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 May 7, 1972) is an American director, story artist, and illustrator. She is famous for directing the movies 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 do so. She won an Annie Award for her amazing storyboarding work on the first Kung Fu Panda movie. Later, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Kung Fu Panda 2. This movie became one of the most successful films ever directed by a woman. She also won Emmy Awards for her work as a supervising director on the show Love, Death & Robots.
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Her Early Life and Dreams
Jennifer Yuh Nelson 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 anime from the 1980s. Some of her favorite directors were James Cameron and Ridley Scott. Jennifer spent hours drawing and imagining stories. She said, "I have been drawing since age 3 and making movies in my head for almost as long." She learned a lot by watching her mother draw.
Starting Her Career in Animation
Jennifer followed her sisters to California State University, Long Beach. There, she studied illustration and learned about animation. She was amazed when a storyboard artist visited her class and showed how they drew movies for a living. This inspired her to pursue a career in animation.
After college, Jennifer started working as a cleanup artist at Jetlag Productions. She helped with many direct-to-video movies. She also worked briefly at Hanna-Barbera Productions on The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. In 1997, she became a storyboard artist for HBO's Todd McFarlane's Spawn series.
Joining DreamWorks and Kung Fu Panda
In 1998, Jennifer Yuh Nelson joined DreamWorks Animation. She worked as a storyboard artist on movies like Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and Madagascar.
Because she loved 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, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, Jeffrey Katzenberg, asked Jennifer to direct Kung Fu Panda 2. Even though she hadn't planned to direct the sequel, the movie's producer, Melissa Cobb, believed Jennifer was the perfect choice. The rest of the crew agreed.
Kung Fu Panda 2 was a huge success! It earned $665.6 million worldwide. This made it the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman at that time. Jennifer Yuh Nelson was also the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for this film. She also won an Annie Award for Best Directing in a Feature Production.
Jennifer returned to co-direct Kung Fu Panda 3 with Alessandro Carloni, which came out in 2016. In 2016, she also became a member of the board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Directing Live-Action Movies
In 2016, Jennifer Yuh Nelson announced she would direct her first live-action movie. It was an adaptation of Alexandra Bracken's book The Darkest Minds for 20th Century Fox. The producer, Shawn Levy, praised Jennifer for her great visual ideas and storytelling skills. Jennifer described herself as soft-spoken. She used storyboards to share her ideas with Shawn Levy and his team.
In 2019, Jennifer was hired as the supervising director for the second season of the Netflix animated show, Love, Death & Robots.
Movies and TV Shows She Directed
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" |
Awards and Recognition
Jennifer Yuh Nelson has received many awards for her work, including:
- Annie Award for Best Storyboarding (2008)
- Annie Award for Best Directing in a Feature Production (2011)
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program (2021, 2022)
- 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, she received an honorary doctorate from her old university, California State University, Long Beach.
See also
In Spanish: Jennifer Yuh Nelson para niños
