Female Directors Make History With Most Noms in One Year at Golden Globes

Don’t expect Natalie Portman to introduce the Best Director category at the Golden Globes this year with a repeat of “and here are the all male nominees.” (But please let her present!) For the first time in its history, the Golden Globes have nominated more than one woman in the Best Director category!  

Chloe Zhao (‘Nomadland’), Emerald Fennell (‘Promising Young Woman’) and Regina King (‘One Night in Miami’) were all nominated in the category.

This year, female directors make up the majority of the category, which also includes nominees David Fincher (Mank) and Aaron Sorkin (Trial of the Chicago 7). While this should have been a no brainer, it wasn’t a gurantee with the Golden Globes (or any major awards body…let’s be honest).

Ava DuVernay was the last woman nominated in the category for her work on Selma in 2015. Yes, 2015! How many of your favorite films have been directed by women since 2015? Quite a few for me each year…

Along with DuVernay, the only other female directing nominees at the Golden Globes have been Barbra Streisand, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow.

Streisand remains the only woman to ever win the best director award at the Globes and it was back in 1984 for Yentl. She was later nominated a second time in 1992 for The Prince of Tides.

With three women directors (and two of color!) nominated for the director prize this year, do you think another female director will join Streisand in the winner’s club? We’ll find out on February 28^th.