Elaine May

Elaine May came to fame in the comedy double act Nichols and May, then wrote, directed and starred in A New Leaf (1971) and directed The Heartbreak Kid (1972) and Mikey and Nicky (1976). The costly failure of Ishtar (1987) stalled her directing career, but her films have since been reassessed as some of the sharpest American comedies of their era.