Sharon Maguire

Sharon Maguire (born 28 November 1960) is a Welsh film director who came to prominence with Bridget Jones's Diary. The film was based on the book by her close friend Helen Fielding, and one of the main characters – "Shazzer" or "Shazza" – is reportedly based on Maguire.

Born in Aberystwyth, Wales and raised as a Catholic, Maguire studied English and Drama at the University of Wales Aberystwyth from 1979–1983 and graduated with a 2:2 degree before going on to do the PGCE teaching qualification. She's quoted as saying: "It always breaks the ice at parties when I'm with Oxbridge types and I brag: 'I went to Aberystwyth!'"

After leaving Aberystwyth, she did a year's postgraduate course in journalism at City University in London and worked as a researcher then a director on The Media Show.

In 1991, she gained a job with the BBC as producer/director of The Late Show. She also made several documentaries – including Omnibus – before leaving the Corporation to make advertisements. Bridget Jones' Diary marked Maguire's feature directorial debut.

Other projects in development for Maguire include Mail with Film Four, The Vicious Circle with Oxford Films, and Mother's Boy, for which she has also been commissioned to write a script for BBC Films. The film Incendiary, which was written and directed by Maguire, was released in 2008.

• The Thing is... Babies (1991)
• The Thing is... Hotels (1991)
• The Godfather (1993)
• In at Number Ten (1994)
• Yo Picasso (1994)
• Rumer Godden: An Indian Affair (1995)
• H.G. Wells: Bromley Boy (1996)
• H.G. Wells: The Panther and the Jaguar (1996)
• Dame Henrietta's Dream (1997)
• Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
• Incendiary (2008)
• Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013) (TV Movie) (Director)
• Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)