Ava Marie DuVernay (/ˌdjuːvərˈneɪ/; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker. She won the directing award in the U.S. dramatic competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her second feature film Middle of Nowhere, becoming the first black woman to win the award. For her work on Selma (2014), DuVernay became the first black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director, and also the first black female director to have her film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2017, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for her film 13th (2016).
DuVernay's 2018 Disney children's fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time made her the first black woman to direct a live-action film earning $100 million at U.S. box office but had losses of up to $131 million. The film received mixed reviews, with critics taking issue "with the film's heavy use of CGI. The following year, she created, co-wrote, produced and directed the Netflix drama limited series When They See Us, based on the 1989 Central Park jogger case, which has earned critical acclaim. The series was nominated for 16 Emmy Awards including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Limited Series.
In 2017, DuVernay was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
In 2020, DuVernay was elected to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences board of governors as part of the directors branch.
Last Updated: June 9, 2021
