Angela Joy Garcia Combs (born July 3, 1962) is an American writer and
director. She studied theatre and film with a minor in women’s
studies at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Garcia Combs
has directed theater, shorts and feature film. Throughout her career
she has written and published short stories, essays and theatre
criticism as well as having optioned several screenplays. Her feature
film, “Nothing Special†(2010) was curated by the Academy of
Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for their “Permanent Core
Collection†and stars Karen Black in her last starring role.
“Nothing Special†received International distribution, critical
acclaim and 12 festival awards, including the Best Debut Feature award
at “The Female Eye,†the Toronto based International film festival
dedicated to films directed by women.Garcia Combs was born in New York
City and is the fourth of five children to a Southern Catholic
Mexican-Irish family. She spent her early childhood in Shreveport,
Louisiana. Her mother, Carmen Garcia, is a found objects artist and
her father, Charles Combs Jr. was a jazz musician and scientist. When
she was 8 years old her father moved the family to California and her
parents divorced shortly thereafter. Her mother remarried, to her
step-father Alan Thoemmes, a Russian immigrant, divorcing six years
later. Garcia Combs became an emancipated minor at the age of 16 and
worked as a waitress at Marie Callender’s along with her
siblings.Garcia Combs married and divorced early, becoming a single
mother of three by the age of 28. She raised her three children in Los
Angeles as she returned to college and a career in the arts.As a
returning student Garcia Combs entered UCLA’s School of Theatre,
Film and Television, graduating magna cum laude in 1997. After
graduating, she worked as an actress, ghost-writer and a contributing
writer for LA Stage, Southern California’s performing arts magazine.
She wrote and directed numerous short films including “A Better
Mother,†“Long John,†“Mrs. Freud,†“Tea or Coffee,†and
“Smile.†She optioned her first full-length screenplay, “A
Better Mother†to Carlton America in 1999 and was attached to direct
“Random Acts†which was optioned to Henry Jaglom of Rainbow Films
and RKO in 2000.
director. She studied theatre and film with a minor in women’s
studies at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Garcia Combs
has directed theater, shorts and feature film. Throughout her career
she has written and published short stories, essays and theatre
criticism as well as having optioned several screenplays. Her feature
film, “Nothing Special†(2010) was curated by the Academy of
Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for their “Permanent Core
Collection†and stars Karen Black in her last starring role.
“Nothing Special†received International distribution, critical
acclaim and 12 festival awards, including the Best Debut Feature award
at “The Female Eye,†the Toronto based International film festival
dedicated to films directed by women.Garcia Combs was born in New York
City and is the fourth of five children to a Southern Catholic
Mexican-Irish family. She spent her early childhood in Shreveport,
Louisiana. Her mother, Carmen Garcia, is a found objects artist and
her father, Charles Combs Jr. was a jazz musician and scientist. When
she was 8 years old her father moved the family to California and her
parents divorced shortly thereafter. Her mother remarried, to her
step-father Alan Thoemmes, a Russian immigrant, divorcing six years
later. Garcia Combs became an emancipated minor at the age of 16 and
worked as a waitress at Marie Callender’s along with her
siblings.Garcia Combs married and divorced early, becoming a single
mother of three by the age of 28. She raised her three children in Los
Angeles as she returned to college and a career in the arts.As a
returning student Garcia Combs entered UCLA’s School of Theatre,
Film and Television, graduating magna cum laude in 1997. After
graduating, she worked as an actress, ghost-writer and a contributing
writer for LA Stage, Southern California’s performing arts magazine.
She wrote and directed numerous short films including “A Better
Mother,†“Long John,†“Mrs. Freud,†“Tea or Coffee,†and
“Smile.†She optioned her first full-length screenplay, “A
Better Mother†to Carlton America in 1999 and was attached to direct
“Random Acts†which was optioned to Henry Jaglom of Rainbow Films
and RKO in 2000.
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