The Oscar nominee for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which she co-wrote with Eric Roth, will fill the seat left vacant following the death of Frank Pierson.

Swicord joins writers branch governors Bill Condon and Phil Robinson. Academy bylaws dictate that Swicord will remain on the board until the next regularly scheduled election in June 2013.

Her credits include Memoirs Of A Geisha, Matilda, Little Women and The Jane Austen Book Club, which she also directed.