Top Female Directors Who Were Nominated Or Won Oscars
The history of directing is plagued with primarily male movie makers, with only a few women directors being given the chance to shine. Many critics, fans, and even fellow filmmakers admire the works of women behind the camera, despite the fact that male counterparts often get the majority of the attention. Some of these female directors have even had the great honor to be nominated for and/or awarded an Academy Award (an Oscar). Here, we list the amazing female directors who were nominated or won an Oscar throughout the history of Hollywood, and how their work has shaped the movie industry of today.
Kathryn Bigelow (Nominated & Won)
Kathryn Bigelow is widely considered one of the most accomplished female directors in the movie industry. She was nominated for an Oscar for her films The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, and Point Break, and won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for The Hurt Locker. Bigelow has also become one of the only female directors to have earbner a billion dollars worldwide with her films, and is widely praised for her focus on heroic and relatable male characters and her unique writing and directing style.
Gloria Kazan (Nominated)
Gloria Kazan is an amazing female director who was nominated for an Academy Award for her first film, Rachel Getting Married. She also has directed films such as The Polios and Inventing the Abbotts, and has received great acclaim for her films focused on strong female characters. Kazan has also won and been nominated for numerous other awards including Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Gotham Awards.
Ava DuVernay (Nominated)
DuVernay is one of the most popular female directors of today, directing movies that focus on strong themes of women’s agency and civil rights. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her film Selma, and was the first African American woman to be nominated for Best Director. DuVernay has also been praised for her work on projects such as 13th and Queen Sugar, which focus on young African American characters.
Jane Campion (Nominated & Won)
Campion is an acclaimed director and screenwriter, whose films often focus on female protagonists. She was nominated for an Academy Award for The Piano, and won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. She also directed films such as Holy Smoke and Bright Star, which often feature strong female characters and storytelling.
Sofia Coppola (Nominated & Won)
Coppola is a director, producer, and screenwriter who has achieved great success with her films. She was nominated for an Academy Award for the Virgin Suicides, and won the award for Best Writing Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation. Her films often feature central female characters and themes of self-exploration and solitude.
Lina Wertmuller (Nominated & Two Wins)
Wertmuller is one of the most successful female directors in the business and the first woman to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar with the 1975 film, Seven Beauties. She was also honored with two honorary Awards, one for Best Foreign Language Film and the other Special Achievement Award, in 1977. Her films focus on deep themes of politics and this was also seen in her acclaimed films The Seduction of Mimi and Love and Anarchy.
Lynne Ramsay (Nominated)
Ramsay is a Scottish film director and writer who is known for her acclaimed films We Need to Talk about Kevin, Ratcatcher, and Morvern Cawller. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for We Need to Talk about Kevin. Her works are often around the themes of death and trauma, though her films are usually focused on young protagonists.
Chloé Zhao (Nominated & Won)
Zhao is a Chinese-born American director and writer whose films focus on American western culture and the role of refugees in the contemporary world. She was nominated for an Academy Award and won Best Picture and Best Director for her acclaimed film Nomadland. Zhao is known for her diverse projects, which often feature strong female protagonists, and is currently working on a Marvel movie, Eternals.
Nancy Meyers (Nominated & Won)
Meyers is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter whose films often focus on relationships, female friendships, and motherhood. She was nominated for an Oscar twice and won the award for Best Original Screenplay for Private Benjamin. She is also well known for her films What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday, and It’s Complicated and how these films feature strong female characters and story lines.
Nora Ephron (Nominated & Won)
Ephron was an American director, producer, and screenwriter who is best known for her films When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail. She was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay for her films Silkwood and When Harry Met Sally, and won the award for her screenplay for Sleepless in Seattle. Her works often feature strong female characters and explore themes of strong female friendship and love.
These amazing female directors have been steadily making waves in the movie industry, and have collectively won and/or been nominated for numerous awards and nominated/awarded an Oscar throughout their careers. From Kathryn Bigelow’s revolutionary The Hurt Locker to Nancy Meyer’s acclaimed romantic comedies, these amazing female directors have shaped the movie industry in their own unique style and made an impact that will be remembered for generations to come.
