Richard LaGravenese (/ləˈɡrɑːvəneɪz/;^[1] born October 30, 1959)^[2][3] is an American screenwriter and film director, known for The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County, and Behind the Candelabra.

LaGravenese was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a taxi driver.^[2] He is of Italian descent.^[4] He graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1980 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting.^[5]

LaGravenese wrote The Fisher King on spec in the late 1980s. It was acquired by Stacey Sher, Lynda Obst, Debra Hill's production company and subsequently directed by Terry Gilliam. For writing the film, LaGravenese received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

In New York City during the early 1980s, billed as "The Double R" comedy duo, in collaboration with playwright Richard O'Donnell, LaGravenese co-penned and consecutively performed in several Off-Off-Broadway productions including Spare Parts, Blood-Brothers at The 78th Street Theatre Lab, The Lion Theatre, and West Bank Cafe.^[6]

LaGravenese wrote an adaptation for the famously on-and-off version of the musical Gypsy for Barbra Streisand. In 2015, he revealed that he'd spent several months working on the script with Streisand. "I had the best time with her. I can’t even tell you. It was like a fantasy come true. I did my first draft and went to her house to do rewrites. She’s so meticulous in the best possible way. We went through it page by page by page."