10 most successful female directors in Hollywood

Sam Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie and Sofia Coppola have all made a splash with works that are artistically outstanding or globally popular.

Sam Taylor-Johnson

Director Sam Taylor (middle) with the two main actors of the movie "50 Shades of Grey".

With $500 million in global revenue since its release, 50 Shades of Grey is the third highest-grossing film in history directed by a female filmmaker - after Kung Fu Panda 2 and Mamma Mia! 50 Shades is the second film by the British director born in 1967. On the set of her first film Nowhere Boy, Sam Taylor met her current husband, who is 23 years younger than her.

Before coming to cinema, Sam Taylor was a talented art student in England. His style and lifestyle helped director Sam Taylor-Johnson be considered a person who dares to live and love to the fullest.

Ava DuVernay

Ava DuVernay (right cover) with two stars of the movie "Selma".

With Selma (2014), Ava DuVernay became the first black female director to have a film nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. Previously, the 1972-born director was also the first person to be nominated for Best Director at the Golden Globes. In 2012, DuVernay became the first black woman to win the Best Director award at the Sundance Film Festival for Middle of Nowhere, her second feature film, which cost just $200,000.

Selma is Ava DuVernay's third feature film, co-produced with Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt. The director did not receive a writing fee for the $20 million film.

Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Asian-American director Yuh Nelson will return with "Kung Fu Panda 3" in 2016.

Born in 1972, Yuh Nelson is the first Asian female director to direct an animated blockbuster in Hollywood and achieved success with the film Kung Fu Panda 2. Yuh joined DreamWorks as a storyboard artist in 2003 and became the animation director for the first Kung Fu Panda, earning her an Annie Award for outstanding storyboard artist. The Korean-born director is also the second female director to be nominated for an Oscar for "Best Animated Feature". After the success of Kung Fu Panda 2, Yuh will return to direct the third part, which will be released in 2016.

“The director is usually the loudest man in the room, and I’m a soft-spoken person, so when I have meetings with people, they have to lean in to hear me. But I think that makes people feel safer and helps us collaborate better. It makes the filming process go smoothly and people seem to enjoy working with me,” Yuh shares.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie and singer Miyavi - who played a leading role in the movie "Unbroken".

The success of the biopic Unbroken - which grossed $161 million worldwide and was named one of the "Top 10 Films of 2014" by the American Film Institute - has helped make Angelina Jolie the most prominent female filmmaker in Hollywood today. Since taking on the role of director with her 2010 debut In the Land of Blood and Honey, Angelina Jolie has appeared less in front of the camera. "I really like directing. I like it more than acting," the actress shared.

Although Angelina Jolie's directing expertise is not highly regarded, the 39-year-old star is considered one of the most powerful female filmmakers in Hollywood today, as she can connect with any major studio in North America, or with any other famous director or screenwriter. After completing Unbroken, Jolie has started filming her next film project, By the Sea, a marriage drama starring her and husband Brad Pitt. Jolie is also planning to make a fourth film, Africa, about elephant poaching in Africa.

Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow.

The director, born in 1951, became a household name among world cinema fans in 2010 when she beat her ex-husband, director James Cameron, and the blockbuster Avatar to win the Oscar for "Best Director" and "Best Picture" with The Hurt Locker. Two months after winning the Oscar, Kathryn was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the year.

Two years later, the director returned with the unique war story - Zero Dark Thirty. In Hollywood, Kathryn Bigelow is known as a famous filmmaker of both commercial and auteur films. Her famous action trilogy includes Blue Steel, Point Break, and Strange Days.

Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola.

Sofia Coppola is the daughter of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola - author of The Godfather I, II and Apocalypse Now. In 2003, the talented director's daughter attracted attention with her second work, Lost in Translation - a story about the loneliness and helplessness of modern man. The film won the "Best Original Screenplay" award at the 2004 Oscars. Seven years later, Sofia became the first American female director to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival with the film Somewhere.

Slow-witted, charming, insightful and versatile, Sofia Coppola is one of the most reflective auteur filmmakers in the world today. Fresh off The Bling Ring (2013), Sofia is currently in pre-production on her new film Fairyland.

Catherine Hardwicke

Director Catherine Hardwicke (center) with the cast of "Twilight".

The woman born in 1959 is the director of the blockbuster Twilight adapted from the 2008 global best-selling romance novel - earning nearly 400 million USD in revenue, helping to make Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart stars. After completing the first Twilight, the female director refused to make the second part as well as the sequels because she shared "I like the first part of the original story better". Although she worked as a producer and set designer in Hollywood since her youth, Catherine only had her first film - Thirteen in 2003. The semi-autobiographical work is considered a remarkable independent film with a modest budget.

Phyllida Lloyd

Phyllida Lloyd (right) with "muse" Meryl Streep.

The British director is one of the most prestigious ladies in Hollywood as well as in the foggy country today. In 2008, she became the world's highest-grossing female film director when the musical Mamma Mia! earned more than $600 million in revenue. This work brought together a star-studded cast including Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth. The film was produced by Tom Hanks and used most of the classic songs of the group ABBA.

Three years after the success of Mamma Mia!, Phyllida Lloyd returns with the biopic Iron Lady about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The film earned Meryl Streep an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her performance.

Jane Campion

Jane Campion was the first female filmmaker known to the world before Kathryn Bigelow.

The New Zealand filmmaker is known worldwide for her work The Piano (1993) - about a mute female pianist. The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival the same year upon its release. A year later, Jane Campion became the name honored by Hollywood with the Oscar for "Best Original Screenplay". She is the second filmmaker ever nominated for the Oscar for "Best Director". Right from her first short film Peel (1982), the female director who worked mainly in Australia proved her convincing directing ability. Peel won the Palme d'Or for short films at Cannes that year.

Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron is considered a weaver of cinematic love letters.

Romance film lovers cannot help but know her sweet works including You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally and Julie & Julia. Nora Ephron received 3 Oscar nominations for the films Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. In 2012, the female director passed away due to pneumonia. Nora Ephron's journey of more than four decades of filmmaking is filled with a series of graceful cinematic love letters.

According to VNE