Female Film and TV Directors

Susannah Grant was born on 4 January 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Erin Brockovich (2000), Unbelievable (2019) and The 5th Wave (2016). She has been married to Christopher Henrikson since 1995. They have two children.

She came to prominence with the much lauded adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's autobiographical novel 'Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'. Since then she's directed feature films, television dramas and documentaries. In 2008, she founded the charity called Filmclub with Lindsay Mackie. It has since grown to be one of the largest and most influential after-school clubs in the UK, attracting over 150,000 children and young people each week.

Filmclub screens 100 years of film from all over the world to its members. Inspirational, entertaining and with positive outcomes on literacy, social behaviour and cultural awareness, Filmclub members have the opportunity to review, discuss and meet professional film-makers.

In 2006, she was asked to build a web-site for the Guardian newspaper to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Greenham camp.

Agnès Varda was born on 30 May 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 29 March 2019 in Paris, France.

Coline Serreau was born on 29 October 1947 in Paris, France. She is an actress and writer, known for Three Men and a Cradle (1985), Why Not! (1977) and Chaos (2001). She was previously married to Benno Besson.

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 teacher of political science. Young Taymor was fond of international folklore and mythology, and also developed a passion for theatre. She spent her formative years living in several countries. As a teenager, during the 1960s, she lived in Sri Lanka and India with the Experiment in International Living program, then studied acting in Paris, at the mime school of Jacques Lecoq. From 1969 to 1974, she studied theatre and mythology at Oberlin College, graduating in 1974 with a degree in folklore and mythology.

During the 1970s, Taymor lived in Japan, studying the art of puppetry and Japanese theatre. Then, she spent five years in Indonesia, working as director of international theatre with Asian, European, and American actors. Back in the USA, she worked on and off Broadway. There, she achieved her first success with staging a fairy tale, "The King Stag", and then toured 66 cities across the world, including Los Angeles, Venice, Tokyo, and Moscow.

In the 1990s, Taymor directed several classic operas. Her 1992 production of Igor Stravinsky's "Oedipus Rex" in Japan earned the Emmy Award. Then, she directed the 1993 production of "The Magic Flute" by 'Wolfgang Mozart', in Florence, with conductor Zubin Mehta, and the acclaimed 1994 production of "Salome" in St. Petersburg, Russia, with conductor Valery Gergiev.

In New York, she continued a stellar theatrical career, directing such productions as William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" and "Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass" at the Lincoln Center. In 1997, Taymor directed a massive Walt Disney Company's production of "The Lion King" on Broadway, for which she also co-designed over a 100 costumes and masks of animals, and earned two Tony Awards.

Her film, Frida (2002), received six Oscar nominations, and two Oscars, for make-up and for the music score by Elliot Goldenthal. Taymor continued her success with the 2004 production of "The Magic Flute" at the Metropolitan Opera (which is now in repertoires at the Met), and the 2006 staging of "Grendel" at the Los Angeles Opera and, later, at the Linolcn Center Festival. Taymor's experience with cross-genre and cross-cultural productions came to culmination in her latest film, Across the Universe (2007). It is a musical set in the 1960s England, Vietnam, and America, where a love story and social protest are intertwined with over thirty songs by The Beatles.

Outside of her directing profession, Taymor amassed puppets, masks and folk art from around the world. As an artist, she has been involved in making puppets, masks, costumes and stage sets. Since 1980, Julie Taymor has been a long-time collaborator with the Oscar-winning composer, Elliot Goldenthal, and the couple lives in Manhattan.

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 one of her few noteworthy movies and it was not until The Light That Failed (1939) that she got a chance to get better parts. In most of her movies, she was cast as the hard, but sympathetic woman from the wrong side of the tracks. In The Sea Wolf (1941) and High Sierra (1941), she played the part magnificently. It has been said that no one could do hard-luck dames the way Lupino could do them. She played tough, knowing characters who held their own against some of the biggest leading men of the day - Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Colman, John Garfield and Edward G. Robinson. She made a handful of films during the forties playing different characters ranging from Pillow to Post (1945), where she played a traveling saleswoman to the tough nightclub singer in The Man I Love (1946). But good roles for women were hard to get and there were many young actresses and established stars competing for those roles. She left Warner Brothers in 1947 and became a freelance actress. When better roles did not materialize, Ida stepped behind the camera as a director, writer and producer. Her first directing job came when director Elmer Clifton fell ill on a script that she co-wrote Not Wanted (1949). Ida had joked that as an actress, she was the poor man's Bette Davis. Now, she said that as a director, she became the poor man's Don Siegel. The films that she wrote, or directed, or appeared in during the fifties were mostly inexpensive melodramas. She later turned to television where she directed episodes in shows such as The Untouchables (1959) and The Fugitive (1963). In the seventies, she made guest appearances on various television show and appeared in small parts in a few movies.

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 directing with Robert Wise and, prior to making her directorial debut with Clockwatchers (1997), she studied improvisational technique in Manhattan. For five years she served as a judge for cable television ACE Awards. _Clockwatchers(1997)_ debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at over a dozen international festivals. It won a Best Film prize at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema of 1997.

Betty Thomas was born July 27, 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri, graduating from Ohio University with a BA in fine arts. Initially sidetracked, Betty first taught school in Chicago but found herself restricted and needing more of an open forum for self-expression than a classroom. She found herself drawn inextricably to comedy. After toiling as a waitress, she became part of the Second City improvisational troupe where she made use of her towering (6' 1") imposing features in aggressive routines and sketches. True to form, she made her film debut in the sketch satire Tunnel Vision (1976) which parodied TV programming. The movie is lesser known today for its satirical bite and more for its exceptional cast of up-and-coming comedy artists at the time including Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Gerrit Graham, Howard Hesseman, and the team of Al Franken and Tom Davis. Other innocuous comedies/spoofs followed such as Chesty Anderson U.S. Navy (1976), Used Cars (1980), and Coming Attractions (1978) which, at the very least, helped to bulk up her comedy resume. She also appeared as a regular on The Fun Factory (1976), which was three parts quiz show, silly sketches, and audience participation.

Ironically, Betty achieved her stardom not in comedy but in hard-hitting drama. Doing a complete about face as tough-talking Officer Lucille Bates on the hit police series Hill Street Blues (1981), she displayed both grit and vulnerability as she stood nose-to-nose alongside the rest of the male-oriented precinct. She was nominated for six Emmys in all and won the "Best Supporting Actress" trophy in 1985. Some equally compelling mini-movie roles came along with this success. In the late 1980s, Betty made an abrupt and concentrated move into TV and film directing, one of her last acting roles being that of the butch, underhanded scoutmaster (and Shelley Long's misery-inducing nemesis) in the obvious comedy film Troop Beverly Hills (1989).

Betty received her bookend Emmy award while directing the cable sitcom Dream On (1990). She never lost her taste for comedy satire, however. One of her major box office successes would come with the spot-on parody The Brady Bunch Movie (1995). She has continued in this lighter vein of late, guiding the one-man promotion machine Howard Stern to a surprisingly entertaining critical hit with Private Parts (1997), which was based on his memoirs, the Jennifer Love Hewitt film Can't Hardly Wait (1998), I Spy (2002), an updated remake of the 1960s TV series, and Surviving Christmas (2004). In recent years she has directed TV movies and episodes of such series as "Audrey" and "Grace and Frankie."

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 moral disquiet" and the winner of the International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980. Subsequently, she made the films FEVER (1980) and THE LONELY WOMAN (1981). In 1981, just before the declaration of the state of emergency in Poland, Agnieszka Holland emigrated to France.

She directed ANGRY HARVEST (1985) which was nominated for a foreign-language Oscar. Her film EUROPA EUROPA (1990) also received a U.S. Academy Award nomination (best screenplay) and IN DARKNESS (2011) was again nominated as best foreign-language film. She also collaborated with her friend Krzysztof Kieslowski on the screenplay of his trilogy, THREE COLOURS (1993).

Holland's other films include TO KILL A PRIEST (1988), OLIVIER, OLIVIER (1992), THE SECRET GARDEN (1993), TOTAL ECLIPSE (1995), WASHINGTON SQUARE (1997), THE THIRD MIRACLE (1999), SHOT IN THE HEART (2001), JULIE WALKING HOME (2001), COPYING BEETHOVEN (2006), IN DARKNESS (2011), BURNING BUSH (2013), SPOOR (2017), MR. JONES (2019) and CHARLATAN (2020). She also directed several episodes of many notable TV series, including THE WIRE, JAG, COLD CASE, TREME (for the pilot of the latter she was nominated for an Emmy) and HOUSE OF CARDS. Agnieszka Holland has also written or co-written screenplays for films made by other directors and directed plays for Polish television. She was elected chairwoman of the Board of the European Film Academy in 2014 and was elected as its President in 2021.

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 Fassbinder, and Volker Schlöndorff. In 1971, von Trotta divorced her first husband Juergen Moeller (with whom she had a child) and married Schlöndorff. She co-wrote many of the scripts for his films, and in 1975 the two of them co-directed The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1975). In 1977, von Trotta directed her first solo feature The Second Awakening of Christa Klages (1978). With her third film, Marianne & Juliane (1981), von Trotta's position as New German Cinema's most prominent and successful female filmmaker was fully secured.

Her films feature strong female protagonists, and are usually set against an important political background. Themes in her work include the effect of the political on the personal, and vice versa, as well as the relationships between female characters, often sisters.

Mimi Leder was born on 26 January 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 26 January 1986. They have one child. She was previously married to Allen Garfield.

Writer/director Lone Scherfig graduated from The National Film School of Denmark in 1984. Her first feature film, THE BIRTHDAY TRIP (1990), was selected for Panorama in Berlin, the New Directors section at MOMA in New York and won the Grand Jury Prix in Rouen. Her next film, ON OUR OWN (1998), received the Grand Prix in Montreal and the Cinekid Prize in Amsterdam. Scherfig then wrote and directed ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS (2000; the Danish 'Dogma' #5), which was a huge audience hit and won her the Silver Bear and the international film critics' award FIPRESCI at the 2001 Berlinale, plus numerous other awards around the world.

Scherfig's first English-language feature, WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF (2002), toured the festival circuit and brought home awards from e.g. France, the US and Japan. Her next production, AN EDUCATION (2009), won the Audience Award at Sundance and was nominated for three Oscars and eight BAFTAs. Scherfig has since directed three British films, i.e. ONE DAY (2011), THE RIOT CLUB (2014) and THEIR FINEST (2016) which premiered at TIFF in 2016 and screened in Sundance and London as the Mayor's gala. In 2019, Lone Scherfig's The Kindness of Strangers opened and was in competition at Berlin International Film Festival.

In between features Scherfig has directed a range of TV-series, including TAXA (1997), QUIET WATERS (1999), BETTER TIMES (2004) and, most recently, THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB (2015; conceptualised by Scherfig).

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

Niki Caro is a New Zealand film director and screenwriter, born in 1967. Caro was born in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. She was educated first at the Kadimah College in Auckland, and then the Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland. The School is a private girls' school, and ranks among the top-achieving schools in New Zealand.

In the late 1980s, Caro enrolled in the Elam School of Fine Arts to pursue training as a sculptor. However her interest shifted to film studies. She graduated from Elam in 1988, at the age of 21. For post-graduate studies, Caro enrolled at the Swinburne University of Technology, located at Melbourne, Victoria.

Following the completion of her studies, Caro initially directed television commercials. In 1992, she directed and wrote an episode for the anthology television series "Another Country" (1992). In 1998, Caro directed her first feature film "Memory and Desire". It was an adaptation of a short story by Peter Wells (1950-2019), concerning the depression and apparent suicide of a Japanese married man. The film was critically well-received and won a New Zealand film award.

Caro next directed the feature film "Whale Rider" (2002).. It depicts a young Maori girl, Paikea "Pai" Apirana (played by Keisha Castle-Hughes) , who stands as a candidate for the position of tribal chief. The film earned over 41 million dollars at the worldwide box office, becoming one of New Zealand's most commercially successful films. The film also won an award at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2005, Caro directed her first American film, "North Country". The film was loosely based on the legal case "Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co.", a class-action sexual harassment lawsuit concerning the treatment of female miners in a Minnesota-based mine. The film earned about 25 million dollars at the worldwide box office, failing to recover its budget expenses. Two of the films actresses (Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand) were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, but neither of them won.

In 2009, Caro directed the romantic drama "A Heavenly Vintage", an adaptation on the fantasy novel "The Vintner's Luck" (1998) by Elizabeth Knox. The film won three awards at the Sedona Film Festival, but was criticized for toning down the homosexual relationship depicted in the novel.

In 2015, Caro directed the sports drama "McFarland, USA". The film is based on the life of track and field coach James White (1941-), and the first victory of the McFarland High School at a cross-country running championship in 1987. The film won about 46 million dollars at the worldwide box office, the commercially most successful film in Caro's career to that point.

In 2017, Caro directed the World War II-themed war film "The Zookeeper's Wife". The film was based on the lives of a married couple, the zoologist Jan Zabinski (1897-1974) and the children's writer Antonina Erdman ( 1908-1971). During the foreign occupation of Poland in World War II, the Zabinskis used the abandoned buildings of the Warsaw Zoo and their privately-owned villa to shelter hundreds of displaced Jews. They managed to rescue about 300 people. Caro won an award at the Heartland Film Festival for her direction in this film.

In 2017, Caro was hired by the Walt Disney Company to direct a live-action remake of "Mulan" (1998). Caro was reportedly the second female film director entrusted by Disney to direct a big-budget film, following Ava DuVernay (1972-). Caro's remake is scheduled for release in 2020.

Tamara Jenkins was born on 2 May 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a director and writer, known for The Savages (2007), Private Life (2018) and Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). She has been married to Jim Taylor since 2002. They have one child.

Began her career directing music videos for acts like Tone Loc, Depeche Mode, Indigo Girls, NWA, Hanson and Sonic Youth and made her first feature in 92 with Guncrazy starring Drew Barrymore. Ms Barrymore received a Golden Globe Nomination. She then went on to direct feature films starring Chris Rock-CB4, Adam Sandler in Billy Madison, Dave Chappelle in Half Baked, Britney Spears in Crossroads and most recently, 13: The Musical for Netflix. She is also known for her documentary work on Jean Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child and The Punk Singer about Kathleen Hanna. After having 2 kids with her husband Mike D of the Beastie Boys she started a career in Television has directed on shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Dead To Me, The Politician and P Valley. She directed the pilot for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. She continues to work in documentaries, episodic television and feature films.

Randa Haines was born on 20 February 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Children of a Lesser God (1986), Antwone Fisher (2002) and Something About Amelia (1984).

Elaine May (born under the name Elaine Iva Berlin) is an American actress, comedian, film director, playwright, and screenwriter from Philadelphia. Her professional career started in the 1950s and is still ongoing. She has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. She is best remembered for directing the Cold War-themed action comedy "Ishtar" (1987). She won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director, but the film has had a vocal minority of critics who defend its quality.

In 1932, May was born to a Jewish-American family. Both her parents were theatrical actors. Her father Jack Berlin was also a theater director and led his own traveling Yiddish theater company. Her mother was actress Ida Aaron. May made her stage debut c. 1935, at the age of 3. Her father had decided to include her in his performances. As a a child actress, she was reportedly cast in the roles of boys.

The theater company toured extensively, and May was part of their tours. She kept changing schools, enrolling for a few weeks and then moving to another city. May reputedly hated school, but loved reading books on her own. Her favorite topics were fairy tales and mythology.

Jack Berlin died c. 1942, and May's career as a child actress consequently ended. She was left in the custody of her mother. The duo settled in Los Angeles, and May eventually enrolled in Hollywood High School. In 1946, May dropped out of school. In 1948, she married her her first husband, the toy inventor Marvin May. She was only 16-years-old at the time of her marriage. She would later keep her husband's surname as her professional name.

In 1949, May had her only child, Jeannie Brette May. Jeannie would later become a professional actress in her own right, under the name Jeannie Berlin. May and her husband separated c. 1950, and she received a divorce in 1960. She started supporting herself through a series of odd jobs.

In 1950, May was interested in attending college, but most colleges in California required applicants to have high school diplomas. As a high school dropout, she did not have the necessary diploma. Learning that the University of Chicago did not use this requirement, she hitch-hiked her way to Chicago, At the time her personal fortune consisted of 7 dollars.

Once she arrived in Chicago, May started informally taking classes at the university by auditing, sitting in without enrolling. She habitually engaged in discussions with her instructors. She once had a fight with a philosophy instructor because of their different interpretations of the motives behind Socrates' apology. May was introduced to aspiring actor Mike Nichols (1931-2014),who was also attending the University. They bonded over their shared passion for the theater.

In 1955, May became one of the charter members of the Compass Players, a Chicago-based improvisational theater group. Nichols joined the group shortly after. The two of them formed a working partnership, jointly developing improvised comedy sketches. May helped the Compass Players to become a highly popular comedy troupe, due to her talent for satire. She helped in the training of novice members of the group.

In 1957, Nichols was asked to leave the Compass Players. His popularity had outshone most members of the group, and had caused internal conflicts. May left the group with him. They then decided to form their own stand-up comedy team, "Nichols and May". Their improvisational skills, and ability to come up with fresh material allowed them to impress their audience.

In 1960, the comedy duo made their Broadway debut, with the show "An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May". A recording of the show won the 1962 "Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album". "Nichols and May" became very popular in New York City, performing in sold-out shows. They also started making appearances in radio and television, and even recorded commercials.

May was reportedly surprised with her own success. She had spend much of her adult life in near-poverty, but she was now earning a regular income from show business. She joked in an interview that she was practically barefoot when she arrived in New York, and now had to get used to wearing high heels.

In 1961, the duo was at the height of their fame. But they decided to dissolve their partnership in order to pursue solo careers. Nichols started working as a Broadway stage director, while May started her new career as a playwright. Her most successful play was "Adaptation" (1969), which she also directed. For her work as a theatrical director, she won the 1969 "Outer Critics Circle Award, Best Director".

May made her debut as a film director with the black comedy "A New Leaf" (1971). It was an adaptation of a short story by Jack Ritchie (1922-1983), depicting the story of an impoverished patrician who marries a wealthy heiress for her money. The main character initially considers murdering his wife to inherit her wealth, but first he has to protect her from other predators who were after her money.

Her first film found little success at the box office, but was praised by critics and was nominated for the "Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy". It later earned a reputation as a cult classic, and in 2019 it was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.

Her second film was the romantic comedy "The Heartbreak Kid" (1972). It concerns a newlywed man who falls madly in love with a younger woman while on his honeymoon. He pursues his romantic interest obsessively despite all signs that his love is unrequited, and despite the disapproval of the woman's protective father. The film was critically acclaimed, and has at times been listed in retrospectives concerning the funniest American films.

In an unusual career move, her third film was not a comedy. It was the rather bleak gangster film "Mikey and Nicky" (1976). It depicts a small-time mobster whose life is in danger, resorting to asking for help from his childhood friend. While creating this film, May got involved in a legal dispute with the film studio Paramount Pictures. The studio eventually decided to only allow a limited release for the film. The film found a niche audience in the home video market, but May's career as a director suffered from this dispute. She was effectively blacklisted.

May decided to focus on her screenwriting career. She found success with the script to the fantasy-comedy "Heaven Can Wait" (1978), about the afterlife of a man who died prematurely. The film was based on a 1938 play by Harry Segall (1892-1975), and also served as a remake to the classic film "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (1941) which was based on the same play. The film earned about 99 million dollars at the worldwide box office, and was a critical hit. May was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, but the award was instead won by rival screenwriter Oliver Stone (1946-).

During the early 1980s, May mainly worked as an uncredited script doctor. She "polished" scripts by other screenwriters. Her greatest success in this role was the romantic comedy "Tootsie" (1982), for which she wrote several additional scenes. She attempted her comeback as a director with the action comedy "Ishtar" (1987), which became a box office flop for the film studio Columbia Pictures. The film's failure reportedly convinced Columbia's parent company Coca-Cola to sell the under-performing studio to Sony.

"Ishtar" was derided at the time as the worst film of its era by many critics, but was also defended by a vocal minority of critics. It has since attracted a cult audience, who consider this to be a great film. However the film's failure ended May's career as a film director and damaged her reputation. She also ceased working as a screenwriter for several years, reduced to working as an actress again.

May made her comeback as a screenwriter with the comedy film "The Birdcage" (1996), a remake of the European comedy "La Cage aux Folles" (The Cage of Madwomen, 1978). In the film, the openly gay parents to a young man have to pretend to be straight in an attempt to impress their son's prospective in-laws. The film earned about 185 million dollars at the worldwide box office, the greatest hit in May's career up to that point. She was nominated for the "Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay", but the award was instead won by rival screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton (1955-).

May found more critical success with her next screenplay, for the political film "Primary Colors" (1998). It was an adaptation of the roman à clef novel "Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics" (1996) by Joe Klein (1946-). The novel itself was a fictionalized version of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, and depicts an idealistic campaign worker's disillusionment with the politician. The film's cast were nominated for several awards. May herself received her second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, but the award was instead won by rival screenwriter Bill Condon (1955-).

May largely retired from screenwriting since the end of the 1990s. As an actress, she had a supporting role in the crime-comedy "Small Time Crooks" (2000). The film concerned nouveau riche criminals, who attempt to socialize with the American upper class. For this role, she won the "Best Supporting Actress Award" at the National Society of Film Critics Awards.

May lived in retirement until joining the cast of the television mini-series "Crisis in Six Scenes" (2016), her first television role in several decades. The series was created by Woody Allen (1935-), who happened to be an old friend of May.

In 2018, May made a theatrical comeback in Broadway. She played the elderly gallery owner Gladys Green in a revival of the play "The Waverly Gallery" (2000) by Kenneth Lonergan (1962-). In the play, Gladys shows early signs of Alzheimer's disease, and her family has to deal with her mental decline. May received critical acclaim for this role. For this role, she won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. At age 87, she was the second-oldest winner of a Tony Award for acting.

As of 2021, May is 89-years-old. She is no longer very active, but she reportedly has plans to direct another film. She remains a popular actress.

Agnès Jaoui was born on 19 October 1964 in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, France. She is an actress and writer, known for The Taste of Others (2000), Look at Me (2004) and Family Resemblances (1996). She was previously married to Jean-Pierre Bacri.

Kari Skogland, Emmy®-nominated, BAFTA winning CEO of Mad Rabbit Productions, is committed to producing, directing and writing premium dramas and features. Presently prepping an Apple series, her most recent work is Pilot Director and EP on Apple's FIREBUG series, starring Taron Egerton. Kari was EP and Director of all 6 episodes of THE FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER for Marvel, starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Kari was pilot, multiple episode director and EP of Showtime's THE LOUDEST VOICE, starring Russell Crowe, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Mini-Series, and a win for Crowe. Kari won a BAFTA and Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Direction on THE HANDMAID'S TALE and is recognized for pilot episodes of AMC's NOS4A2 with Zachary Quinto, as well as pilot block of Starz's hit THE ROOK. On the feature side, Skogland will direct CLEOPATRA with Gal Gadot and recently completed directing WIND RIVER: RISING. Skogland's FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING, featuring Ben Kingsley, garnered a Gala at the Toronto Film Festival, won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and received a nominated for Best Film. It won a Leo for Best Feature and DCG for Best Director. THE STONE ANGEL, also written by Kari, was nominated by DGC for Best Director and Best Film, Best Screenplay at WGC and was honored by many festivals, including Tokyo International Film Festival, and Shanghai International Film Festival.

Kari was named one of The Hollywood Reporter's 'Ten Directors to Watch' and was featured in Variety's 2018 Women's Impact Report.

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

The films of Claire Denis frequently explore the fragile connections between people and the ways in which the most seemingly inconsequential relationship can have life-changing effects. At the heart of Denis' cinema is a fascination with the delights and difficulties of belonging and otherness, the gravity and gift of foreignness. Often revolving around reactions to the intrusion of the other, be it a stranger or foreigner, Denis' films insist on the vital necessity of the unusual to coexist within the "normal" world. In films such as I Can't Sleep (1994) and Nénette and Boni (1996), Denis captures the mercurial and instant shifts in tone, from the pleasurably sensual to the menacing or the simply unaccountable, caused by the intrusion of the strange into the fabric of the everyday. In Denis' films one often feels that all is well even as worlds collide and collapse or, conversely, that a grave challenge underlies the seemingly calm moments. While Denis' childhood in French colonial Africa is reflected most directly in the African setting shared by her debut feature Chocolat (1988) and best-known film, Beau Travail (1999), this encounter with the intimacies and injustices of colonialism resounds throughout much of her work. Also shaping Denis' unique vision are the apprenticeships she served, just out of film school, under a variety of renowned directors, including Jacques Rivette, Wim Wenders, Dusan Makavejev and Jim Jarmusch - an eclectic company that is itself suggestive of the unique juxtaposition of careful craft and seeming casualness within Denis' work. Denis has often spoken of her shock as a young woman at discovering the novels of Faulkner that have exerted such a major influence over postwar French cinema. For Denis, Faulkner "was a plunge into the senses, into terror and the pain of his characters." These words describe Denis' films as well. But whatever terror and pain her characters may sometimes experience is outmeasured by the depths of Denis' deep affection for them and by her curiosity in their experiences of pleasure as well as fear. Even in the unsettling Trouble Every Day (2001), the not-infrequent catastrophes in Denis' films provoke a sense of wonder at, and even delight in, the sheer weight of existence.

Spheeris is often referred to as a 'rock 'n roll anthropologist'.

In 1974 she formed the first Los Angeles music video production company, ROCK 'N REEL. She concluded her music video work with the Grammy-nominated, "Bohemian Rhapsody" video for "Wayne's World". Spheeris' feature film debut was the 1979 documentary on the Los Angeles punk scene, "The Decline of Western Civilization" which was received with stunning and unanimous critical praise. In 1983 she wrote and directed "Suburbia", produced by Roger Corman. It is a disturbing and prophetic story of rebellious, homeless kids squatting in abandoned houses, trying to make new families, and protecting one another. "Suburbia" won first place at the Chicago Film Festival. Almost 25 years later her documentary, "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III" would eerily mirror the events she scripted in "Suburbia". In the mid-80s she directed "The Boys Next Door", starring Charlie Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield, then "Dudes" starring John Cryer, Flea, and Daniel Roebuck. Both films have attained cult classic status. "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years" was released in 1988, again to spectacular critical acclaim. Commentaries from Ozzy Osbourne, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Alice Cooper, Lemmy of Motorhead, Poison, etc. make it one of the most memorable pieces of rock film history.

In 1992, Spheeris directed her seventh feature, and first studio film, "Wayne's World" at Paramount Pictures. Subsequently she directed and produced "The Beverly Hillbillies" (Fox), wrote and directed "The Little Rascals" (Universal), then directed "Black Sheep" (Paramount), etc. In 1999, Spheeris documented The Ozzfest, America's most successful summer concert tour, and the reunion performances of the original Black Sabbath. Both as director and one of the cinematographers, Spheeris achieved a remarkable and historic film which offers the audience a unique view of life on the road: "We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N Roll".

(2016) She is currently touring with her Producer/daughter Anna Fox, screening "The Decline" trilogy in support of the Shout Factory DVD release.

Rebecca Miller was born on 15 September 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 13 November 1996. They have two children.

Antonia Bird was born on 27 May 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 24 October 2013 in London, England, UK.