college, worked in Boston as an actress but found greater success as a performance artist

Moved to NYC in the mid-1980s

Short film "Fugitive Love" won student prize at NYU; shown at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival

Short "Family Remains" (filmed in 1993) shown at the Sundance Film Festival

Signed contract to direct first feature with American Playhouse producing; company disbanded before film was made

Developed project through the Sundance Institute

Feature debut, "The Slums of Beverly Hills" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival

Feature acting debut in Brad Anderson's "Happy Accidents"

Played a gallery owner in "Love in the Time of Money"

Helmed the short, "Choices: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly"

Penned the screenplay, "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus," a biopic of photographer Diane Arbus

Wrote and directed "The Savages" starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney; earned an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Director and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay