Shirley has written for films with a cumulative box office of over half a billion dollars.  She is a co-founder of Australian film production company Magi Pictures with producer and internationally renowned director, Michael Rymer.

She recently delivered a historical sports drama for Ultrafilms and she was script editor on Wise Goat Productions’ family drama My Eyes which premieres in 2025.

Writing for Walt Disney Studios, Shirley worked on over two dozen projects ranging from features Dinosaur, Home on the Range and Meet the Robinsons to the Holocaust drama, Misha. The short, John Henry, which she wrote for Disney, won international film festivals and was shortlisted in its category for the Academy Awards. Her screen adaptation of the opera Aida was source material for Elton John’s successful Broadway production.  more