Linda Woolverton ( born December 19 , 1952 ) is an American screenwriter , playwright , and novelist , whose most prominent works include the screenplays and books of several acclaimed Disney films and stage musicals . She is the first woman to have written an animated feature for Disney , '' Beauty and the Beast '' ( 1991 ) , which was also the first animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards . She also helped write the screenplay for the film '' The Lion King '' , and adapted her own '' Beauty and the Beast '' screenplay into the book of the Broadway adaptation of the film , for which she received a Tony Award nomination
Academy Awards
64th Academy Awards
Linda Woolverton