Dianne Houston facts for kids

Dianne Houston is an African-American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She made history as the first, and so far only, African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for a film she directed.

Early Life

Dianne Houston was born on July 22, 1954, in Washington, D.C.. Her father, Jack, was an Army psychologist, and her mother, Edith, was a schoolteacher. She grew up in the Lamond Riggs neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

She went to Woodrow Wilson High School. She also studied at the Workshops for Careers in the Arts at George Washington University.

When she was 16, Dianne moved to New York City to become an actress. However, she found there weren't many good roles for Black women. This made her decide to write her own plays instead. She later returned to Washington, D.C., to study theater direction at Howard University.

After college, Houston moved back to New York City. There, she wrote and directed plays for a street performance group called CityKids Repertory Company.

Starting Her Career

Dianne Houston's first play, The Fishermen, was produced in 1977. She directed it at the Back Alley Theater in Washington, D.C. This play was later performed in other cities like Richmond, Fort Worth, and Atlanta.

Her writing skills soon caught the eye of Warner Bros., a big movie studio. They asked her to help improve some of their movie scripts. This is called "script doctoring."

In 1990, she became a writer and executive story editor for the TV series Brewster Place. This show was produced by Oprah Winfrey. It was a continuation of a miniseries (a short TV series) based on a book by Gloria Naylor.

In 1992, Houston was asked to write a screenplay called "The International Sweethearts of Rhythm." This was a story about an all-women's jazz band from the 1940s.

In 1994, Houston wrote the screenplay for "Override." This was a science fiction short film. It starred actors like Emily Lloyd and Lou Diamond Phillips and was directed by Danny Glover.

Making History at the Oscars

In 1995, actor Danny Glover introduced Dianne Houston to the Chanticleer Films program. This program gave new directors their first chance to direct a film. Dianne was one of only four people chosen from 1,000 applicants. Through this program, she directed a short film called Tuesday Morning Ride. It starred famous actors Ruby Dee and Bill Cobbs.

The film was about an elderly couple thinking about their lives. It was based on a 1933 short story by Harlem Renaissance writer Arna Bontemps. The Harlem Renaissance was a time in the 1920s and 1930s when Black artists, writers, and musicians created amazing works. Houston said her film showed "two elderly people with everything to live for and no way to do it in this society."

In 1996, Tuesday Morning Ride was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. This was a huge moment! Dianne Houston became the first African-American woman ever nominated for an Oscar for directing. She was also the only African-American nominee out of almost 170 total nominations that year.

Even with this big achievement, Dianne faced challenges. She was told that "Black women are not a novelty" and couldn't find a publicist to help her with the awards. She ended up doing her own publicity. At an Academy Awards event, a valet even tried to stop her from parking, saying the area was "for nominees only."

Because Dianne Houston was the only nominee of color, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson spoke out. He called for more diversity in Hollywood. He led a protest against the lack of racial inclusion in the film industry. At that time, very few Black people were members of the Academy or other film industry groups.

As of 2020, Dianne Houston remains the only Black woman to have been nominated for an Oscar for directing.

Later Work

After her Oscar nomination, Dianne Houston continued to direct many TV series. These include popular shows like Empire, NYPD Blue, and Crossing Jordan.

As a screenwriter, she has written for major studios like Touchstone Pictures. She has also written for well-known actors such as Danny Glover, Dustin Hoffman, Eddie Murphy, and Viola Davis.

Personal Life

Dianne Houston moved to Los Angeles in 1993. In 2005, she took a seven-year break from work to focus on her health after being diagnosed with a serious illness.

She is married and has two children.

Films and TV Shows

Films

Television