Female directors

1. Susanne Bier

Director | Hævnen

Though Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award winning writer and director Susanne Bier's work often plays out against a wide-reaching global backdrop, its focus is intimate, carefully exploring the explosive emotions and complexities of familial bonds. This unique combination is part of ...

Efter brylluppet Elsker dig for evigt Brödre Haevnen Things We Lost in the Fire Den skaldede frisör Serena

2. Sofia Coppola

Actress | The Godfather Part III

Sofia Coppola was born on May 14, 1971 in New York City, New York, USA as Sofia Carmina Coppola. She is a director, known for Somewhere (2010), Lost in Translation (2003), and Marie Antoinette (2006). She has been married to Thomas Mars since August 27, 2011. They have two daughters, Romy and ...

The Bling Ring Somewhere The Virgin Suicides Lost in Translation Marie Antoinette

3. Jasmila Zbanic

Writer | Quo vadis, Aida?

Jasmila Zbanic was born on December 19, 1974 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia. She is a writer and director, known for Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020), Grbavica (2006) and Na putu (2010). She is married to Damir Ibrahimovic. They have one child.

Grbavica Na Putu Quo Vadis, Aida?

4. Jane Campion

Writer | Bright Star

Jane Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and now lives in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Having graduated with a BA in Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington in 1975, and a BA, with a painting major, at Sydney College of the Arts in 1979, she began filmmaking in the early...

The Piano The Portrait of a Lady Holy Smoke

5. Maya Deren

Director | Meshes of the Afternoon

Maya Deren came to the USA in 1922 as Eleanora Derenkowsky. Together with her father Solomon Derenkowsky, a psychiatrist, and her mother Maria Fidler, an artist, she fled the pogroms organized by the Bolsheviks against the Jews. She studied journalism and political science at the Syracuse ...

Meshes in the Afternoon At Land Ritual in Transfigured Time

6. Agnès Varda

Director | Cléo de 5 à 7

Agnès Varda was born on May 30, 1928 in Ixelles, Belgium. She was a director and writer, known for Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), Vagabond (1985) and Faces Places (2017). She was married to Jacques Demy. She died on March 29, 2019 in Paris, France.

Le Bonheur Cléo de 5 à 7 Sans toit ni loi

7. Andrea Arnold

Director | American Honey

Andrea Arnold was born on April 5, 1961 in Dartford, Kent, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for American Honey (2016), Fish Tank (2009) and Red Road (2006).

Fish Tank Red Road

8. Alice Rohrwacher

Director | La chimera

Alice Rohrwacher was born on December 29, 1981 in Fiesole, Tuscany, Italy. She is a director and writer, known for La Chimera (2023), Happy as Lazzaro (2018) and The Wonders (2014).

Lazzaro Felice Le Meraviglie

9. Amy Heckerling

Writer | Clueless

Amy Heckerling studied Film and TV at New York University and got a Masters Degree in Film from The American Film Institute. Despite this education she couldn't get a break in Hollywood. However, in 1982, she made Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), and people started to take notice. In 1985, ...

Clueless Look Who's Talking

10. Céline Sciamma

Writer | Portrait de la jeune fille en feu

Céline Sciamma was born on November 12, 1978 in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France. She is a writer and director, known for Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), Petite Maman (2021) and Tomboy (2011).

Naissance des pieuvres Tomboy

11. Patty Jenkins

Director | Wonder Woman

Patty Jenkins is a writer/director best known for directing Wonder Woman, the Warner Bros./DC Comics blockbuster of 2017, and her debut feature Monster. Patty also works in television where she is best known for the pilot and finale episode of AMC's hit show The Killing.

Patty began her career as a ...

Wonder Woman Monster

12. Catherine Hardwicke

Director | Twilight

Hardwicke's first film as a director was the Sundance winner THIRTEEN which explored the transition into teenage years with an authenticity that still captures young audiences (1.3 billion Tik Tok engagements.) Hardwicke directed LORDS OF DOGTOWN before she became best known as the director of ...

Thirteen Twilight

13. Mira Nair

Director | Salaam Bombay!

Accomplished Film Director/Writer/Producer Mira Nair was born in India and educated at Delhi University and at Harvard. She began her film career as an actor and then turned to directing award-winning documentaries, including So Far From India and India Cabaret. Her debut feature film, Salaam ...

Monsoon Wedding Salaam Bombay!

14. Nora Ephron

Writer | Julie & Julia

Nora Ephron was educated at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. She was an acclaimed essayist (Crazy Salad 1975), novelist (Heartburn 1983), and had written screenplays for several popular films, all featuring strong female characters, such as anti-nuclear activist Karen Silkwood (Silkwood (1983), ...

Sleepless in Seattle You've Got Mail

15. Christine Jeffs

Director | Sunshine Cleaning

Christine Jeffs was born on January 29, 1963 in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. She is a director and writer, known for Sunshine Cleaning (2008), Rain (2001) and Stroke (1993).

Sunshine Cleaning Sylvia

16. Anne Fontaine

Writer | Les innocentes

Anne Fontaine was born on July 15, 1959 in Luxembourg. She is an actress and writer, known for The Innocents (2016), Coco Before Chanel (2009) and Reinventing Marvin (2017). She is married to Philippe Carcassonne. They have one child.

Nathalie... Les Innocentes

17. Margarethe von Trotta

Director | Hannah Arendt

Margarethe von Trotta was born in Berlin in 1942. In the 1960s she moved to Paris where she worked for film collectives, collaborating on scripts and co-directing short films. She also pursued an acclaimed acting career, starring in films by well known German directors such as Rainer Werner ...

Die Verlorene Ehre Der Katharina Blum Die bleierne Zeit

18. Nancy Meyers

Writer | It's Complicated

Nancy Jane Meyers is an American filmmaker. She has written, produced, and directed many critically and commercially successful films including Private Benjamin (1980), Irreconcilable Differences (1984), Baby Boom (1987), Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride Part II (1995), The Parent ...

The Intern The Parent Trap

19. Karyn Kusama

Director | The Invitation

Karyn Kusama was born on March 21, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She is a director and producer, known for The Invitation (2015), Destroyer (2018) and Girlfight (2000). She has been married to Phil Hay since October 2006. They have one child.

Girlfight Jennifer's Body

20. Debra Granik

Director | Leave No Trace

Debra Granik (born February 6, 1963) is an American New York City-based independent film and documentary film director and screenwriter. She is most known for 2004's Down to the Bone, which starred Vera Farmiga, 2010's Winter's Bone, which starred Jennifer Lawrence in her breakout performance and ...

Winter's Bone

21. Haifaa Al-Mansour

Director | Wadjda

Haifaa Al Mansour is the first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia and is regarded as one of the most significant cinematic figures in the Kingdom. She finished her bachelor's degree in Literature at the American University in Cairo and completed a Master's degree in Directing and Film Studies from ...

Wadjda

22. Ildikó Enyedi

Director | Teströl és lélekröl

Ildikó Enyedi was born on November 15, 1955 in Budapest, Hungary. She is a director and writer, known for On Body and Soul (2017), Simon, the Magician (1999) and My Twentieth Century (1989).

Teströl és lélekröl

23. Agnieszka Holland

Director | Pokot

Having graduated from FAMU in Prague film (1971), Agnieszka Holland returned to Poland and began her film career working with Krzysztof Zanussi as assistant director, and Andrzej Wajda as her mentor. Her first feature film was PROVINCIAL ACTORS (1978), one of the flagship pictures of the "cinema of...

Bittere Ernte

24. Léa Pool

Director | Emporte-moi

Léa Pool was born on September 8, 1950 in Genève, Switzerland. She is a director and writer, known for Set Me Free (1999), The Passion of Augustine (2015) and La femme de l'hôtel (1984).

Lost and Delirious

25. Selcen Ergun

Director | Kar ve Ayi

Selcen Ergun is a director, screenwriter and producer based in Istanbul / Paris. She is a 2018 Berlinale Talents, Berlinale Script Station and 2019 Medienboard Nipkow Berlin Artist-in-Residency alumna. She is a member of European Film Academy. She has an honors degree in Industrial Design / Visual ...

Kar ve Ayi

26. Antonia Bird

Director | Priest

Antonia Bird was born on May 27, 1951 in London, England, UK. She was a director and producer, known for Priest (1994), Face (1997) and Ravenous (1999). She was married to Ian Ilett. She died on October 24, 2013 in London, England, UK.

Priest

27. Greta Gerwig

Writer | Barbie

Greta Gerwig is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and director. She has collaborated with Noah Baumbach on several films, including Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination, and Mistress America (2015). Gerwig made her solo directorial debut ...

Lady Bird

28. Amanda Kernell

Writer | Sameblod

Amanda Kernell was born on September 9, 1986 in Umeå, Västerbottens län, Sweden. She is a writer and director, known for Sami Blood (2016), Charter (2020) and Northern Great Mountain (2015).

Sameblod

29. Wanuri Kahiu

Director | Rafiki

Wanuri's first feature film From A Whisper, based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best...

Rafiki

30. Mati Diop

Director | Atlantique

Mati Diop was born on June 22, 1982 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for Atlantics (2019), A Thousand Suns (2013) and Dahomey (2024).

Atlantique

31. Phyllida Lloyd

Director | Mamma Mia!

Phyllida Lloyd was born on June 17, 1957 in Bristol, England, UK. She is a director and producer, known for Mamma Mia! (2008), The Iron Lady (2011) and Herself (2020).

Herself

32. Sherry Hormann

Director | Desert Flower

Sherry Hormann was born on April 20, 1960 in Kingston, New York, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Desert Flower (2009), Leise Schatten (1992) and Guys and Balls (2004).

Desert Flower

33. Kelly Fremon Craig

Writer | Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Kelly Fremon Craig is a writer and director from Whittier, California. She made her directorial debut with The Edge of Seventeen. James L. Brooks' Gracie Films acquired the project in 2012, and developed the screenplay with Fremon Craig. She graduated from UC Irvine with an English degree. Fremon ...

The Edge of Seventeen

34. Julie Taymor

Director | Frida

Julie Taymor is an Academy Award-nominated director, known for such films as Frida (2002) and Across the Universe (2007).

She was born on December 15, 1952, in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Her father, Melvin Lester Taymor, was a gynecologist. Her mother, Elizabeth Bernstein, was a ...

Frida

35. Nana Ekvtimishvili

Writer | Grzeli nateli dgeebi

Nana Ekvtimishvili was born on July 9, 1978 in Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR. She is a writer and director, known for In Bloom (2013), My Happy Family (2017) and Waiting for Mum (2011).

Grzeli nateli dgeebi

36. Marzieh Makhmalbaf

Writer | Roozi ke zan shodam

Marziyeh Meshkini Born in 1969 in Tehran. She is the wife of celebrated Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. She studied Cinema in Makhmalbaf Film school for 8 years. Her first film 'The Day I Became a Woman", (a 3-episode story) attended the Critics Week category in Venice International Film ...

Roozi Khe Zan Shodam (The Day I Became a Woman)

37. Jill Sprecher

Writer | Clockwatchers

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in philosophy and literature, she moved to NewYork to study film and has since made Manhattan her home. She has worked as a coordinator, production manager and line producer on both studio and independent features. She studied film ...

Clockwatchers

38. Stella Meghie

Director | Jean of the Joneses

Stella Meghie is known for Jean of the Joneses (2016), The Weekend (2018) and The Photograph (2020).

Everything, Everything

39. Laura Bispuri

Director | Figlia mia

Laura Bispuri is a director and writer, known for _Sworn Virgin (2015)_ and _Daughter of Mine (2018)_ both presented in Competition at the Berlinale, in 2015 and 2018. She was awarded with the David di Donatello in 2010 for Best Short Film for _Passing Time (2010)_ and with Nastro d'Argento in 2011...

Figlia Mia

40. Julie Dash

Director | Reasonable Doubt

Thirty-one years ago, filmmaker Julie Dash broke racial and gender boundaries with her Sundance award-winning film (Best Cinematography) Daughters of the Dust. She became the first African American woman to have a wide theatrical release of her feature film. The Library of Congress placed Daughters...

Daughters of the Dust

41. Kathryn Bigelow

Director | The Hurt Locker

A very talented painter, Kathryn spent two years at the San Francisco Art Institute. At 20, she won a scholarship to the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program. She was given a studio in a former Offtrack Betting building, literally in an old bank vault, where she made art and waited to be ...

Zero Dark Thirty

42. Mia Hansen-Løve

Director | L'avenir

Cinema came into Mia Hansen-Løve's life when she was seventeen, as Olivier Assayas made her start as an actress in Late August, Early September (1998). Two years later, he gave her the part of "Aline" in his Les Destinées (2000). Their artistic collaboration was coupled by a union in real ...

Un Amour de jeunesse

43. Nora Fingscheidt

Director | Systemsprenger

Nora Fingscheidt was born on February 17, 1983 in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is a director and writer, known for System Crasher (2019), The Unforgivable (2021) and The Outrun (2024).

Systemsprenger

44. Germaine Dulac

Director | Âme d'artiste

The daughter of a cavalry captain, she was raised by a grandmother in Paris, where she studied various forms of art with an emphasis on music and the opera. In 1905 she married engineer-novelist Marie-Louis Albert-Dulac and under his influence veered toward journalism. As one of the leading radical...

La Souriante Madame Beudet

45. Icíar Bollaín

Director | Te doy mis ojos

Born in Madrid, Iciar Bollain has worked as an actress in films such El Sur (1983), directed by Víctor Erice; Sublet (1991) directed by Chus Gutiérrez, Malaventura (1988) directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón; El Mejor de los Tiempos (1990) and Un Paraguas para Tres (1992) directed by Felipe Vega, ...

Te doy mis ojos

46. Sylvia Soska

Director | American Mary

Identical twins, writers, directors, actors, and even stunt players, the Soska sisters have always loved twisted film. Even at an early age, they devoured Stephen King novels, one after another as fast as they could read - and would sneak into the over 18 sections at video stores, to critique the ...

American Mary

47. Manele Labidi

Writer | Un divan à Tunis

Manele Labidi was born in 1982 in Paris, France. She is a writer and director, known for Arab Blues (2019), Une chambre à moi (2018) and Madame de Sévigné (2023).

Un Divan à Tunis

48. Stacy Title

Director | Let the Devil Wear Black

Stacy Title was born on February 21, 1964 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. She was a director and producer, known for Let the Devil Wear Black (1999), The Last Supper (1995) and The Bye Bye Man (2017). She was married to Jonathan Penner. She died on January 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, ...

The Last Supper

49. Pernille Fischer Christensen

Director | En familie

Pernille Fischer Christensen was born on December 24, 1969 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is a director and writer, known for A Family (2010), A Soap (2006) and Someone You Love (2014).

Unga Astrid

50. Julie Delpy

Actress | Trois couleurs: Blanc

Julie Delpy was born in Paris, France, in 1969 to Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet, both actors.

She was first featured in Jean-Luc Godard's Detective (1985) at the age of fourteen. She has starred in many American and European productions since then, including Disney's The Three Musketeers (1993), ...

2 Days in Paris

51. Lucía Puenzo

Writer | XXY

Lucía Puenzo was born on November 28, 1976 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a writer and director, known for XXY (2007), The German Doctor (2013) and The Fish Child (2009).

Wakolda

52. Rohena Gera

Writer | Sir

Rohena Gera is known for Sir (2018), What's Love Got to Do with It? (2013) and Kuch Naa Kaho (2003).

Sir

53. Sandra Nettelbeck

Writer | Bella Martha

Sandra Nettelbeck was born on April 4, 1966 in Hamburg, Germany. She is a writer and director, known for Mostly Martha (2001), Last Love (2013) and No Reservations (2007).

Mr. Morgan's Last Love

54. Valerie Faris

Director | Little Miss Sunshine

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have built an impressive body of work by perpetually seeking innovative projects in a variety of mediums.

After introducing bands such as REM and The Red Hot Chili Peppers on their ground breaking MTV show The Cutting Edge, Jonathan and Valerie continued to work in ...

Little Miss Sunshine (with Jonathan Dayton)

55. Marina de Van

Writer | Dans ma peau

Marina de Van was born in France in 1971, her father being a musicologist. She studied at the Lycée Henri IV and at the Sorbonne University where she earned a degree in philosophy. Then, in 1993 she became a student at the FEMIS, the French school for cinematic studies, where she graduated in 1996....

Ne te retourne pas (Don't Look Back)

56. Daniela Fejerman

Writer | A mi madre le gustan las mujeres

Daniela Fejerman is known for A mi madre le gustan las mujeres (2002), Semen, una historia de amor (2005) and Seven Minutes (2009).

A mi madre le gustan las mujeres

57. Kristina Grozeva

Director | Urok

Kristina Grozeva graduated Sofia State University and worked as journalist for Bulgarian TV. After that she graduated from National Academy for Theater and Film Art (Sofia, Bulgaria) in Film Directing in classes of professor Georgi Djulgerov and associate professor Svetoslav Ovtcharov. Her student ...

Urok

58. Inés París

Writer | Miguel y William

Inés París was born in 1962 in Madrid, Spain. She is a writer and assistant director, known for Miguel and William (2007), A mi madre le gustan las mujeres (2002) and The Night My Mother Killed My Father (2016).

A mi madre le gustan las mujeres

59. Marleen Gorris

Director | Antonia

Marleen Gorris was born on December 9, 1948 in Roermond, Limburg, Netherlands. She is a director and writer, known for Antonia's Line (1995), A Question of Silence (1982) and Broken Mirrors (1984).

The Luzhin Defence

60. Quinn Shephard

Actress | Blame

Quinn Shephard is a writer, director and actress based out of the New York area, with a career spanning two decades. At age 15, Shephard began writing her debut feature Blame (2017), inspired by playing Abigail Williams in a New Jersey regional production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. She went ...

Blame

61. Patricia Rozema

Director | Into the Forest

Patricia Rozema was born on August 20, 1958 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She is a director and writer, known for Into the Forest (2015), Mansfield Park (1999) and Grey Gardens (2009).

Mansfield Park

62. Martha Fiennes

Director | Onegin

Martha Fiennes was born on February 5, 1965 in London, England, UK. She is a director and producer, known for Onegin (1999), The Fatal Lover, Mata Hari and Chromophobia (2005). She is married to George Tiffin. They have three children.

Onegin

63. Jennifer Kent

Director | The Nightingale

Jennifer Kent was born on March 5, 1969 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She is an actress and director, known for The Nightingale (2018), The Babadook (2014) and Monster (2005).

The Babadook

64. Belinda Chayko

Writer | Fires

Belinda Chayko is known for Fires (2021), Safe Harbour (2018) and Lou (2010).

Lou

65. Jessica Sharzer

Producer | Speak

Jessica Sharzer is writer, producer, and director best known for her work on Speak (2004), Nerve (2016), American Horror Story (2011-2015), and the new mystery thriller A Simple Favor (2018). Sharzer has been nominated for 3 Primetime Emmy's for her work on American Horror Story. Sharzer is working...

Speak

66. Negar Azarbayjani

Director | Aynehaye rooberoo

Negar Azarbayjani is known for Facing Mirrors (2011), Season of Narges (2017) and Beowulf (2006).

Facing Mirrors

67. Ava DuVernay

Writer | Queen Sugar

A director, producer, writer, marketer and film distributor, Ava DuVernay made her feature film debut with the documentary This is the Life (2008), a history on hip hop movement that flourished in Los Angeles in the 1990's. This was followed by series of television music documentaries which ...

Selma

68. Jenée LaMarque

Director | The Pretty One

Jenée LaMarque was born on February 2, 1980 in West Covina, California, USA. She is a director and writer, known for The Pretty One (2013), The Feels (2017) and Room 104 (2017). She has been married to Julian Wass since November 4, 2006. They have two children.

The Pretty One

69. Jodie Foster

Actress | The Silence of the Lambs

Jodie Foster started her career at the age of two. For four years she made commercials and finally gave her debut as an actress in the TV series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). In 1975 Jodie was offered the role of prostitute Iris Steensma in the movie Taxi Driver (1976). This role, for which she received ...

Little Man Tate

70. Floria Sigismondi

Director | The Runaways

Floria Sigismondi is a photographer and director. Apart from her art exhibitions she is best known for directing music videos. Her trademark dilating, jittery camerawork, noticeable as early as her video for Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People", has been replicated by a great number of directors...

The Runaways

71. Sally Potter

Director | The Tango Lesson

Sally Potter made her first 8mm film aged fourteen. She has since written and directed seven feature films, as well as many short films (including THRILLER and PLAY) and a television series, and has directed opera (Carmen for the ENO in 2007) and other live work. Her background is in choreography, ...

Ginger & Rosa

72. Lisa Cholodenko

Director | The Kids Are All Right

Lisa Cholodenko earned an MFA at Columbia University Film School where she made an award-winning short film Dinner Party (1997) Her feature High Art (1998) won the National Society of Film Critics award for Ally Sheedy's performance and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at Sundance. Both "High Art...

The Kids Are All Right

73. Deniz Gamze Ergüven

Director | Mustang

In 2011 Ergüven was invited to attend the Cannes Film Festivals Atelier to help develop her project, The Kings. While there she met fellow director Alice Winocour who was there to develop her first feature film Augustine. After Ergüven was unable to find financing for her film Winocour suggested ...

Mustang

74. Katja von Garnier

Director | Bandits

Katja von Garnier was born on December 15, 1966 in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. She is a director and writer, known for Bandits (1997), Iron Jawed Angels (2004) and Windstorm (2013). She is married to Markus Goller. They have one child.

Ostwind

75. Gurinder Chadha

Writer | Bend It Like Beckham

Gurinder Chadha was born in Kenya, and grew up in Southall, London, England. She began her career as a news reporter with BBC Radio, directed several award winning documentaries for the BBC, and began an alliance with the British Film Institute (BFI) and Channel Four. In 2001, Chadha set up her own...

Bend It Like Beckham

76. Samira Makhmalbaf

Director | Panj é asr

Samira Makhmalbaf Filmmaker

Born on February 15,1980 in Tehran. At the age of eight, she played in "The Cyclist" directed by her father, Mohsen Makhmalbaf the celebrated Iranian filmmaker.

At the age of 17, she directed her first feature titled "The Apple" and She went on to become the youngest ...

Blackboards

77. Patricia Mazuy

Director | Saint-Cyr

Patricia Mazuy was born on January 22, 1960 in Dijon, Côte-d'Or, France. She is a director and writer, known for Saint-Cyr (2000), Thick Skinned (1989) and Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge... (1993).

Saint-Cyr

78. Alante Kavaite

Director | Sangailes vasara

Alante Kavaite was born in 1973 in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, USSR. She is a director and writer, known for The Summer of Sangaile (2015), Écoute le temps (2006) and Submergée.

Sagailes Vasara

79. Tova Magnusson

Actress | Svart Lucia

Tova Magnusson was born on June 18, 1968 in Sorunda, Stockholms län, Sweden. She is an actress and director, known for Svart Lucia (1992), Rederiet (1992) and Mannen på balkongen (1993). She was previously married to Figge Norling.

Fyra År Till

80. Leni Riefenstahl

Producer | Das blaue Licht - Eine Berglegende aus den Dolomiten

Leni Riefenstahl's show-biz experience began with an experiment: she wanted to know what it felt like to dance on the stage. Success as a dancer gave way to film acting when she attracted the attention of film director Arnold Fanck, subsequently starring in some of his mountaineering pictures. With...

Triumph des Willens

81. Noémie Lvovsky

Actress | Camille redouble

Noémie Lvovsky was born on December 14, 1964 in Paris, France. She is an actress and writer, known for Camille Rewinds (2012), Life Doesn't Scare Me (1999) and Feelings (2003).

Les Sentiments

82. Suzi Yoonessi

Director | Unlovable

Suzi Yoonessi is known for Unlovable (2018), Daphne & Velma (2018) and Dear Lemon Lima (2009).

Dear Lemon Lima

83. Kimberly Peirce

Director | Boys Don't Cry

Kimberly Peirce was born on September 8, 1967 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Boys Don't Cry (1999), Stop-Loss (2008) and Carrie (2013).

Boys Don't Cry

84. Kátia Lund

Director | Cidade de Deus

Kátia Lund was born in 1966 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. She is a director and writer, known for City of God (2002), News from a Personal War (1999) and Anaconda (1997).

Cidade de Deus

85. Laura Wandel

Director | Un monde

Laura Wandel was born in 1984 in Brussels, Belgium. She is a director and writer, known for Playground (2021), Les corps étrangers (2014) and O Négatif (2010).

Un monde

86. Ursula Meier

Director | La ligne

Ursula Meier was born on June 24, 1971 in Besançon, Doubs, France. She is a director and writer, known for The Line (2022), Home (2008) and Sister (2012).

L'Enfant d'en haut

87. Carine Tardieu

Writer | Ôtez-moi d'un doute

Carine Tardieu was born in 1973 in Paris, France. She is a writer and assistant director, known for Just to Be Sure (2017), Les baisers des autres (2003) and L'aîné de mes soucis (2004).

Du vent dans mes mollets

88. Sylvie Verheyde

Director | Stella

Sylvie Verheyde is known for Stella (2008), Confession of a Child of the Century (2012) and Entre chiens et loups (1991).

Stella

89. Ida Lupino

Actress | High Sierra

Ida was born in London to a show business family. In 1932, her mother took Ida with her to an audition and Ida got the part her mother wanted. The picture was Her First Affaire (1932). Ida, a bleached blonde, went to Hollywood in 1934 playing small, insignificant parts. Peter Ibbetson (1935) was ...

The Hitch-Hiker

90. Edith Kiel

Writer | De moedige bruidegom

Edith Kiel was born on June 30, 1904 in Berlin, Germany. She was a writer and editor, known for De moedige bruidegom (1952), Uit hetzelfde nest (1952) and Schipperskwartier (1953). She died on September 12, 1993 in Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium.

De Hemel op Aarde

91. Lois Weber

Director | Suspense

Lois Weber, who had been a street-corner evangelist before entering motion pictures in 1905, became the first American woman movie director of note, and a major one at that. Herbert Blaché, the husband of Frenchwoman Alice Guy, the first woman to direct a motion picture (and arguably, the first ...

Hypocrites

92. Brenda Chapman

Writer | Brave

Brenda Chapman is an American animator, animation film director and writer from Beason, Illinois. She directed the Pixar film Brave and the DreamWorks Animation film The Prince of Egypt. She wrote the storylines of The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She is married to Kevin Lima, fellow ...

The Prince of Egypt

93. Tanya Wexler

Director | Hysteria

Tanya Wexler was born on August 6, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is an award-winning film and TV director, known for her feature films Hysteria (2011), Ball in the House (2001) and Finding North (1998). At current, Wexler lives in New York City with her four children and their dog, Snoopy.

Hysteria

94. Deepa Mehta

Director | Fire

Deepa Mehta is a transnational artist and a screenwriter, director, and producer whose work has been called "courageous", "provocative" and "breathtaking". Her visually lush and emotionally resonating films have played at every major international film festival; receiving numerous awards and ...

Fire

95. Ina Weisse

Director | Der Architekt

Ina Weisse was born on June 12, 1968 in Berlin, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for The Architect (2008), Unexpected (2014) and The Audition (2019). She is married to Matti Geschonneck.

Das Vorspiel

96. Angela Robinson

Actress | The Haves and the Have Nots

Angela Robinson was born on the historic East Side of Jacksonville, Florida and is a proud third-generation Florida A&M University alumna. Before moving to New York, she sang at supper clubs (Ponte Vedra Beach) and the USO (three tours: Far East, Middle East, and the Mediterranean). In New York, ...

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

97. Shannon Murphy

Director | Babyteeth

Shannon Murphy is a theatre and film/TV director, known for Babyteeth (2019), On the Ropes (2018) and Killing Eve (2019). Her episode of Killing Eve Are You From Pinner? was nominated for 3 Emmy Awards. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Director in 2021 for her work on Babyteeth. ...

Babyteeth

98. Lynne Ramsay

Director | You Were Never Really Here

Lynne Ramsay was born on December 5, 1969 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK. She is a director and writer, known for You Were Never Really Here (2017), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and Ratcatcher (1999). She was previously married to Rory Stewart Kinnear.

We Need to Talk about Kevin

99. Cate Shortland

Director | Lore

Catherine Shortland is an Australian filmmaker from Temora, New South Wales who is known for directing the Marvel film Black Widow. She also directed the feature length films Somersault, Lore and Berlin Syndrome. She directed the short films Pentuphouse, Flowergirl and Joy. She is married to Tony ...

Berlin Syndrome

100. Chantal Akerman

Director | Les rendez-vous d'Anna

Chantal Akerman was born on June 6, 1950 in Brussels, Belgium. She was a director and writer, known for The Meetings of Anna (1978), I, You, He, She (1974) and A Couch in New York (1996). She was married to Sonia Wieder-Atherton. She died on October 5, 2015 in Paris, France.

Jeanne Dielman