Kathryn Ann Bigelow broke the final frontier at the Oscars when she became the first woman to win the academy award for best director for her film ‘The Hurt Locker’ in 2010.
Kathryn was born on November 27, 1951 in San Carlos, California to Gertrude, a librarian, and Ronald Elliot Bigelow, a paint factory manager. Before she ventured into the world of film, Kathryn was an artist. She graduated in Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1972 and earned her Master’s from Columbia University in 1979, where she studied theory and criticism in film.
Her first feature-length film was ‘The Set-Up’ which she co-wrote and co-directed with Monty Montgomery. Her subsequent films such as ‘Near Dark’, ‘Blue Steel’ and ‘Point Break’ cemented her place in the male-dominated world of action films.
Apart from the Oscar for best director, ‘The Hurt Locker’ won five other academy awards, including best picture, forever decimating the notion that women could not direct action films. The film was inspired by screenwriter Mark Boal’s experiences covering the Iraq War. It tells the story of an army bomb disposal unit, led by Sergeant William James who is an inveterate risk-taker and maverick leader.
Kathryn collaborated once more with Boal to direct ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ in 2012, which is an account of the U.S. military and intelligence operation to capture Osama bin Laden. Kathryn has won many other awards including a BAFTA award for best direction.
Picture Credit : Google
