female directors

1. Karyn Kusama

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.

2. Kathryn Bigelow

Director | Zero Dark Thirty

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 ...

3. 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 ...

4. Josie Rourke

Director | Mary Queen of Scots

Josie is the Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse. Her productions have transferred to Broadway, the West-End and won Olivier Awards. Her shows have been translated into live cinema broadcasts, including Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston, Les Liaisons Dangereuses with Janet McTeer and Dominic ...

5. 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 ...

6. Hallie Meyers-Shyer

Writer | Home Again

Hallie Meyers-Shyer was born on July 26, 1987 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Home Again (2017).

7. Maggie Carey

Director | The To Do List

Maggie Carey was born in 1975 in Boise, Idaho, USA. She is a director and writer, known for The To Do List (2013), Twisted Metal (2023) and The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021). She was previously married to Bill Hader.

8. Mimi Leder

Producer | The Morning Show

Mimi Leder was born on January 26, 1952 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a producer and director, known for The Morning Show (2019), On the Basis of Sex (2018) and Deep Impact (1998). She has been married to Gary Werntz since January 26, 1986. They have one child. She was previously married ...

9. 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 ...

10. 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).

11. Emma Tammi

Director | Five Nights at Freddy's

Emma Tammi was born on February 26, 1982 in Middletown, Connecticut, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Five Nights at Freddy's (2023), The Wind (2018) and The Left Right Game (2020).

12. Rebecca Miller

Writer | Maggie's Plan

Rebecca Miller was born on September 15, 1962 in Roxbury, Connecticut, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Maggie's Plan (2015), Personal Velocity (2002) and Angela (1995). She has been married to Daniel Day-Lewis since November 13, 1996. They have two children.

13. Lana Wachowski

Writer | The Matrix

Lana Wachowski and her sister Lilly Wachowski, also known as the Wachowskis, are the duo behind such ground-breaking movies as The Matrix (1999) and Cloud Atlas (2012). Born to mother Lynne, a nurse, and father Ron, a businessman of Polish descent, Wachowski grew up in Chicago and formed a tight ...

14. Lilly Wachowski

Writer | The Matrix

Director, writer, and producer Lilly Wachowski was born in 1967 in Chicago, the daughter of Lynne, a nurse and painter, and Ron, a businessman. Lilly was educated at Kellogg Elementary School in Chicago, before moving on to Whitney M. Young High School. After graduating from high school, she ...

15. 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).

16. Susanna Fogel

Writer | Booksmart

Susanna Fogel was born on October 8, 1980 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Booksmart (2019), The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) and The Flight Attendant (2020).

17. Julia Ducournau

Director | Titane

Julia Ducournau is a French film director and screenwriter. She attended film school at La Fémis in Paris, where she studied screenwriting. In 2011, her short film JUNIOR won the Petit Rail d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Her first feature, the horror movie Raw (2016), won the coveted ...

18. Mélanie Laurent

Actress | Inglourious Basterds

Mélanie Laurent was born in Paris, France. She is the daughter of Annick, a ballet teacher, and Pierre, a voice actor, who is most recognized for the French version of The Simpsons (1989). She has a younger brother, Mathieu, and has both Sephardi Jewish (from Tunisia) and Ashkenazi Jewish (from ...

19. 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).

20. 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 ...

21. Ishana Shyamalan

Producer | Servant

Ishana Shyamalan is known for Servant (2019), Old (2021) and The Watchers (2024).

22. 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...

23. 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, ...

24. Ry Russo-Young

Director | Nuclear Family

Ry Russo-Young is a bold and innovative writer/director working across genres in both dark and lighter tones. Her work is consistently visually arresting and emotionally potent. Ry's early independent films were associated with the mumblecore genre in part due to her performance alongside Greta ...

25. Roxann Dawson

Director | Breakthrough

Roxann Dawson was born in Los Angeles, California, to Richard and Rosalie Caballero. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (Theater Arts major). She soon landed her first role as Diana Morales in the Broadway production of "A Chorus Line". During her acting career, she performed...

26. Elizabeth Banks

Actress | The Hunger Games

Elizabeth Banks was born Elizabeth Mitchell in Pittsfield, a small city in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts near the New York border, on February 10, 1974. She is the daughter of Anne Marie (Wallace), who worked in a bank, and Mark Phineas Mitchell, a factory worker. Elizabeth describes ...

27. Alice Waddington

Director | Paradise Hills

Alice is co-writing and executive producing her second feature 'Scarlet' for Netflix and with writer Kristen SaBerre ('The Good Lord Bird') at MGM/Orion with Alana Mayo and Panchi Simeto; produced by Michael Costigan and Roxie Rodriguez at Aggregate Entertainment. Alice is also developing genre and...

28. Mary Harron

Director | American Psycho

Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), American Psycho (2000), and The Notorious Bettie Page (2005). She co-wrote American Psycho and ...

29. Justine Triet

Director | Anatomie d'une chute

Justine Triet is a graduate from the Paris National School of Fine Arts. Since then, she has directed a couple of films dealing with the place of the individual within a group: Sur place (2007) was shot right in the middle of the 2006 student protest; Solférino (2009) was filmed during the ...

30. S.J. Clarkson

Director | Madame Web

S.J. Clarkson is known for Madame Web (2024), The Defenders (2017) and Life on Mars (2006).

31. 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 ...

32. Kari Skogland

Director | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Emmy-nominated, BAFTA award-winning director Kari Skogland is CEO of Mad Rabbit, a development and production company. Skogland is committed to producing high-end one-hour dramas for the international market while she continues her award- winning work. Most recently she was Executive Producer and ...

33. Anna Boden

Producer | Half Nelson

Anna Boden is an American film director, cinematographer, editor, and screenwriter best known as the co-writer of the 2006 film Half Nelson. She is known for her collaborations with fellow filmmaker Ryan Fleck. While studying film at NYU, Boden met Ryan Fleck on the set of a student film. Soon they...

34. Lynn Shelton

Director | Humpday

Two time Emmy-nominated actress and director Lynn Shelton fell ill and was taken to a Los Angeles, California hospital. During her medical examination it was found that she had been suffering, without diagnosis or any apparent symptoms, from acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood. She died ...

35. Lorene Scafaria

Producer | Hustlers

Lorene Scafaria was born on May 1, 1978 in Holmdel, New Jersey, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Hustlers (2019), Coherence (2013) and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012).

36. 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 ...

37. 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).

38. Mary Nighy

Actress | Marie Antoinette

Mary Nighy was born on July 17, 1984 in London, England, UK. She is a director and actress, known for Marie Antoinette (2006), Tormented (2009) and Into the Night (2010).

39. Jade Halley Bartlett

Writer | Miller's Girl

Jade Halley Bartlett is known for Miller's Girl (2024).

40. Farah Nabulsi

Producer | Al-hadiya

Farah Nabulsi is a writer, producer and director. In 2019, Farah co-wrote and directed the short 24 minute film, The Present. It premiered at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2020 where it won the Audience Award for Best Film. Prior to The Present, Farah wrote and produced 3 ...

41. Rachel Lambert

Director | I Can Feel You Walking

Rachel Lambert is known for I Can Feel You Walking (2021), In the Radiant City (2016) and Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023).

42. Lulu Wang

Director | The Farewell

Lulu Wang was born on February 25, 1983 in Beijing, China. She is a director and writer, known for The Farewell (2019), Touch (2015) and Family Meal.

43. Sarah Polley

Actress | My Life Without Me

Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her ...

44. Maria Sadowska

Director | Dzien kobiet

Maria Sadowska was born on June 27, 1976 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. She is a director and actress, known for Women's Day (2012), Girls to Buy (2021) and The Art of Loving: Story of Michalina Wislocka (2017).

45. Rose Glass

Director | Saint Maud

Rose Glass was destined to be a director from a young age. Upon leaving home she studied film and video at London College of Communication, UAL - where she directed her first 'proper' shorts - and also gained experience as a runner on professional sets. Eventually she made her way to the NFTS, ...

46. Patricia Riggen

Director | The 33

Patricia Riggen was born on June 2, 1970 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She is a director and producer, known for The 33 (2015), La milpa (2002) and Under the Same Moon (2007). She is married to Checco Varese. They have one child.

47. Laurel Parmet

Director | The Starling Girl

Laurel Parmet is known for The Starling Girl (2023), Spring (2017) and Kira Burning (2018).

48. Maren Ade

Producer | Toni Erdmann

Maren Ade was born in Karlsruhe on 12 December 1976 to a couple of teachers.She studied cinema at Munich's Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film. As of 2001 she co-founded, together with Janine Jackowski, a fellow graduate from HFF, the "Komplizen" film company. It is through Komplizen that Maren would...

49. Kelly Marcel

Writer | Saving Mr. Banks

Kelly is primarily a writer for film and television but started her career in musical theater with the UK version of "Debbie Does Dallas, the Musical".

She is a co-artistic director of "The Bad Dog Theater Company"; founded in 2010 alongside the actor Tom Hardy and fellow writer Brett C. Leonard.

She...

50. Trish Sie

Director | Pitch Perfect 3

Trish Sie is known for Pitch Perfect 3 (2017), Step Up All In (2014) and The Sleepover (2020).

51. Kay Cannon

Producer | 30 Rock

Kay Cannon is a screenwriter, actress and producer, best known for Pitch Perfect (2012), Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), and Pitch Perfect 3 (2017). She is also known for her work on NBC's 30 Rock (2006) and the Netflix Original Series Girlboss (2017).

Cannon has won three Writers Guild of America Awards ...

52. Thea Sharrock

Director | Me Before You

Thea Sharrock is known for Me Before You (2016), The Hollow Crown (2012) and Wicked Little Letters (2023).

53. Charlotte Wells

Director | Aftersun

Charlotte Wells is a Scottish director and producer whose shorts have screened at festivals worldwide. Her second film, Laps, won a Short Film Special Jury Prize for Editing at Sundance Film Festival and Special Jury Recognition for Narrative Shorts at SXSW Film Festival 2017. She is a graduate of ...

54. Mona Fastvold

Director | The World to Come

Mona Fastvold was born on March 7, 1986 in Oslo, Norway. She is an actress and producer, known for The World to Come (2020), The Sleepwalker (2014) and The Childhood of a Leader (2015). She was previously married to Sondre Lerche.

55. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Director | The Mustang

Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre was born on July 26, 1983 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for The Mustang (2019), Rabbit (2014) and Atlantic Avenue (2013).

56. Maïwenn

Actress | Polisse

Maïwenn (sometimes credited as Maïwenn Besco or her birth name Maïwenn Le Besco, born 17 April 1976) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter.

Maïwenn Le Besco was born in Les Lilas, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, a suburban area east of Paris. Maïwenn is of mixed Breton, Vietnamese, French, ...

57. 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.