Biography
Mary Rae Thewlis is a producer, production manager and former assistant director. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Dramatic Art, she served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Afghanistan and taught English and drama in Indonesia. She later worked in theatre in Los Angeles before entering film and television through the Directors Guild of America assistant directors training programme.
Her early credits include trainee assistant director roles on The Age of Innocence (1993) and other features. She spent sixteen years on the Law & Order franchise, progressing from second assistant director to unit production manager on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She subsequently worked as unit production manager and producer on The Americans (2013–2018), where she was also credited as executive producer, and as co-executive producer on Lisey's Story (2021).
Thewlis has held multiple terms on the Directors Guild of America National Board and Eastern AD/UPM Council, and received the Frank Capra Achievement Award in 2015. She has received two Primetime Emmy nominations.
