Only 5 Women Have Been Nominated For a Best Director Oscar — Ever
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The best director categories for major award shows have traditionally been dominated by men. The first Oscar nomination for a woman in this category didn't come until the 49th Academy Awards, and to date, only five women have been nominated (and only one has ever won best director).
The 2018 Oscar nominations saw the fifth female director to receive a nod from the Academy, so we thought we'd take a look back at the women who have earned this honor — and hopefully this list will begin rapidly expanding soon.
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Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties, 1977
Wertmüller was nominated for her Italian language drama about a World War II deserter who ends up in a German prison camp. She lost the award to John G. Avildsen for Rocky, which also won best picture.
Unfortunately, this nomination for Wertmüller did not signal that women were about to be recognized regularly. The next best director nod for a woman didn't come for 17 years.
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Jane Campion for The Piano, 1994
Despite The Piano winning best original screenplay, best actress (Holly Hunter), and best supporting actress (Anna Paquin), it did not earn Campion the best director award. She lost to a heavy hitter — Steven Spielberg won his first best director Oscar that year for Schindler's List.
If you're interested in Campion's other work, she is the cocreator behind the Elisabeth Moss-starring BBC/Sundance series Top of the Lake. Campion wrote and/or directed each of the 13 episodes.
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Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation, 2004
This quiet dramedy starring Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray won the Golden Globe for best musical/comedy motion picture but lost its best picture and best director Oscar bids to Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and director Peter Jackson.
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Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker, 2010
The women finally scored a best director win with Bigelow's Iraq War thriller The Hurt Locker. It also took home Academy Awards for best picture, best original screenplay, best film editing, best sound mixing, and best sound editing.
That year, Bigelow beat out Lee Daniels (Precious), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), and her ex-husband, James Cameron (Avatar). Cameron said at the time that a woman winning best director was "ridiculously long overdue" and added that Bigelow's movie was "consummately good filmmaking . . . she's outgunned the guys, you know, definitely."
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Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird, 2018
After not even receiving a Golden Globe nomination for best director, it was a pleasant surprise to hear Gerwig's name called for her coming-of-age story, Lady Bird. What's especially remarkable is that this is Gerwig's first major directing project.