Justine Tanya Bateman is an American actress, writer, director, and producer. Her former acting work includes Family Ties, Satisfaction, Men Behaving Badly, The TV Set, Desperate Housewives, and Californication. Her feature film directorial debut, Violet, starring Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, and Justin Theroux, will premiere at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. Bateman also wrote and produced the film Five Minutes, the film short she wrote, directed, and produced, premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
Early life
Bateman was born in Rye, New York, to Victoria Elizabeth, a former flight attendant for Pan Am who was originally from the United Kingdom, and Kent Bateman. She is the older sister of actor Jason Bateman. She attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California. However, Bateman could not attend college at the time due to her contractual obligations with Family Ties. Bateman stated that she was informed by the series' line producer Carol Himes, "You're under contract to Paramount Studios." Bateman later earned her Computer Science and Digital Media Management degree from UCLA in 2016.
Career
Acting
Television
Bateman's most prominent acting role began when she was a teenager, playing the role of superficial Mallory Keatonon the televisionsitcomFamily Ties in 1982; she continued the role throughout the show's run which ended in 1989. In 1984, Bateman starred in the episode "Mookie and Pookie" in Tales from the Darkside. She hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live during its 13th season in 1988. From her work on Family Ties she was nominated for two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 1996, she guest-starred on as the character Sarah/Zara in four episodes — two at the end of season 3, and two at the beginning of season 4. In the 1996–97 NBC American version of the British TV comedyMen Behaving Badly, featuring Rob Schneider and Ron Eldard, she starred as Sarah, Eldard's character's girlfriend. Bateman returned to TV with the 2003 Showtime mini-series Out of Order, alongside Eric Stoltz, Felicity Huffman and Bill Macy. In the third-season Arrested Development episode "Family Ties," which was broadcast in February 2006, her character is initially believed to be Michael Bluth's sister, but she turns out to be a prostitute taken advantage of by his father, and pimped by his brother. Michael Bluth was played by Bateman's brother Jason. Recurring roles included Men in Trees, Still Standing, and Desperate Housewives.
Feature films
In 1988, Bateman starred in the lead role in the motion picture Satisfaction. The film, about an all-girl musical band, also featured Julia Roberts, Liam Neeson, and Britta Phillips. Bateman starred as the lead vocalist and also performed the vocals on the soundtrack. Other films include The Night We Never Met, with Matthew Broderick, and The TV Set, with David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver.
Other media
She has acted in several web series. She acted in John August's Remnants, Illeana Douglas' IKEA-sponsored Easy to Assemble, and Anthony Zuiker's digi-novel series Level 26: Dark Prophecy, in which she plays a tarot card reader.
Theater
Bateman's theater experience includes Arthur Miller's The Crucible, David Mamet's Speed the Plow, and Frank Wedekind's Lulu.
Writer
Bateman wrote her feature film directorial debut, Violet, which will premiere at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. Bateman also wrote her short film directorial debut, Five Minutes. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017. She made her first script sale to Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place. She also co-wrote the adaptation of Lisi Harrison's teenage book series The Clique for a Warner Bros. internet series. Bateman's first book, Fame: The Hijacking of Reality, was published in 2018 by Akashic Books.
Producer
In the fall of 2007, Bateman helped produce the Speechless campaign in support of the Writers Guild of America strike. In 2004, she also launched FM78.tv, a digital production company. She later established the film production company, Section 5. Her producing credits include the film shorts Z, Five Minutes, and Push, as well as Easy to Assemble, which garnered more than 5.1 million views during its second season. Bateman also co-produced and co-presented with fashion maven Kelly Cutrone on their internet talk show Wake Up and Get Real. Described as an alternative to the television series The View, WUAGR was last broadcast in June 2011.
Director
Her feature film directorial debut, Violet, starring Olivia Munn, Justin Theroux, and Luke Bracey, will premiere at the 2020 SXSW film festival. Her short film directorial debut, Five Minutes, was an official selection at various film festivals, including the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. It was a winner in Amazon Prime's Festival Stars competition, and one of Vimeo's Short of the Week.
Other work
During a hiatus from the entertainment business, Bateman established a clothing design company in 2000. She managed it until its closure in 2003. Justine Bateman Designs was known for one-of-a-kind hand knits. It sold to BendelsNY, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Fred Segal. She served on the National Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild until July 2009, when she resigned just before the end of her initial three-year term.
Personal life
Bateman dated Leif Garrett in the late 1980s. In 2001, Bateman married Mark Fluent, with whom she has two children. Bateman is an outspoken supporter of net neutrality. In 2008, Bateman testified before the United States Senate Commerce Committee in support of net neutrality. Bateman is a licensed pilot of single-engine planes and a certified scuba diver.
