Chloé Zhao
Oscar winner · Director · Writer
44 years (Mar 31, 1982)Beijing, China
Chloé Zhao is a Chinese-American director born in Beijing, celebrated for lyrical films blending documentary technique with fictional storytelling to examine marginalized American communities. Songs My Brothers Taught Me and The Rider, both filmed with non-professional actors playing versions of themselves on Native American reservations and rodeo communities respectively, established her patient, naturalistic style capturing the quiet dignity of overlooked American lives. Nomadland, following a woman navigating itinerant work and grief across the American West after economic collapse, won Zhao the Academy Award for Best Director, making her only the second woman and first woman of color to receive the honor, alongside Best Picture. Eternals, a large-scale Marvel superhero film, showed her range into major studio blockbuster filmmaking, applying some of her signature naturalistic visual sensibility to franchise spectacle. Zhao's fusion of documentary authenticity with lyrical, landscape-driven storytelling has made her one of the most significant directors of her generation.
Chloé Zhao
Oscar winner · Director · Writer
Chloé Zhao is a Chinese-American director born in Beijing, celebrated for lyrical films blending documentary technique with fictional storytelling to examine marginalized American communities. Songs My Brothers Taught Me and The Rider, both filmed with non-professional actors playing versions of themselves on Native American reservations and rodeo communities respectively, established her patient, naturalistic style capturing the quiet dignity of overlooked American lives. Nomadland, following a woman navigating itinerant work and grief across the American West after economic collapse, won Zhao the Academy Award for Best Director, making her only the second woman and first woman of color to receive the honor, alongside Best Picture. Eternals, a large-scale Marvel superhero film, showed her range into major studio blockbuster filmmaking, applying some of her signature naturalistic visual sensibility to franchise spectacle. Zhao's fusion of documentary authenticity with lyrical, landscape-driven storytelling has made her one of the most significant directors of her generation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Chloé Zhao and where are they from?
Chloé Zhao is 44 years old, born on March 31, 1982 in Beijing, China.
What are the most famous roles of Chloé Zhao?
Chloé Zhao is best known for directing Eternals, Nomadland, Hamnet.
How many movies has Chloé Zhao directed?
Over a 17-year career (since 2009), Chloé Zhao has directed or written 8 films and worked on 0 TV shows.
What was Chloé Zhao's first movie?
The career of Chloé Zhao began with The Atlas Mountains (2009).
What is Chloé Zhao's most recent movie or series?
Chloé Zhao's most recent release is Hamnet, which premiered on November 26, 2025.
Chloé Zhao
1982-03-31 · Beijing, China
Chloé Zhao (born Zhao Ting; 31 March 1982) is a Chinese filmmaker. She is known primarily for her work on independent films. For her film Nomadland (2020), Zhao became the third woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director.
Her debut feature film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), premiered at Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. The Rider (2017) was critically acclaimed and received nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and Best Director.
Zhao garnered international recognition with the American film Nomadland (2020), which she wrote, produced, edited and directed, and which won numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. With four Academy Award nominations, Zhao won Best Picture and Best Director, becoming the first woman of colour to win the latter. She also won directing awards at the Directors Guild of America Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and British Academy Film Awards, becoming the second female winner of each.
Zhao co-wrote and directed the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Eternals (2021). Her 2025 film, Hamnet, premiered at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival to critical acclaim. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama in 2025 and the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Zhao also received her second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director, becoming only the second woman, after Jane Campion, to achieve two nominations in this category.