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Chloé Zhao

Beijing-born filmmaker Chloé Zhao made history at the Academy Awards in 2021. She became the first Asian woman to be named best director for her film Nomadland, which also won the Oscar for best picture.

Born

31 Mar 1982

Industry

Entertainment, Film

Job Title

Filmmaker

Cannes Film Festival

‘Fjord’ by Romania’s Mungiu wins Palme d’Or at Cannes

The film stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as a couple who have their children taken from them by child services for spanking them.

24 May 2026 - 9:03AM

Cannes Film Festival

The stand-out looks at Cannes – from Demi Moore to Daisy Edgar-Jones

22 May 2026 - 5:20PM

Mental health

Explainer: What is a death doula – and why is Nicole Kidman becoming one?

15 Apr 2026 - 6:00PM

Sundance Film Festival

What’s in store for the final Sundance Film Festival at Park City?

Chloe Zhao will be among the honorees at the 2026 edition, the first without its founder Robert Redford and last before it moves to Boulder.

23 Jan 2026 - 5:47AM

Natalie Portman, foreground, and Jenna Ortega appear in a scene from “The Gallerist,” an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (MRC II Distribution Company L.P./Sundance Institute via AP)

TV shows and streaming video

KPop Demon Hunters wins 2 Golden Globes, including best song for ‘Golden’

Netflix’s hugely popular KPop Demon Hunters scooped best animated feature and best original song, beating competition from Avatar and Wicked.

12 Jan 2026 - 2:07PM

American cinema

12 new Hollywood movies to watch this winter, from Hamnet to Song Sung Blue

Project Hail Mary, Wuthering Heights, Anaconda and Scream 7 join Hamnet, Song Sung Blue and others on our list of anticipated upcoming films.

18 Dec 2025 - 7:15AMvideocam

American cinema

In Hamnet, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal went on an ‘epic journey’

Mescal and Buckley’s performances in Hamnet, nominated for six Golden Globe awards, have been hailed as among the best of the year.

11 Dec 2025 - 7:15PMvideocam

Hamnet stars Jessie Buckley (left) and Paul Mescal pose for a photo during the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2025. Their chemistry and raw performances in the film have captivated audiences. Photo: AP

Toronto Intl. Film Festival

Chloé Zhao’s Shakespeare family tragedy Hamnet wins top Toronto film prize

Beijing-born director Zhao, who won an Oscar with 2020’s Nomadland, won the Toronto People’s Choice award at the film festival in Canada.

15 Sep 2025 - 3:08AM

China society

As China’s cinemas stay closed, will there ever be a rainbow for Marvel’s Black Widow?

A string of franchise films based on comic books may never get cinematic releases in China, leaving diehard fans devastated.

16 Aug 2021 - 8:05AM

Italy

Chloe Zhao joins fellow Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho on Venice jury

Zhao, who was born in China, collected Venice’s top prize last year for Nomadland, which also won the best picture Oscar this year.

22 Jul 2021 - 2:30AM

Chloe Zhao’s film Nomadland won the best picture Oscar in April. Photo: Reuters

American cinema

‘I loved every minute’: Angelina Jolie on filming Those Who Wish Me Dead

Angelina Jolie was in the middle of her messy divorce with Brad Pitt and hadn’t starred in a live-action film for six years when she was asked to do the movie. She says she jumped at the chance and loved every minute of the ‘miserable’ filming process.

11 May 2021 - 6:19PM

Angelina Jolie in a still from Those Who Wish Me Dead. Photo: Emerson Miller/Warner Bros via AP

Women and gender

Lunar | Chloé Zhao’s Oscars outfit: a feminist moment

Chloé Zhao’s 2021 Oscar moment was notable for her decision to not play the Hollywood game when it came to red-carpet dressing.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:24PMvideocam

Cinema

Letters | Chloé Zhao shows Chinese can transcend the limits of nationalism

The first Chinese woman to get the Academy’s nod for the directing award quoted from a Chinese classic in an appeal for people to recognise the goodness in one another.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:22PMvideocam

Academy Awards

Chloé Zhao on fangirling, storytelling and how Nomadland came to be

Zhao made history as the first Asian woman to win the Oscar for best director, but how exactly did she conceive of her award-winning film, and how did she get where she is today?

29 Apr 2021 - 12:26PMvideocam

Chinese director and producer Chloe Zhao poses with one of her Oscars awards for best picture and director for Nomadland, at the press room of the 93rd Oscars Academy Awards at Union Station in Los Angeles on April 25, 2021. Photo: AMPAS/PA Media/DPA

Anti-Asian racism

Opinion | Diverse Oscars: Hollywood has more work to do in stopping Asian hate

Even as the Academy recognises Asians, we must not ignore the fact that, amid coronavirus and a virus of hate, Asian stereotypes remain insidious. A connecting line can be drawn from the images Hollywood has created of Asians as perpetual foreigners to the all-too-real news images of attacks on Asians.

3 May 2021 - 11:56AMvideocam

Youn Yuh-jung wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Minari”, on April 25 in Los Angeles. Photo: TNS

American cinema

Chloé Zhao’s historic win at this year’s Oscars censored in China

Chloé Zhao may have become the first Asian woman to win a best director Oscar for her road movie Nomadland, but the news was blocked in China months after she was accused of insulting the country.

3 May 2021 - 11:58AM

Academy Awards

Oscars wrap: the winners, records, firsts and surprises

Perhaps the most diverse Academy Awards ever, the Oscars brought a litany of records and firsts across many categories, from make-up to composing to acting.

3 May 2021 - 11:57AM

Academy Awards

Oscars 2021: historic night as Nomadland claims best picture, Chloé Zhao wins best director

The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony was postponed from its original date of February 28 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:25PM

Chloe Zhao accepts the award for best director for "Nomadland" at the 2021 Oscars. Photo: Reuters

Asian cinema: Chinese films

Chloe Zhao makes Baftas history with ‘Nomadland’ awards sweep

Chinese director Chloe Zhao’s intimate portrayal of marginalised Americans wins in four categories including best film, best actress and best director.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:27PMvideocam

American cinema

Nomadland film by Chinese filmmaker wins top Hollywood director prize

Chloe Zhao is the second woman to ever win the top Directors Guild of America prize.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:26PM

American cinema

Why Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao is an inspiration to women filmmakers

Chloé Zhao, the Beijing-born director of the Oscars front-runner Nomadland, talks about her feminist sensibilities, her desire to make a movie in China, and why she is a hardcore Marvel fan.

29 Apr 2021 - 12:33PMvideocam

Beijing-born filmmaker Chloé Zhao’s third film, Nomadland, has become the movie to beat in this year’s awards season race. In March, she became the first ever Asian woman to win best director at the Golden Globes. Photo: AFP

United States

The real American ‘nomads’ who live in vans

Chloe Zhao’s Oscar-nominated ‘Nomadland’ spotlights a way of life in the US that has seen an explosion of interest in the time of coronavirus.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:28PMvideocam

Frances McDormand in ‘Nomadland’, a film about a woman who becomes a nomad in the wake of the economic recession. Photo: Searchlight Pictures

Cinema

Nomadland director Chloé Zhao: from Beijing to the Golden Globes

Her dad managed a steel factory and her stepmother is a beloved Chinese comedian – so how did Zhao become the first Asian woman to win best director at the Globes?

29 Apr 2021 - 2:29PM

American cinema

‘Look forward to the Oscar’: China hails Chloé Zhao’s Golden Globe wins

Beijing-born Zhao is the first Asian woman to win best director at the Golden Globes. Chinese citizens, actress Zhang Ziyi – who posted ‘Look forward to the Oscar!’ – and Zhao’s stepmother celebrated her success on social media.

29 Apr 2021 - 12:43PMvideocam

Golden Globes

China-born Chloé Zhao wins best director for Nomadland at Golden Globes

Streaming services dominated the Globes like never before, with Netflix’s The Crown taking best drama series and China-born Chloé Zhao winning best director for Nomadland, which also won best picture.

29 Apr 2021 - 12:48PM

The Golden Globes, hosted in Los Angeles (above) and New York, saw big wins for streaming companies. Nomadland took best picture and its director, China-born Chloé Zhao, best director. Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Cinema

Chloé Zhao is first Asian woman to land Golden Globes directing nomination

The Chinese-American filmmaker’s Nomadland earned the top prize at the Venice and Toronto film festivals and has won awards from various critics organisations.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:36PM

Director Chloé Zhao arrives on the red carpet during 41st Deauville American Film Festival in France in September 2015. Photo: EPA-EFE

American cinema

Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao set to juggle Oscar hopes and Marvel fame

Nomadland director Chloé Zhao was born in Beijing, went to boarding school in England and attended film school in New York. Last week she became only the fifth woman to win the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:30PMvideocam

American cinema

10 best films at this year’s Venice film festival

From Chloé Zhao’s Golden Lion winner Nomadland to Pieces of a Woman featuring Vanessa Kirby’s star turn, here are our picks of the best films at the Venice Film Festival 2020.

29 Apr 2021 - 2:31PMvideocam

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Chloé Zhao

‘Fjord’ by Romania’s Mungiu wins Palme d’Or at Cannes

The film stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as a couple who have their children taken from them by child services for spanking them.

The stand-out looks at Cannes – from Demi Moore to Daisy Edgar-Jones

Explainer: What is a death doula – and why is Nicole Kidman becoming one?

What’s in store for the final Sundance Film Festival at Park City?

Chloe Zhao will be among the honorees at the 2026 edition, the first without its founder Robert Redford and last before it moves to Boulder.

KPop Demon Hunters wins 2 Golden Globes, including best song for ‘Golden’

Netflix’s hugely popular KPop Demon Hunters scooped best animated feature and best original song, beating competition from Avatar and Wicked.

12 new Hollywood movies to watch this winter, from Hamnet to Song Sung Blue

Project Hail Mary, Wuthering Heights, Anaconda and Scream 7 join Hamnet, Song Sung Blue and others on our list of anticipated upcoming films.

In Hamnet, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal went on an ‘epic journey’

Mescal and Buckley’s performances in Hamnet, nominated for six Golden Globe awards, have been hailed as among the best of the year.

Chloé Zhao’s Shakespeare family tragedy Hamnet wins top Toronto film prize

Beijing-born director Zhao, who won an Oscar with 2020’s Nomadland, won the Toronto People’s Choice award at the film festival in Canada.

As China’s cinemas stay closed, will there ever be a rainbow for Marvel’s Black Widow?

A string of franchise films based on comic books may never get cinematic releases in China, leaving diehard fans devastated.

Chloe Zhao joins fellow Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho on Venice jury

Zhao, who was born in China, collected Venice’s top prize last year for Nomadland, which also won the best picture Oscar this year.

‘I loved every minute’: Angelina Jolie on filming Those Who Wish Me Dead

Angelina Jolie was in the middle of her messy divorce with Brad Pitt and hadn’t starred in a live-action film for six years when she was asked to do the movie. She says she jumped at the chance and loved every minute of the ‘miserable’ filming process.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Lunar | Chloé Zhao’s Oscars outfit: a feminist moment

Chloé Zhao’s 2021 Oscar moment was notable for her decision to not play the Hollywood game when it came to red-carpet dressing.

Letters | Chloé Zhao shows Chinese can transcend the limits of nationalism

The first Chinese woman to get the Academy’s nod for the directing award quoted from a Chinese classic in an appeal for people to recognise the goodness in one another.

Chloé Zhao on fangirling, storytelling and how Nomadland came to be

Zhao made history as the first Asian woman to win the Oscar for best director, but how exactly did she conceive of her award-winning film, and how did she get where she is today?

Opinion | Diverse Oscars: Hollywood has more work to do in stopping Asian hate

Chloé Zhao’s historic win at this year’s Oscars censored in China

Chloé Zhao may have become the first Asian woman to win a best director Oscar for her road movie Nomadland, but the news was blocked in China months after she was accused of insulting the country.

Oscars wrap: the winners, records, firsts and surprises

Perhaps the most diverse Academy Awards ever, the Oscars brought a litany of records and firsts across many categories, from make-up to composing to acting.

Oscars 2021: historic night as Nomadland claims best picture, Chloé Zhao wins best director

The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony was postponed from its original date of February 28 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chloe Zhao makes Baftas history with ‘Nomadland’ awards sweep

Chinese director Chloe Zhao’s intimate portrayal of marginalised Americans wins in four categories including best film, best actress and best director.

Nomadland film by Chinese filmmaker wins top Hollywood director prize

Chloe Zhao is the second woman to ever win the top Directors Guild of America prize.

Why Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao is an inspiration to women filmmakers

Chloé Zhao, the Beijing-born director of the Oscars front-runner Nomadland, talks about her feminist sensibilities, her desire to make a movie in China, and why she is a hardcore Marvel fan.

The real American ‘nomads’ who live in vans

Chloe Zhao’s Oscar-nominated ‘Nomadland’ spotlights a way of life in the US that has seen an explosion of interest in the time of coronavirus.

Nomadland director Chloé Zhao: from Beijing to the Golden Globes

Her dad managed a steel factory and her stepmother is a beloved Chinese comedian – so how did Zhao become the first Asian woman to win best director at the Globes?

‘Look forward to the Oscar’: China hails Chloé Zhao’s Golden Globe wins

Beijing-born Zhao is the first Asian woman to win best director at the Golden Globes. Chinese citizens, actress Zhang Ziyi – who posted ‘Look forward to the Oscar!’ – and Zhao’s stepmother celebrated her success on social media.

China-born Chloé Zhao wins best director for Nomadland at Golden Globes

Streaming services dominated the Globes like never before, with Netflix’s The Crown taking best drama series and China-born Chloé Zhao winning best director for Nomadland, which also won best picture.

Chloé Zhao is first Asian woman to land Golden Globes directing nomination

The Chinese-American filmmaker’s Nomadland earned the top prize at the Venice and Toronto film festivals and has won awards from various critics organisations.

Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao set to juggle Oscar hopes and Marvel fame

Nomadland director Chloé Zhao was born in Beijing, went to boarding school in England and attended film school in New York. Last week she became only the fifth woman to win the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival.

10 best films at this year’s Venice film festival

From Chloé Zhao’s Golden Lion winner Nomadland to Pieces of a Woman featuring Vanessa Kirby’s star turn, here are our picks of the best films at the Venice Film Festival 2020.

Lunar | Chloé Zhao’s Oscars outfit: a feminist moment