Charles Stuart "Charlie" Kaufman (born November 19, 1958) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and lyricist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He made his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York (2008), which was also well-received; film critic Roger Ebert named it "the best movie of the decade" in 2009. It was followed by Anomalisa (2015).

Throughout his career, Kaufman has been lauded by critics for his creativity and originality: Being John Malkovich features John Malkovich as a fictional version of himself finding that his own mind is accessible by others; Human Nature touches on themes of behaviorism and is told mostly in flashbacks; Adaptation follows Nicolas Cage as Kaufman himself, trying to write the film itself and to understand the book from which it is adapted, with the help of his twin brother Donald Kaufman (credited as a co-writer despite being a fictional character); Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind takes place mainly in the mind of the main character as his memory is erased; Synecdoche, New York is a postmodern film with many complex and surrealist elements; and Anomalisa follows the life of a self-help guru who experiences everyone, save the titular Lisa, as having the same voice and face.