---
name: "Mary Sweeney"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/mary-sweeney"
fi1m_id: "mary-sweeney"
imdb_id: "nm0842156"
tmdb_id: 5604
wikidata_id: "Q508871"
roles: ["Producer"]
born: "1 January 1953"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 85
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T06:21:01.386921+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mary Sweeney

## Identity

Mary Sweeney

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/mary-sweeney
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** mary-sweeney
- **IMDb ID:** nm0842156
- **TMDB ID:** 5604
- **Wikidata ID:** Q508871
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sweeney, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q508871, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842156/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5604

Producer. Born 1 January 1953 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer
- **Born:** 1 January 1953, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- **Active:** 1983–2001
- **Also known as:** ماري سويني
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 1 writing, 2 producing, 3 crew
- **Frequently works with:** [David Lynch](https://film.one/person/david-lynch.md), [Neal Edelstein](https://film.one/person/neal-edelstein.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as producer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 87 (2), 1990s 81 (3), 2000s 92 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sweeney, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q508871, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842156/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5604

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The Straight Story*](https://film.one/film/the-straight-story.md) (88)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Mary Sweeney is an American film producer, editor, writer and director. She collaborated extensively with director David Lynch from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s.

Her credits with Lynch include editing and producing *Lost Highway* (1997), producing and writing *The Straight Story* (1999), and producing and editing *Mulholland Drive* (2001). She won the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for *Mulholland Drive*.

Sweeney is the Dino and Martha De Laurentiis Endowed Professor in the Writing Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She was briefly married to Lynch.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

### Wrote (1)

- *The Straight Story* (1999), Fi1m 88, Writer, Producer, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/the-straight-story.md)

### Produced (2) — the average rests on these

- *Mulholland Drive* (2001), Fi1m 92, Producer, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/mulholland-drive.md)
- *Lost Highway* (1997), Fi1m 78, Editor, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/lost-highway.md)

### Crew (3)

- *Wild at Heart* (1990), Fi1m 78, Script Supervisor, First Assistant Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/wild-at-heart.md)
- *Blue Velvet* (1986), Fi1m 88, Assistant Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/blue-velvet.md)
- *Tender Mercies* (1983), Fi1m 86, Editorial Production Assistant — [page](https://film.one/film/tender-mercies.md)

## Complete filmography (16)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Romanoffs* (2018), series, Writer, Consulting Producer
- *Take A Hike* (2017), as Bing's Mom (Voice)
- *Baraboo* (2009), Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
- *Inland Empire* (2006), Producer
- *In the Eye Abides the Heart* (2006), Director
- *Mulholland Drive* (2001), Editor, Producer — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/mulholland-drive.md)
- *The Straight Story* (1999), Producer, Editor, Writer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-straight-story.md)
- *Lost Highway* (1997), Editor, Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/lost-highway.md)
- *Nadja* (1995), Producer
- *Hotel Room* (1993), series, Editor
- *On the Air* (1992), series, Editor
- *Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me* (1992), Editor
- *Wild at Heart* (1990), Script Supervisor, First Assistant Editor — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/wild-at-heart.md)
- *Blue Velvet* (1986), Assistant Editor — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/blue-velvet.md)
- *Merton: A Film Biography* (1984), Associate Editor
- *Tender Mercies* (1983), Editorial Production Assistant — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/tender-mercies.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/mary-sweeney