Jessica Yu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jessica Yu
Yu in 2010
Alma mater	Yale University
Occupation	Director, writer, producer, film editor
Years active	1993–present
Spouse(s)	Mark Salzman
Children	2

Jessica Yu (Chinese: 虞琳敏; pinyin: Yú Línmǐn) is an American director, writer, producer, and film editor. She creates documentary films, dramatic movies, and television shows.

In 1997, Yu won an Academy Award for her short film Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien. Her film Last Call at the Oasis (2012) was inspired by a book about water. More recently, she directed Misconception (2014) and ForEveryone.Net (2016). The latter was a documentary about Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web. She also directed the Netflix comedy Maria Bamford: Old Baby (2017). In 2019, Yu was nominated for an Emmy Award for her directing work on the TV series Fosse/Verdon.

Jessica Yu's Early Life and Education

Jessica Yu grew up in Los Altos Hills, California. Her father, Dr. John Kou-ping Yu, was a doctor who specialized in cancer care. He was born in Shanghai. Her mother, Connie Young Yu, is a writer and historian. She is a third-generation Californian.

High School and College Years

Yu attended Gunn High School in Palo Alto. She worked as a reporter for the school newspaper, The Oracle.

After high school, she went to Yale University. There, she was a very talented fencing athlete. She was named an NCAA All-American twice and an All-Ivy three times. As a world-class foilist, she was part of the Junior World Team and the United States national team. Yu graduated from Yale in 1987 with a degree in English. She earned high honors, graduating summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Jessica Yu's Career in Film and TV

After college, Jessica Yu considered going to law school. However, her father suggested she explore other paths. She found her passion in film production. She started as a production assistant in 1989, working on commercials. This job offered flexible hours, which allowed her to continue fencing.

Starting in Film

Yu became very interested in making documentaries. She learned about filmmaking by working on sets instead of going to film school. She loves making documentaries but hopes to direct an animated comedy one day. For Yu, making films often happens by chance.

Her documentaries often explore important global issues. She lets the people in her films tell their own stories. She believes that the story itself is more important than politics. Her goal is to inform people about everyday issues, like water conservation. When she's not making films, Yu directs television shows.

Her Work in the 1990s

Jessica Yu began her career in 1993 with a short film called Sour Death Balls. This silent, black-and-white film showed people's funny reactions to very sour candy. She got the idea from a child who offered sour candy to people. The film was shown at the Telluride Film Festival in 1993.

In 1994, Yu made her first documentary, Men of Reenaction. This film looked at people who deeply enjoy reenacting Civil War battles.

Her most famous work from this time was Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien. This documentary short won an Academy Award. It features Mark O'Brien, a writer from Berkeley who lived with a disability and used an iron lung. The film first showed at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. It won many awards before the Academy Awards.

In 1998, Yu directed The Living Museum for HBO. This film followed a patient at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. It was nominated for an award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

Directing in the 2000s

In the 2000s, Jessica Yu got a chance to direct for television. She joined a program at John Wells Productions to help new directors. She learned by watching other directors. She felt it was important to do well so that other diverse directors would get similar chances.

She began directing episodes for popular TV shows like Grey's Anatomy and The West Wing. On her first episode of The West Wing, the producer encouraged her to bring her own ideas. She used low, wide-angle shots to set the mood for the episode.

In 2007, she directed a sports comedy film called Ping Pong Playa. This movie explored Asian family culture through a Chinese son who plays ping pong. Her friends suggested they work on a comedy together. They wanted to create a funny Asian American character, different from the serious dramas often seen. Yu tried to keep a light touch, especially with the actors, to give them freedom.

Projects in the 2010s

In her later documentaries, like Last Call at The Oasis (2011) and Misconception (2014), Yu focused on big global issues. She explored how these issues connect with climate, population, and the environment. Last Call at The Oasis discussed the water crisis in the United States. Working on this film made her think about how it would affect her own children. This made the project very personal for her. She spent six months researching to show the full picture of the water crisis.

Last Call at the Oasis inspired Yu to direct Misconception in 2014. This documentary looked at population issues from a personal point of view. While filming Last Call at the Oasis, people often asked why they should save water if population growth continued. Her main goal was to connect this topic with emotional, entertaining, and interesting stories.

After 2015, most of her work has been in television. She directed episodes for Netflix dramas like 13 Reasons Why and Hollywood. She also directed Maria Bamford's comedy special Old Baby.

Her Work in the 2020s

Jessica Yu has continued to direct many television drama series in the 2020s. Her work includes episodes of This Is Us (2021, 2022), The Morning Show (2021), and In Treatment (2021). She also directed episodes for Walker (2021), Citadel (2023), American Horror Story: Delicate (2023), and Only Murders in the Building (2024).

Jessica Yu's Personal Life

Jessica Yu is married to the author Mark Salzman. They live in Los Angeles with their two daughters, Ava and Esme.

Jessica has an older sister, Jennifer Yu, who manages technical publications. Her younger brother, Martin Yu, is an actor.

Jessica Yu's Filmography

Short Films

Feature Films

TV Series

Awards and Nominations