Tamara Jenkins (born May 2, 1962) is an American screenwriter, film director, and occasional actress. She is best known for her two feature films, Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) and The Savages (2007).
Jenkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Lillian and Manuel Jenkins. Her father was Jewish and her mother was Italian American. After her parents divorced, her father, a car salesman and former nightclub owner, took custody of her and her three brothers, moving the family to California to work as a car salesman. She lived in Beverly Hills with her father and brothers and attended Beverly Hills High for a year and a half, during which legal custody of Jenkins was awarded to her oldest brother.