Ava DuVernay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ava DuVernay
DuVernay in 2018
Born	Ava Marie DuVernay (1972-08-24) August 24, 1972 (age 53) Long Beach, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Occupation	Director producer screenwriter film publicist

Ava Marie DuVernay (born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker who directs, writes, and produces movies and television shows. She has won many awards for her work, including two Emmys and a BAFTA Film Award. She has also been nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.

In 2011, she started her own company, ARRAY, to help distribute films. She became the first Black woman to win the directing award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her movie Middle of Nowhere.

Her 2014 film Selma was about Martin Luther King Jr.. For this film, she became the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director. She also directed the Disney movie A Wrinkle in Time, making her the first African-American woman to direct a film with a budget over $100 million.

DuVernay has also created popular TV series for Netflix, including When They See Us and Colin in Black & White. In 2017, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Early Life and School

Ava Marie DuVernay was born on August 24, 1972, in Long Beach, California. She was raised by her mother, Darlene, who was a teacher, and her stepfather, Murray Maye. She grew up in Lynwood, California, with her four siblings.

During her summer breaks, she visited her stepfather's childhood home near Selma, Alabama. She said these trips inspired her to make the film Selma. Her father had seen the famous Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights in 1965.

DuVernay graduated from Saint Joseph High School in 1990. She went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she studied English literature and African-American studies. In 2021, she received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale University.

Career Journey

Starting in Public Relations

DuVernay's first interest was in journalism. She even had an internship at CBS News where she helped cover the O.J. Simpson murder trial. However, she decided journalism wasn't for her and moved into public relations (PR). A publicist helps promote movies and actors.

She worked for companies like 20th Century Fox before starting her own PR firm, The DuVernay Agency, in 1999. Her company worked on marketing for popular movies like Spy Kids, Shrek 2, and Dreamgirls.

Becoming a Filmmaker

DuVernay didn't start making films until she was 32. In 2005, she used $6,000 of her own money to make her first short film, Saturday Night Life. It was a 12-minute movie based on her mother's life.

She then began making documentaries because they cost less to make than fiction films. Her first feature-length documentary was This Is the Life (2008). It was about the hip-hop music scene in Los Angeles in the 1990s.

Making a Name in Hollywood

DuVernay at the 2010 AFI Film Festival

In 2010, DuVernay directed three TV documentaries. One was a concert film for the Essence Music Festival, and another was about women in hip-hop.

I Will Follow

DuVernay's first feature film that told a story, I Will Follow, came out in 2011. The movie was inspired by her aunt. It cost only $50,000 to make and was filmed in just 14 days. The famous film critic Roger Ebert said it was "one of the best films I've seen about coming to terms with the death of a loved one."

Middle of Nowhere

In 2011, DuVernay made her second feature film, Middle of Nowhere. The story is about a woman whose husband is in prison. The film explores how families are also affected when a loved one is incarcerated.

The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where DuVernay won the award for Best Director. She was the first African-American woman to ever win this prize.

Selma

DuVernay in 2015

In 2014, DuVernay directed Selma. The film tells the story of Martin Luther King Jr. and the historic marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to fight for voting rights for Black people.

The movie was a huge success. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. DuVernay was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director, another first for an African-American woman. The film's song, "Glory", won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Recent Successes

Ava DuVernay at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival

13th

In 2016, DuVernay directed a documentary for Netflix called 13th. The film argues that even though slavery was outlawed by the 13th Amendment, the justice system has continued to harm people of color.

The film was highly praised and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. This made DuVernay the first Black woman to be nominated for an Oscar as a director in a feature category.

A Wrinkle in Time

In 2018, DuVernay directed the Disney fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time, based on a popular children's book. This was a major milestone. She became the first African-American woman to direct a live-action movie with a budget of more than $100 million. The film was celebrated for its message of female empowerment and its diverse cast.

When They See Us

In 2019, DuVernay created, co-wrote, and directed When They See Us for Netflix. This four-part series told the true story of five teenagers from Harlem who were wrongly accused of a crime in 1989. The series was a massive success and received 16 Emmy nominations for its writing, directing, and acting.

Origin

In 2023, she directed the film Origin, based on the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, making DuVernay the first African-American woman to compete for the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion.

Helping Other Filmmakers

In 2010, DuVernay started a company to help distribute films made by Black filmmakers. At first, it was called AFFRM. In 2015, she changed the name to ARRAY and also began to focus on helping women filmmakers. DuVernay has said the company is "not so much a business, but a call to action" to support diverse voices in film.

Awards and Honors

DuVernay with her Peabody Award for 13th in 2017

Ava DuVernay has received many awards for her work.

• In 2013, she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that votes for the Oscars.
• In 2015, Mattel created a Barbie doll in her likeness as part of its "Sheroes" collection. The doll sold out quickly.
• In 2017, she won a Peabody Award for her documentary 13th.
• In 2018, she won Entertainer of the Year at the NAACP Image Awards.
• In 2020, she was awarded the prestigious Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for her contributions to the arts.
• In 2024, she was added to the California Hall of Fame.

Film and TV Work

Film

Documentary Films

Television

See also

In Spanish: Ava DuVernay para niños