Lauren Faust
American animator who developed My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
Lauren J. Faust (born July 25, 1974) is an American animator, writer, director, and producer. She is best known for creating the animated series *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic* and *DC Super Hero Girls*, and for working with her husband Craig McCracken on all four of his TV shows.
Faust studied at the California Institute of Arts from 1992 to 1994. Her first industry job was as a character layouts artist for Julie on MTV’s *The Maxx*. She then became an animator at Turner Feature Animation and Warner Bros Feature Animation, contributing to films like *Cats Don’t Dance*, *Quest for Camelot*, and *The Iron Giant*. In 1999, she moved into television animation at Cartoon Network Studios, where she worked on *The Powerpuff Girls* and *Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends* as a storyboard artist, screenwriter, supervising producer, and story supervisor. She also created the concept/pitch *Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls*, though it was never officially released as a toy line.
Faust partnered with Hasbro to develop *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic*, which became a major hit with its target young audience and unexpectedly attracted a large adult and teenage fanbase known as “bronies.” She later developed *Super Best Friends Forever* as a short series for DC Nation on Cartoon Network and *Medusa* for Sony Pictures Animation, but left *Medusa* after Sony changed its creative direction. She collaborated with McCracken on *Wander Over Yonder* for Disney and *Kid Cosmic* for Netflix. In 2019, she worked with Warner Bros to reboot *DC Super Hero Girls*. As of 2021, she was developing an animated series called *Toil & Trouble* for Netflix Animation, but it was canceled that August due to a leadership change. In April 2022, she said she had retained the rights and hoped another network would pick it up.
In 2011, after a fan game called *My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic* faced legal issues, Faust offered to design new characters for it. Those characters became the basis for *Them’s Fightin’ Herds*, which was funded on Indiegogo and released in Early Access on Steam in 2018. The game left Early Access in 2020 with the first chapter of story mode. In November 2023, it was announced that after finishing in-development DLC fighters, active development would stop, leaving the rest of the story mode—whose full plot outline was already written—unfinished. Faust expresse
- born
- July 25, 1974
- field
- Animator, writer, director, producer
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Developing My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and DC Super Hero Girls
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Lauren J. Faust
- Birth Date
- 1974-07-25
- Birth Place
- San Jose, California, U.S.
- Education
- California Institute of the Arts
- Occupation
- Animator, writer, storyboard artist
- Years Active
- 1994–present
- Known For
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic / DC Super Hero Girls
- Spouse
- Craig McCracken · 2004
- Children
- 1
- Awards
- 2009 Primetime Emmy Award
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Lauren Faust attended the California Institute of Arts from 1992 to 1994. She began her career as a character layouts artist for the MTV series The Maxx, then worked as an animator at Turner Feature Animation and Warner Bros Feature Animation on films including Cats Don't Dance, Quest for Camelot, and The Iron Giant. In 1999, she shifted to television animation, working on The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends as a storyboard artist, screenwriter, supervising producer, and story supervisor. She also created the concept/pitch Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls, though it was never officially released as a toy line.
Faust worked with Hasbro to develop My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which became a major success with both its primary young audience and among adults and teenagers known as 'bronies.' She later developed Super Best Friends Forever as a short series for DC Nation on Cartoon Network and Medusa for Sony Pictures Animation, but left Medusa after Sony changed its creative direction.
Reader's Guide
Lauren Faust's significance lies in her transformative impact on children's animation, particularly through My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which expanded the franchise's audience to include a large adult and teenage fanbase. Her work bridged feature film and television animation, and her collaborations with Craig McCracken helped shape iconic Cartoon Network series. Faust's involvement in fan-driven projects like Them's Fightin' Herds demonstrates her engagement with community and her willingness to adapt intellectual property challenges into new creative ventures. Her career reflects a trajectory from layout artist to show creator, and her retention of rights to cancelled projects underscores her ongoing influence in the industry. Faust's legacy includes not only popular series but also a model for how animators can navigate corporate changes and fan cultures.
Did You Know?
- Faust was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2004 and an Annie Award in 2005.
- She shared a Primetime Emmy in 2009 for the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends special 'Destination: Imagination'.
- Faust took maternity leave in mid-2016 to care for her newborn daughter.
- She created the toy line Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls.
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