Gina Prince-Bythewood facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gina Prince-Bythewood
Prince-Bythewood in 2018
Born	Gina Maria Prince (1969-06-10) June 10, 1969 (age 56) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education	UCLA
Occupation	Director screenwriter
Known for	Love & Basketball The Secret Life of Bees Beyond the Lights The Woman King
Spouse(s)	Reggie Rock Bythewood ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	2

Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood (born June 10, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. She started her career writing for TV shows in the 1990s, earning nominations for two Daytime Emmy Awards. Her first big movie as a director was Love & Basketball (2000), which won her an Independent Spirit Award.

She also directed Disappearing Acts (2000), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), and Beyond the Lights (2014). Gina Prince-Bythewood made history as the first Black woman to direct a major comic-book film, The Old Guard (2020). For her film The Woman King (2022), she was nominated for Best Director at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and the British Academy Film Awards.

Early Life and Education

Gina Prince-Bythewood was born in Los Angeles, California. She was adopted by Bob and Maria Prince when she was three weeks old. Her adoptive father is white, and her adoptive mother has Salvadoran and German roots. Gina grew up in Pacific Grove, California, a middle-class neighborhood. She has four siblings from her adoptive family.

In 1987, Gina graduated from Pacific Grove High School. She then went to UCLA's film school. While there, she also ran competitive track. She earned special scholarships for directing and for being an outstanding student. Gina graduated from UCLA in 1991.

Her Amazing Career in Film

Prince-Bythewood

Gina Prince-Bythewood spent five years working as a writer for TV shows. These included popular series like A Different World and South Central.

Directing Love & Basketball

In 2000, she wrote and directed her first film, Love & Basketball. This movie was inspired by Gina's own life and experiences growing up. The film was developed at the Sundance Institute, a place that helps new filmmakers. Love & Basketball was a big success, winning 12 awards and getting three more nominations. It won Best Film at the Black Reel Awards and Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards. The movie also earned over $27 million worldwide.

The Secret Life of Bees

Gina then directed The Secret Life of Bees. This film was based on a very popular book by Sue Monk Kidd. It was released in October 2008 by Fox Searchlight. The movie was first shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Urbanworld Film Festival.

Prince-Bythewood at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

Creating Beyond the Lights

In 2014, Prince-Bythewood directed Beyond the Lights, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Gina started working on this film in 2007. She faced challenges finding money for the movie when the first company, Sony, pulled out. This happened because Gina insisted on casting Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The film first showed at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Beyond the Lights was originally called Blackbird. It was inspired by the Nina Simone song "Blackbird." Gina said that song truly inspired the main character's story. The story was also loosely based on the lives of famous stars like Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland. Gina also shared that the movie explores personal issues, some related to her own adoption. She did research with help from singers like Alicia Keys. The film was shot in just 29 days and cost $7 million to make. Many key crew members on the film were women.

Other Projects and Milestones

In 2016, Gina announced her next project: adapting Roxane Gay's novel An Untamed State. She planned to co-write it with Gay, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw was set to star.

In 2017, Gina and her husband, Reggie Rock Bythewood, created the TV show Shots Fired for Fox. Later that year, Gina was chosen to direct Silver & Black. This film was based on Marvel Comics characters Silver Sable and Black Cat.

She also wrote the screenplay for the movie Before I Fall (2017), based on a novel by Lauren Oliver. In 2020, she directed The Old Guard for Netflix. This film starred Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne. Gina became the first mixed-race woman to direct a comic-book film.

In 2020, Gina and her husband signed a deal with Touchstone Television. They would produce their projects under the name "Undisputed Cinema."

Gina Prince-Bythewood directed the epic film The Woman King for TriStar Pictures. This movie was inspired by true events in the Kingdom of Dahomey, a powerful African state in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Woman King tells the story of Nanisca (Viola Davis), a general of the all-female warrior group called the Agojie. The film shows their fight against those who threatened their people. She also directed the first episode of ABC's Women of the Movement.

In March 2021, Gina became a Co-Chair of the Directors Guild of America African American Steering Committee (AASC). In this role, she works to help African American members of the Guild find jobs and advance their careers. In August 2021, it was announced that Gina would not direct The Old Guard 2 due to other projects. However, she will remain a producer for the film.

Personal Life

In 1998, Gina Prince-Bythewood married film director and writer Reggie Rock Bythewood. They met while working together on the TV show A Different World. Gina and Reggie have two sons, Cassius and Toussaint. They live in Southern California.

Gina, along with her friends Mara Brock Akil, Sara Finney-Johnson, and Felicia D. Henderson, created The Four Sisters Scholarship. This scholarship helps students with their education.

Directing Style

Gina Prince-Bythewood's films often explore the experiences of women of color. She likes to show women as strong, passionate, and ambitious characters. Her movies challenge common stereotypes about women of color.

Gina's films also show that women can be successful in their careers and have loving relationships at the same time. For example, when talking about Love & Basketball, she said she wanted to show that girls can have both a career and a romantic partner. She wanted to make it normal for girls like her, who played sports, to feel like they could achieve both.

Gina also focuses on showing the human side of her female characters. She creates stories that highlight complex emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. This helps to break down limiting ideas about women, which sometimes show them only as objects or as people who sacrifice themselves for others. At the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, Gina explained why showing emotion in her female characters is important. She said, "It's showing our humanity. People don't see our humanity. So, it's important to put it up on screen."

Filmography

Short Films

Feature Films

Producer

• Biker Boyz (2003)
• The Old Guard 2 (TBA)

Television Work

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Gina Prince-Bythewood para niños