Ilene chaiken and louanne brickhouse
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Ilene Chaiken & LouAnne Brickhouse: ‘It Was Just Understood We Were Going to början Seeing One Another’
For the Power of Pride issue, Variety talked to eight LGBTQ couples in entertainment about their love stories. To read more, click here.
In 2007, ”The L Word” creator Ilene Chaiken had broken up with her partner of 20 years, and was looking to date — but realized she didn’t know how.
Chaiken’s friend Angela Robinson, a writer on “The L Word,” offered to introduce her to LouAnne Brickhouse, a Disney executive. Brickhouse was in a serious relationship, Robinson said, but knew everybody. They met at an “L Word” viewing party in West Hollywood, and Chaiken and Brickhouse hit it off right away. Yes, Brickhouse did set Chaiken up, but none of the dates went anywhere. The two women became better and better friends, and Brickhouse would give Chaiken notes on her writing — but B
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In 2007, ”The L Word” creator Ilene Chaiken had broken up with her partner of 20 years, and was looking to date — but realized she didn’t know how.
Chaiken’s friend Angela Robinson, a writer on “The L Word,” offered to introduce her to LouAnne Brickhouse, a Disney executive. Brickhouse was in a serious relationship, Robinson said, but knew everybody. They met at an “L Word” viewing party in West Hollywood, and Chaiken and Brickhouse hit it off right away. Yes, Brickhouse did set Chaiken up, but none of the dates went anywhere. The two women became better and better friends, and Brickhouse would give Chaiken notes on her writing — but Brickhouse still lived with her girlfriend.
“There was no impropriety,” Chaiken says. “I was not above
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From L Word to Empire: Ilene Chaiken Has Changed Television Twice
Ilene Chaiken, the showrunner and executive producer of Fox's Empire, sits beside her wife, LouAnne Brickhouse, on a couch in their Los Angeles home. The chatter of birds, who flock daily to the numerous feeders and baths scattered across their lawn, filters through the windows. The barking of dogs is heard through the walls. The interior is filled with sun and shelves of books by authors including Louise Bourgeois, Jennifer Egan, and James Baldwin.
At present, one of these great names plays a role in Chaiken's life. James is, at the moment of her interview with The Advocate, tapping on the front window -- not the deceased writer of the gay classic Giovanni's Room, but an adult male raven bearing his name.
As James knocks on the pane -- a signal to the human inhabitants that either he, his mate, Margaret (named after the cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead), or their four offspring are h