Chloé Zhao, born Zhao Ting (simplified Chinese: 赵婷; traditional Chinese: 趙婷; pinyin: Zhào Tíng, born 31 March 1982), is a Chinese filmmaker,[note 1] known primarily for her work on independent films. Zhao's 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. Her second feature film, 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 western film Nomadland (2020), which won numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Earning four Academy Award nominations for the film, Zhao won both Best Picture and Best Director, becoming the second woman in history to win the latter after Kathryn Bigelow in 2010, and the first woman of color to win the category. She also won awards for directing at the Directors Guild of America Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and British Academy Film Awards, becoming the second female winner of each of them. The film has not received a theatrical release in China, with speculation that it was due to her past comments on the nation, and news of her Best Director win at the Academy Awards was also censored.
Zhao's latest film is the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Eternals, which she co-wrote and directed, and which was released on 5 November 2021.

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