Karen McCullah (born December 5, 1967) is an American screenwriter and novelist most known for co-writing comedies such as 10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde, Ella Enchanted, The House Bunny, The Ugly Truth, and She's the Man with her screenwriting partner Kirsten Smith. After graduating from James Madison University with a degree in marketing, McCullah worked various jobs before beginning to write. She is a faculty member at Syracuse University's Los Angeles Semester. Description above from the Wikipedia article Karen McCullah, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- December 5, 1967 (58)
- Philippines
- Writer and producer
- 7 on MovieCove · 11 credits in all
What are Karen McCullah's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
Light 6 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1
Gentle 2 · Charged 5 · Intense 0
Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 6
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy7
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Karen McCullah's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Pluto TV (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Karen McCullah's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
11 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.
The Last Resort (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
Crazy Kind of Love(2013)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
The Ugly Truth(2009)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
The House Bunny(2008)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
She's the Man(2006)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Ella Enchanted(2004)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Legally Blonde(2001)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all filmsA Murder Uncorked (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Hope (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Spice Girls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 11 titles, 7 of them dated from 1999 to 2013.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Karen McCullah's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 4 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 57/100 and the plot and story 36/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Karen McCullah's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Karen McCullah work with?
People who share at least 2 of Karen McCullah's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kirsten Smith shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Robert LuketicShared titles: The Ugly Truth (2009), Legally Blonde (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Luketic
Writers
- Kirsten SmithShared titles: The House Bunny (2008), She's the Man (2006), Ella Enchanted (2004), Legally Blonde (2001), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)See all 5 shared titles with Kirsten Smith
Actors
- Amanda CrewShared titles: Crazy Kind of Love (2013), She's the Man (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Amanda Crew
Producers
- Seth JaretShared titles: Crazy Kind of Love (2013), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Seth Jaret
- Gary LucchesiShared titles: The Ugly Truth (2009), She's the Man (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Gary Lucchesi
- Tom RosenbergShared titles: The Ugly Truth (2009), She's the Man (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Tom Rosenberg
