Biography

Greg Glienna is an American screenwriter, director, and actor best known as the original creator of Meet the Parents (1992). He wrote, directed, and starred in the original indie version, which gained critical acclaim in U.S. and UK art house cinemas before being discovered by director Steven Soderbergh and brought to Universal Pictures.

The film was remade into the 2000 blockbuster starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, launching a multi-billion-dollar franchise co-produced by Universal and DreamWorks. Glienna continues to be credited as the original creator in official announcements for Meet the Parents 4, Focker In-Law.

Glienna is widely recognized for his strength in writing emotionally grounded, character-driven stories that resonate across genres.

His screenwriting and directing credits include comedies Desperation Blvd. (1998) writer/director; starring Judy Tenuta, Emo Philips, Weird Al' Yankovic and former child stars Erin Moran, Burt Ward, and Dana Plato; and Relative Strangers (2006) writer/director; starring Danny DeVito, Kathy Bates, Neve Campbell, and Ron Livingston; distributed by Warner Independent Pictures and Momentum Pictures.

His romantic comedies are A Guy Thing (2003) original screenplay; produced by MGM, starring Jason Lee, Julia Stiles, and Selma Blair and Puppy Love (2023) first draft writer; produced by BuzzFeed Studios and Amazon MGM, starring Lucy Hale, Grant Gustin, and Jane Seymour; a drama about comedy, The Road Dog (2022) writer/director; starring Doug Stanhope, Tim Kazurinsky, and Greg Fitzsimmons, released by Byron Allen's Freestyle Digital Media.

Dreamgirl, his original comedy screenplay sold to Warner Bros; and Spy High, a teen comedy sold to Bold Films (Whiplash, Drive, Nightcrawler) for original, studio-quality films and television content.

In addition to his film work, Glienna has a background in stand-up comedy. In the 1990s, he performed as an opening act for artists including David Copperfield, Tim Allen, Connie Francis, Emo Philips, and The Marshall Tucker Band, honing his comedic timing and storytelling instincts in front of live audiences.

He also co-wrote the stage play Suffer the Long Night, which premiered in Los Angeles, and remains active as a musician-performing regularly as a singer, pianist, and songwriter in both Chicago and Los Angeles.

Glienna's latest feature, Henry, is a high-concept thriller/horror film. The story follows a woman who discovers that the baby she thought she aborted 25 years ago was kept alive by a rogue doctor-and has since grown into a monstrous being determined to find and kill her. Genre stars Tara Reid (Urban Legend, American Pie), and Bonnie Aarons (The Nun, The Conjuring Universe) are attached to the project, which is being positioned as a franchise-ready horror property.
- IMDb mini biography by: Danielle Garnier