Her father, Clement Talkington, is a surgeon; her mother, Virginia Savage McAlester, is an architectural historian and political activist.

Talkington first received notice for her short films, all of which take as their subject a young and headstrong female protagonist.

Her recent screenwriting work includes Ungifted, Under Cover, the musical #HotFuss,[10] an adaptation of the memoir Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched, and remakes of the 1980s films Valley Girl [11] and Private Benjamin.

[13] She also wrote the screenplays for the TV movies Brave New Girl and Avalon High, for which she won a Writers Guild Award.

[14] Talkington lives in Los Angeles with her husband, record producer and film- music supervisor and editor Robbie Adams.