Marta Fran Kauffman is an American television writer and producer, widely recognized for her significant contributions to television. She was born on September 21, 1956, in the Philadelphia suburbs and raised in a conservative Jewish household. Kauffman attended Marple Newtown High School and later Brandeis University, where she earned a BA in Theater in 1978. She also studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York City.