Best Director
Photo depicts Oscar® winners from 2019-2023. Getty Images; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images; Pool via Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Gender
Of the 486 nominees in the category of Best Director, 2% or 10 have been women. This is a ratio of 48 men nominated to every 1 woman. Of the 97 years examined, 88 were devoid of women. Six of women’s 10 nominations for Best Director have occurred after 2010. There has only been one year where 2 women have been nominated for Best Director. That year was 2021.
The women nominated for Best Director were: Lina Wertmüller (1977), Jane Campion (1994, 2022), Sofia Coppola (2004), Kathryn Bigelow (2010), Greta Gerwig (2018), Chloé Zhao (2021), Emerald Fennell (2021), Justine Triet (2024), and Coralie Fargeat (2025). Three women have won the award, which is 3% of all winners, and one was a woman of color (Chloé Zhao).
The only woman nominated twice in this category was Jane Campion. In contrast, 101 men–or 21% of all nominees–have been nominated more than once across the history of the Academy Awards®. The most-nominated men were William Wyler (12 nominations, 3 wins), Martin Scorsese (10 nominations, 1 win), and Steven Spielberg (9 nominations, 2 wins).
10
WOMEN NOMINATED FOR BEST DIRECTOR IN 97 YEARS
| NAME | FILM TITLE | YEAR |
|---|---|---|
| Lina Wertmüller | SEVEN BEAUTIES | 1977 |
| Jane Campion | THE PIANO | 1994 |
| Sofia Coppola |