Biography
Leigh Brackett was an American author and screenwriter, known for her science fiction novels and her work on several Hollywood films. She began publishing short stories in science fiction magazines in 1940 and her first novel appeared in 1944. Director Howard Hawks hired her after reading one of her books, leading to a long collaboration that included screenplays for The Big Sleep (1946), Rio Bravo (1959), Hatari! (1962), El Dorado (1966) and Rio Lobo (1970).
Brackett also wrote the screenplay for The Long Goodbye (1973). In the late 1970s George Lucas commissioned her to write the first draft of the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back (1980). She delivered the draft shortly before her death from cancer in March 1978; she received a co-writing credit with Lawrence Kasdan on the finished film. She was married to science fiction writer Edmond Hamilton.
