The Academy Award for best director remains one of the hardest trophies to crack for female filmmakers. As of now, only three women have ever taken home the gold statue. It’s a small number, but it matters.
Kathryn Bigelow made history in 2010. She won for her gritty war film The Hurt Locker, released in 2008. She was the first woman in Oscars history to win the award. The gap between her win and the next one was massive. Thirteen years passed before Chloé Zhao took the prize for Nomadland in 2021. Then came Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog in 2022. Three wins. In over a century of the ceremony.
Nominations tell a different story. More women have been shortlisted than have actually won. Sofia Coppola was nominated for Lost in Translation in 2003. Greta Gerwig earned a nod for Lady Bird in 2017. Justine Triet was recognized for Anatomy of a Fall in 2023.
“Only three women have won the Oscar for best director in history.”
Why is the disparity so wide? The industry has changed, slowly. Bigelow broke the door open. Zhao walked through it. Campion followed. But the door is still heavy.
Other directors have been close. Sofia Coppola’s nomination showed early promise. Gerwig’s win for Best Adapted Screenplay later didn’t erase the director snub. Triet’s nomination proved the trend continues. Women are getting in the room. They are just not always taking the top prize.
The list of winners stays short. Bigelow, Zhao, Campion. The names are distinct. The styles are varied. The barrier remains.
Who will be the fourth?
