Irene Mecchi is an
American writer for
television,
movies,
newspapers, and
Broadway. Originally from
San Francisco, she started her work with
Disney in March 1992, when she wrote
Recycle Rex, an animated short film which won the 1994 Environmental Media Award. Irene has worked on
Herb Caen's books, and is the co-screenwriter of Disney animated movies such as
The Lion King,
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and
Hercules. With co-author
Roger Allers, she received a 1998
Tony nomination for writing the book for
The Lion King. Irene wrote the
teleplay for
Annie, which aired on
ABC in 1999.