Cord Jefferson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cord Jefferson
Jefferson at TIFF 2023
Born	Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation	Screenwriter, director, journalist
Education	College of William and Mary (BA)
Notable works	American Fiction (2023)
Notable awards	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay

Cord Jefferson is an American writer and director. He is known for his amazing work in television and film. After studying at the College of William & Mary, he started his career as a journalist. He wrote for many different newspapers and websites. Later, he became an editor at Gawker until 2014.

Cord Jefferson then began writing for television shows. He wrote for the Comedy Central show The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016). He also worked on the Netflix comedy series Master of None (2017). Later, he wrote for the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2017–2019). For his writing on the HBO series Watchmen (2019), he won a special award called the Primetime Emmy Award.

In 2023, Jefferson directed his first movie, a comedy called American Fiction. This film was a big success! He was nominated for Best Picture and won the Best Adapted Screenplay at the 96th Academy Awards. This means he won an Oscar for writing the movie's script.

Early Life and School

Cord Jefferson was born in Tucson, Arizona. His mother was white and his father was Black. For a few years when he was very young, his family lived outside the United States. They moved back to Tucson when he was about five years old.

When Cord was 14, his parents divorced. He finished high school at Canyon del Oro High School in Arizona. After high school, he went to the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father had also gone to law school there. After college, Cord lived in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, New York. He also studied business at NYU.

In 2008, Cord Jefferson donated one of his kidneys to his father, who needed a transplant. He wrote about this experience, sharing how it made him think more about his health.

Cord Jefferson's Career

Starting in Journalism (2009–2014)

Cord Jefferson began his writing career as a journalist. He wrote for websites like Stereohyped and MollyGood. From 2012 to 2014, he worked as an editor at Gawker. He also wrote for many other well-known publications. These included USA Today, Huffington Post, The Root, and The New York Times Magazine.

Moving to TV and Film (2014–Present)

In 2014, Cord Jefferson started writing for television. His first TV job was as a staff writer for the Starz show Survivor's Remorse. From 2015 to 2016, he wrote for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.

Later, he became a story editor and producer for Aziz Ansari's Netflix comedy Master of None (2017). He also worked on the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2017–2019). For his work on these shows, he was nominated for Writers Guild of America Awards.

In 2019, Jefferson wrote for the HBO series Watchmen. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for the episode called "This Extraordinary Being". In 2020, he started working on a TV show for Apple TV+ about his time at Gawker. He also signed a big deal with Warner Bros. TV.

In 2021, Jefferson was a writer and producer for the HBO series Station Eleven. His first movie as a director was American Fiction (2023). This film won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was nominated for five 96th Academy Awards and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Film and TV Work

Movies

Television Shows

Awards and Nominations

Cord Jefferson has won many awards for his writing and directing. Here are some of them: