Elaine May (born April 21, 1932) is an American film director, screenwriter and actress.
She achieved her initial, and possibly greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines with Mike Nichols, performing as Nichols and May. She is a two-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, for The Heartbreak Kid (1972) and Primary Colors (1998). She also received an Oscar nomination for co-writing Heaven Can Wait (1978). In 1996, she reunited with Nichols to write the screenplay for The Birdcage, directed by Nichols. She received the National Medal of Arts in 2012 for her unique contributions.