Lexi Alexander facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lexi Alexander
Lexi Alexander, 2015
Born	Alexandra Mirai (1974-08-23) 23 August 1974 (age 50) Mannheim, West Germany
Nationality	German Palestinian
Other names	Lexi Mirai
Citizenship	United States
Occupation	Director
Years active	2002–present

Alexandra Mirai (born August 23, 1974), known as Lexi Alexander, is a German-Palestinian filmmaker and martial artist. She was a champion in karate and kickboxing. Lexi started in movies as a stunt performer. She was even nominated for an Academy Award for her short film Johnny Flynton (2002). She also directed movies like Green Street (2005) and Punisher: War Zone (2008).

Early Life and Sports

Lexi Alexander was born in Mannheim, Germany. Her mother is German, and her father is Palestinian. She grew up in Mannheim. Her father was born in Ramallah, Palestine.

As a teenager, Lexi was part of a soccer fan group. This experience later helped inspire her movie Green Street Hooligans.

Martial Arts Champion

Lexi started learning judo when she was 8 years old. At 14, she switched to Shotokan karate. She earned a third-degree black belt in karate.

She was very good at kickboxing. After only two years, she joined the German National Team. She won the German point fighting championships four times. She also won the European championships two times.

In 1994, at age 19, Lexi became the World Kickboxing Association world champion. This happened in Atlantic City.

Moving to Hollywood

At 19, Lexi stopped professional fighting. She moved to the United States. She had met actor Chuck Norris at a kickboxing event. He encouraged her to come to Hollywood to act and study filmmaking. He even helped her with immigration.

Lexi worked as a stunt person. She did fighting stunts, rode motorcycles, and fell from tall buildings. She also learned precision driving. In 1994, she taught unarmed combat to the United States Marine Corps.

Filmmaking Career

Lexi Alexander studied acting in Los Angeles. She also took filmmaking classes at University of California, Los Angeles.

First Films

Lexi's first film as a director was Johnny Flynton. It was a short film nominated for an Academy Award in 2003. The movie was about a boxer. Lexi paid for the film herself. It cost about US$35,000 and was filmed in just 5 days.

In 2005, Lexi directed her first full-length movie. It was called Green Street, also known as Green Street Hooligans. This independent film starred Elijah Wood.

Green Street Hooligans was inspired by Lexi's own experiences. She grew up watching her family's favorite German soccer team. This made her interested in the sport and its passionate fans. The movie won two awards at the South by Southwest festival in 2005. It won both the Jury Award and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.

In 2008, Lexi directed Punisher: War Zone. This movie starred Ray Stevenson as the Punisher. Lexi was the first woman to direct a Marvel movie. At first, the movie was not very popular. But over time, it became a cult classic, meaning many fans grew to love it.

Lexi has spoken about her experience with Punisher. She said the movie's budget was cut. She also felt the Christmas release date was a mistake. Because the film became a cult hit, she often gets offers for very violent scripts. However, she usually turns them down because she doesn't like extreme violence.

In 2010, Lexi wrote and directed Lifted. This film was shot in Alabama. It was about a son dealing with his father's military service in Afghanistan.

TV Directing

Lexi started directing TV shows in 2014. This happened after she spoke out about the lack of women directors in Hollywood.

In 2015, she directed an episode of Arrow. In 2016, she directed episodes of Supergirl and Limitless. In 2017, she directed an episode of Taken. She has also directed episodes for other popular shows like How to Get Away with Murder and S.W.A.T..

In 2018, Lexi was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This is the group that gives out the Academy Awards.

Standing Up for Others

Lexi Alexander has spoken out about important issues. In 2014, she talked about the lack of women directors in Hollywood. She explained how hard it was for women to get directing jobs. She said she was denied meetings for a film because she was a woman.

Lexi supported an investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union. This group looked into unfair hiring practices for women directors. Even though many women graduate from film school, very few get hired in the industry. In 2015, Lexi shared her experiences as part of this investigation.

Lexi also has strong opinions about file sharing. She is against illegal file sharing. But she believes big companies should not make it hard for people to access content. She thinks money spent on fighting piracy could be better used to help more diverse filmmakers.

Personal Life

Lexi has metal screws in her knees from her time as a kickboxer.

Since 2017, she has been practicing Systema. This is a Russian martial arts technique.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stunt Work

• 1997: Batman & Robin

Awards and Nominations

• 1994: United States Marine Corps, Meritorious Service Award (for her work as a trainer)
• 2003: Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film (nominee) for Johnny Flynton
• 2005: SXSW Film Festival, Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature for Green Street Hooligans
• 2005: SXSW Film Festival, Audience Award, Narrative Feature for Green Street Hooligans