Irene Mecchi is an American writer for television, movies, newspapers, and Broadway. Originally from San Francisco, she started her work with Disney in March 1992, when she wrote Recycle Rex, an animated short film which won the 1994 Environmental Media Award. Irene has worked on Herb Caen's books, and is the co-screenwriter of Disney's movies such as The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hercules. With co-author Roger Allers, she received a 1998 Tony nomination for writing the book for The Lion King. Irene wrote the teleplay for Annie, which aired on ABC in 1999.