Jennifer Yuh Nelson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
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Jennifer Yuh Nelson in May 2012 at the C2-MTL business conference
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Jennifer Yuh
May 7, 1972 South Korea
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | California State University, Long Beach |
| Occupation | Story artist, character designer, television director, illustrator, film director |
| Years active | 1994–present |
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Notable work
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Kung Fu Panda 2 Kung Fu Panda 3 The Darkest Minds |
Jennifer Yuh Nelson, born on May 7, 1972, is a talented American artist and director. She creates stories, designs characters, draws pictures, and directs movies and TV shows. She is famous for directing popular films like Kung Fu Panda 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, and The Darkest Minds.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson made history as the first woman to direct a major American animated film all by herself. She was also the first Asian American to achieve this. Her films have been very successful, making her a well-known director. She won an Annie Award for her amazing storyboarding work on the first Kung Fu Panda movie. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Kung Fu Panda 2. This film became one of the highest-earning movies ever directed by a woman. She also won Emmy Awards twice in a row for her work as a supervising director on the series Love, Death & Robots.
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Jennifer Yuh Nelson's Early Life
Jennifer Yuh was born in South Korea in 1972. When she was four years old, she moved to the United States with her parents and two sisters. She grew up in Lakewood, California. From a very young age, Jennifer loved to sketch and draw. She also enjoyed watching action movies and Japanese animation from the 1980s. Some of her favorite directors were James Cameron, Ridley Scott, and Katsuhiro Otomo.
Jennifer loved watching martial arts movies and playing with toy cars. She said, "I have been drawing since age 3 and making movies in my head for almost as long." She explained that drawing helped her show the movies in her mind before she had other ways to do so. As a child, she would watch her mother draw for hours and copy her drawings. She also made up stories with her sisters and drew to bring those stories to life. These early family experiences helped shape her career.
Education and Start in Animation
Jennifer was interested in art, so she followed her sisters to California State University, Long Beach. There, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration. This is where she first learned about animation. She shared, "When I was in college years later, a veteran storyboard artist came to talk to my class. He showed us how he drew movies for a living. My mind exploded. And that led to a career in animation."
After college, Jennifer followed her sisters into the animation world. She started as a cleanup artist at Jetlag Productions, working on movies made directly for video. She then worked briefly at Hanna-Barbera Productions on The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest for Cartoon Network. In 1997, she was hired as a storyboard artist for the HBO series Todd McFarlane's Spawn.
Career at DreamWorks Animation
In 1998, Jennifer Yuh joined DreamWorks Animation as a storyboard artist. She worked on several films, including Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and Madagascar.
Directing the Kung Fu Panda Films
As a big fan of martial arts movies, Jennifer asked to work on the first Kung Fu Panda film. She became the head of story for the movie. She also directed the amazing hand-drawn dream sequence at the beginning of the film.
After Kung Fu Panda was released, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, asked Jennifer to direct Kung Fu Panda 2. Even though she hadn't planned to direct the sequel, Producer Melissa Cobb believed Jennifer's excellent work on the first film made her the perfect choice. The rest of the crew agreed.
Kung Fu Panda 2 was a huge success with critics and audiences worldwide. It earned $665.6 million, making it the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman at that time. Later, director Jennifer Lee's Frozen broke this record two years later. Jennifer Yuh Nelson held the record for the highest-grossing film by a solo female director until Patty Jenkins' 2017 film Wonder Woman. Jennifer was the first woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film since 2007. She also won the Annie Award for Best Directing in a Feature Production.
Jennifer returned to co-direct Kung Fu Panda 3 with Alessandro Carloni. This film was released in 2016. In July 2016, she was also invited to join the Board of Governors by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Directing Live-Action Films
In 2016, Jennifer Yuh Nelson announced she would direct her first live-action movie. This film was an adaptation of Alexandra Bracken's book The Darkest Minds for 20th Century Fox. Producer Shawn Levy praised Jennifer for her strong visual style and natural storytelling skills. Jennifer described herself as quiet, which is different from how many directors are often seen. Instead of talking a lot, she used storyboards to show her ideas to Shawn Levy and 21 Laps.
In June 2019, Jennifer Yuh Nelson was hired as the supervising director for the second season of the Netflix animated series, Love, Death & Robots.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson's Filmography
Director
Film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Kung Fu Panda 2 | |
| 2016 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | Co-directed with Alessandro Carloni |
| 2018 | The Darkest Minds |
Television
| Year | Title | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–1999 | Todd McFarlane's Spawn | "Home, Bitter Home" |
| "Send in the KKKlowns" | ||
| "The Mindkiller" | ||
| "Hunter's Moon" | ||
| 2021–present | Love, Death & Robots | "Pop Squad" |
| "Kill Team Kill" | ||
| "Spider Rose" |
Other Creative Roles
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Dark City | Production illustrator/Story artist |
| 2002 | Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron | Story artist |
| 2003 | Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | Head of story |
| 2005 | Madagascar | Story artist |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda | Head of story |
| 2019 | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World | Additional story artist |
Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Character designer, background artist, storyboard artist |
| Extreme Ghostbusters | Storyboard artist | |
| 1997–1999 | Todd McFarlane's Spawn | Storyboard artist and character designer |
| 1998 | Spicy City | Head of story, visual effects |
| 2008 | HBO First Look | Herself |
| 2012 | IC Places Hollywood | |
| 2016 | Tavis Smiley | |
| 2018 | Kore Conversations | |
| 2021–present | Love, Death & Robots | Supervising director |
Direct-to-video
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Cinderella | Assistant designer |
| 1994 | Happy, the Littlest Bunny | |
| Leo the Lion: King of the Jungle | ||
| A Christmas Carol | ||
| 1995 | Alice in Wonderland | |
| Magic Gift of the Snowman | ||
| Jungle Book | ||
| Heidi | ||
| 2003 | Sinbad and the Cyclops Island | Story writer |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five | Storyboard artist |
Awards and Recognitions
Jennifer Yuh Nelson has received many awards for her work:
- Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production at the 36th Annie Awards
- Annie Award for Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production at the 39th Annie Awards
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour) at the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program at the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program at the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
- Maverick Award at the 2011 LA Femme International Film Festival
- Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
- KoreAm Award for Director of the Year
- In May 2023, her old university, California State University, Long Beach, gave her an honorary doctorate degree.
See also
In Spanish: Jennifer Yuh Nelson para niños
