Linda Woolverton (born December 19, 1952) is an
American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist, whose most prominent works include the screenplays and books of several acclaimed
Disney films and stage musicals. She became the first woman to write an animated feature for Disney by writing the screenplay of
Beauty and the Beast, the first animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the
Academy Awards. She also wrote the screenplay of
The Lion King, and adapted her own
Beauty and the Beast screenplay into the book of the
Broadway adaptation of the film, receiving a
Tony Award nomination for this.