Jana Sue Memel was born on 7 March 1955 in Los Angeles.[1] She graduated from USC Gould School of Law,[4] but spent only six month in the practice of law, becoming a Hollywood agent.[citation needed] As an agent she specialized in representing first-time writers and directors, but then she moved into the ranks of independent producers.[5]
In 1986 Memel along with a producer Jonathan Sanger founded the Chanticleer Film’s Discovery Program.[6] Chanticleer Films has produced numerous short films for Showtime as well as the full-length “Lush Life”.[7][8] Ray’s Male Heterosexual Dance Hall (1987), the very first film produced by Chanticleer, won an Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category.[6] Two other nominations in the same category Memel received in 1993 together with Jonathan Darby for film Contact (1992) and in 1994 together Peter Weller for Partners (1993).[2] In 1995 four of the five films nominated in the Live Action Short Film category were Chanticleer Films productions.[6] Year later, in 1996, Memel won her second Academy Award together with Christine Lahti again in the category Live Action Short Film for the love story Lieberman in Love (1995).[2]
Memel produced over 25 movies and over 65 life-action shorts, some of which won Writers Guild and Director Guild Awards, Emmys, CableACE Awards and the Humanitas Prize.[3] In total she has been nominated 11 times for her short films and three of those nominations turned into wins.[9] Memel has also produced numerous television shows.[10] Memel made three films as a film director: action drama Champion (2000), science-fiction comedy Random - Nothing is as it seems (2001) and the documentary short film You Can Do This Parents (2016).
Since 2007 Memel is communications consultant founder of “The Hollywood Way”.[4] She is also Executive Director of the Schools of Entertainment at Academy of Art University in San Francisco.[3]
Memel has three daughters.[4]