Linda Joyce Bloodworth-Thomason (born April 15, 1947) is an American writer, director, and television producer. She is best known for creating, writing, and producing several television series, most successfully with the series Designing Women and Evening Shade. She and her husband, Harry Thomason, are also notable for their friendship with former President Bill Clinton, and the role they played in his election campaigns. Early life Bloodworth was born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, the daughter of Ralph and Claudia Bloodworth. She graduated from Poplar Bluff High School. She went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. In the early 1970s she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she taught English at Jordan High School, in the south Los Angeles community of Watts. Career Early career After her teaching stint concluded, Bloodworth went on to work for The Wall Street Journal in advertising. She then became a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. During this period, she also began working as a freelance writer in television. Her early script-writing work included five episodes of M*A*S*H – of which one episode, "Hot Lips and Empty Arms," written with Mary Kay Place, was nominated for an Emmy Award – as well as scripts for Rhoda, the television version of Paper Moon, and the original pilot for One Day at a Time. She also wrote scripts for the short-lived sitcoms Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers and Filthy Rich. Creating and producing Bloodworth met Harry Thomason in 1978 and married him in 1983. That same year, the pair created Mozark Productions, named for their respective home states: Missouri, or "MO," and Arkansas, with an allusion to the Ozarks region overlapping both states. The company produced several situation comedies, most notably the show Designing Women, which reunited Bloodworth-Thomason with Filthy Rich cast members Dixie Carter and Delta Burke. The company also created and produced Evening Shade, Hearts Afire, Women of the House (a short-lived Designing Women spin-off starring Burke), and Emeril (a short-lived sitcom featuring chef Emeril Lagasse). Unfortunately, Emeril was to premiere on September 11, 2001 but was preempted by continuous coverage of the aftermath of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. The premiere of Emeril was delayed by two weeks and was never able to find an audience due to the premiere occurring so close to the attacks, leaving the air