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{{Short description|American film director}}
{{Short description|American film director (born 1972)}}
{{distinguish|Jennifer Nelson (filmmaker)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name =
| name =
| image = Jennifer Yuh Nelson.jpg
| image = Jennifer Yuh Nelson.jpg
| image_size = 215px
| caption = Jennifer Yuh Nelson in May 2012 at the C2-MTL business conference
| caption = Jennifer Yuh Nelson in May 2012 at the C2-MTL business conference
| birth_name = Jennifer Yuh
| birth_name = Jennifer Yuh
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|05|07}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Yuh, Jennifer|url=http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2006025883.html|work=Library of Congress|access-date=September 10, 2013}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|05|07}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Yuh, Jennifer|url=http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2006025883.html|work=Library of Congress|access-date=September 10, 2013|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511013232/http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2006025883.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[South Korea]]
| birth_place = South Korea
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| death_cause =
| body_discovered =
| nationality = American
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| alma_mater = [[California State University, Long Beach]]
| alma_mater = [[California State University, Long Beach]]
| occupation = Story artist, character designer, television director, illustrator, film director
| occupation = Story artist, character designer, television director, illustrator, film director
| yearsactive = 1994–present
| yearsactive = 1994–present
| notable_works = ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]''<br/>''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]''<br/>''[[The Darkest Minds]]''
| notable_works = ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]''<br />''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]''<br />''[[The Darkest Minds]]''
}}
}}


'''Jennifer Yuh Nelson''' (born May 7, 1972), also known as '''Jennifer Yuh''', is a Korean-born American story artist, character designer, television director, illustrator, and film director. She is best known for directing the films ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]'', ''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]'', and ''[[The Darkest Minds]]''. Yuh is the first woman to solely direct and the first [[Asian American]] to direct a major American animated film,<ref name=time>{{cite news|last=Yuh Nelson|first=Jennifer|title=TIME Firsts Women Leaders: Jennifer Yuh Nelson|url=https://time.com/collection/firsts/4898583/jennifer-yuh-nelson-firsts/|access-date=January 8, 2022|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=}}</ref> and has been recognized as a commercially successful Asian American director.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kim |first1=Elaine H. |title=The Routledge Companion to Asian American Media |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317540847 |page=84 |chapter=Overcoming barriers to representation}}</ref>
'''Jennifer Yuh Nelson''' ({{née}} '''Yuh'''; born May 7, 1972) is an American story artist, character designer, illustrator, and film and television director. She is best known for directing the films ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]'', ''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]'', and ''[[The Darkest Minds]]''. Yuh is the first woman to solely direct and the first [[Asian American]] to direct a major American animated film,<ref name=time>{{cite news|last=Yuh Nelson|first=Jennifer|title=TIME Firsts Women Leaders: Jennifer Yuh Nelson|url=https://time.com/collection/firsts/4898583/jennifer-yuh-nelson-firsts/|access-date=January 8, 2022|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=|archive-date=January 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108163920/https://time.com/collection/firsts/4898583/jennifer-yuh-nelson-firsts/|url-status=live}}</ref> and has been recognized as a commercially successful Asian American director.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kim |first1=Elaine H. |title=The Routledge Companion to Asian American Media |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-54084-7 |page=84 |chapter=Overcoming barriers to representation}}</ref>


She won an [[Annie Award]] for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production for directing the opening for ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' and was the second woman nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature]], for her work on ''Kung Fu Panda 2''. The film proved to be one of the most financially successful films directed by a woman.
She won an [[Annie Award]] for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production for directing the opening for ''[[Kung Fu Panda (film)|Kung Fu Panda]]'' and was the second woman nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature]], for her work on ''Kung Fu Panda 2''. The film proved to be one of the most financially successful films directed by a woman. As a supervisor director for her work on ''[[Love, Death & Robots]]'', she won [[Emmy Award]]s two consecutive times.


== Biography and career ==
== Biography ==
Yuh was born in 1972 in [[South Korea]] and immigrated to the [[United States]] with her parents and two sisters when she was 4 years old. She started sketching and drawing at a young age, while developing an interest with 80s action movies and anime. Her favorite filmmakers were [[James Cameron]], [[Ridley Scott]], and [[Katsuhiro Otomo]]. Yuh spent her childhood in [[Lakewood, California]], where she enjoyed watching [[martial arts]] movies, playing with cars, and drawing. "I have been drawing since age 3 and making movies in my head for almost as long. In fact, drawing for me was a way to express those films when I had no other means of doing so," said Yuh.<ref name=www>{{cite web | url=http://www.womenworthwatching.com/jennifer-yuh-nelson/ | title=JENNIFER YUH NELSON • DREAMWORKS | work=WomenWorthWatching.com | date=2011-04-18 | access-date=2011-07-11}}</ref> As a young girl, she would sit at the kitchen table for hours and watch her mother draw, copying her every stroke. As a kid, she would fancy stories with her sisters and was learning to draw to get down those stories. Yuh traces the lineage of her career to those formative family experiences.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}
Yuh was born in 1972 in South Korea and immigrated to the United States with her parents and two sisters when she was four years old. She started sketching and drawing at a young age, while developing an interest in 1980s action movies and anime. Her favorite filmmakers were [[James Cameron]], [[Ridley Scott]], and [[Katsuhiro Otomo]]. Yuh spent her childhood in [[Lakewood, California]], where she enjoyed watching [[martial arts]] movies, playing with cars, and drawing. "I have been drawing since age 3 and making movies in my head for almost as long. In fact, drawing for me was a way to express those films when I had no other means of doing so," said Yuh.<ref name=www>{{cite web | url=http://www.womenworthwatching.com/jennifer-yuh-nelson/ | title=JENNIFER YUH NELSON • DREAMWORKS | work=WomenWorthWatching.com | date=April 18, 2011 | access-date=July 11, 2011 | archive-date=October 30, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030192950/https://womenworthwatching.com/jennifer-yuh-nelson/ | url-status=live }}</ref> As a young girl, she would sit at the kitchen table for hours and watch her mother draw, copying her every stroke. As a kid, she would fancy stories with her sisters and was learning to draw to get down those stories. Yuh traces the lineage of her career to those formative family experiences.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}


Interested in art, Yuh followed her sisters to [[California State University, Long Beach]],<ref name=TAG>{{cite news|last=Hulett|first=Steve|title=The Jennifer Yuh Nelson Interview -- Part I|url=http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/jennifer-yuh-nelson-interview-part-i.html|access-date=January 23, 2012|newspaper=The Animation Guild Blog|date=January 23, 2012}}</ref> where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration.<ref name=latimes>{{cite news|last=Sperling|first=Nicole|title=Tough enough|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/25/entertainment/la-et-jennifer-yuh-20110525|access-date=June 8, 2011|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 25, 2011}}</ref> There she got introduced to animation, "When I was in college years later, a veteran storyboard artist came to talk to my class. He showed us how he drew movies for a living. My mind exploded. And that led to a career in animation."<ref name=www /> Jennifer then followed her sisters into the animation industry, at first working as a cleanup artist at [[Jetlag Productions]], where she worked on various direct-to-video features.<ref name=www /> Following a brief stint at [[Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]] on ''[[The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'' for [[Cartoon Network]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Inoa |first1=Christopher |title=Darkest Minds director Jennifer Yuh Nelson is a quiet force making history in Hollywood |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/darkest-minds-director-jennifer-yuh-nelson-is-a-quiet-force-making-history-in-hollywood |access-date=November 14, 2019 |work=[[Syfy#Syfy Wire|Syfy Wire]] |publisher=[[NBCUniversal|NBCUniversal Media, LLC]] |date=August 14, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> she was later hired as a storyboard artist on [[HBO]]'s ''[[Todd McFarlane's Spawn]]'' series in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nusair|first=David|title=Jennifer Yuh Bio|url=http://movies.about.com/od/animatedmovies/a/jennifer-yuh-biography.htm|work=About.com|access-date=February 6, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526222407/http://movies.about.com/od/animatedmovies/a/jennifer-yuh-biography.htm|archive-date=May 26, 2011}}</ref>
Interested in art, Yuh followed her sisters to [[California State University, Long Beach]],<ref name=TAG>{{cite news|last=Hulett|first=Steve|title=The Jennifer Yuh Nelson Interview -- Part I|url=http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/jennifer-yuh-nelson-interview-part-i.html|access-date=January 23, 2012|newspaper=The Animation Guild Blog|date=January 23, 2012|archive-date=May 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524101303/http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/jennifer-yuh-nelson-interview-part-i.html|url-status=live}}</ref> where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration.<ref name=latimes>{{cite news|last=Sperling|first=Nicole|title=Tough enough|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-may-25-la-et-jennifer-yuh-20110525-story.html|access-date=June 8, 2011|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 25, 2011|archive-date=May 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110530080518/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/25/entertainment/la-et-jennifer-yuh-20110525|url-status=live}}</ref> There she got introduced to animation, "When I was in college years later, a veteran storyboard artist came to talk to my class. He showed us how he drew movies for a living. My mind exploded. And that led to a career in animation."<ref name=www /> Jennifer then followed her sisters into the animation industry, at first working as a cleanup artist at [[Jetlag Productions]], where she worked on various direct-to-video features.<ref name=www /> Following a brief stint at [[Hanna-Barbera]] Productions on ''[[The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'' for [[Cartoon Network]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Inoa |first1=Christopher |title=Darkest Minds director Jennifer Yuh Nelson is a quiet force making history in Hollywood |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/darkest-minds-director-jennifer-yuh-nelson-is-a-quiet-force-making-history-in-hollywood |access-date=November 14, 2019 |work=[[Syfy#Syfy Wire|Syfy Wire]] |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] Media, LLC |date=August 14, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=August 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805214822/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/darkest-minds-director-jennifer-yuh-nelson-is-a-quiet-force-making-history-in-hollywood |url-status=dead }}</ref> she was later hired as a storyboard artist on [[HBO]]'s ''[[Todd McFarlane's Spawn]]'' series in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nusair|first=David|title=Jennifer Yuh Bio|url=http://movies.about.com/od/animatedmovies/a/jennifer-yuh-biography.htm|work=About.com|access-date=February 6, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526222407/http://movies.about.com/od/animatedmovies/a/jennifer-yuh-biography.htm|archive-date=May 26, 2011}}</ref>


In 1998, Yuh joined [[DreamWorks Animation]] as a storyboard artist, where she worked on ''[[Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron]]'', ''[[Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas]]'', and ''[[Madagascar (2005 film)|Madagascar]]''. As a big fan of martial arts movies, she asked to work on the first ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' film, where she served as head of story and director of the opening [[Traditional animation|hand-drawn]] dream sequence.<ref name=TAG /> After the release of ''Kung Fu Panda'', [[Jeffrey Katzenberg]], DWA's CEO at the time, approached Yuh about directing ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]''.<ref name=Cinemovie>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemovie.tv/cinemovie_new/interviews/72-celebrity-interviews-movies-new-box-office-articles/1467-kung-fu-panda-2-director-jennifer-yuh-nelson-interview |title=Interview with KUNG FU PANDA 2 Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson |work=CineMovie.tv |date=2011-05-31 |access-date=2011-07-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616232203/http://www.cinemovie.tv/cinemovie_new/interviews/72-celebrity-interviews-movies-new-box-office-articles/1467-kung-fu-panda-2-director-jennifer-yuh-nelson-interview |archive-date=2011-06-16 }}</ref> Although she hadn't expressed interest in directing the sequel to the film, Producer Melissa Cobb stated that she should direct the second one due to her excellent work on the first, to which the rest of the crew supported the decision.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://caamedia.org/blog/2016/01/25/qa-with-jennifer-yuh-nelson-director-of-kung-fu-panda-3/|title=Q&A with Jennifer Yuh Nelson|date=January 25, 2016|website=CAAM}}</ref> The film proved a major critical and international box office success with a worldwide gross of $665.6 million, making it the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman until director [[Jennifer Lee (filmmaker)|Jennifer Lee]]'s ''[[Frozen (2013 film)|Frozen]]'' two years later. She held the record for highest-grossing film by a solo female director until the release of [[Patty Jenkins]]' 2017 film ''[[Wonder Woman (2017 film)|Wonder Woman]]''. She eventually became the first woman to be nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature|Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film]] (since 2007's ''[[Persepolis (film)|Persepolis]]'') and to win the [[Annie Award for Best Directing in a Feature Production]]. Yuh returned to co-direct ''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]'' alongside [[Alessandro Carloni]], which was released in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last=Young|first=John|title='Kung Fu Panda 2' becomes highest-grossing film directed by a woman|url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/08/29/kung-fu-panda-jennifer-yuh-nelson/|access-date=September 2, 2011|newspaper=Entertainment Weekly|date=August 29, 2011}}</ref> In July 2016, she was also added as one of the board of Governors by [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/news/academy-appoints-jennifer-yuh-nelson-governor-large|title=Academy Appoints Jennifer Yuh Nelson Governor At Large|website=Animation World Network}}</ref>
In 1998, Yuh joined [[DreamWorks Animation]] as a storyboard artist, where she worked on ''[[Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron]]'', ''[[Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas]]'', and ''[[Madagascar (2005 film)|Madagascar]]''. As a big fan of martial arts movies, she asked to work on the first ''[[Kung Fu Panda (film)|Kung Fu Panda]]'' film, where she served as head of story and director of the opening [[Traditional animation|hand-drawn]] dream sequence.<ref name=TAG /> After the release of ''Kung Fu Panda'', [[Jeffrey Katzenberg]], DWA's CEO at the time, approached Yuh about directing ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]''.<ref name=Cinemovie>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemovie.tv/cinemovie_new/interviews/72-celebrity-interviews-movies-new-box-office-articles/1467-kung-fu-panda-2-director-jennifer-yuh-nelson-interview |title=Interview with KUNG FU PANDA 2 Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson |work=CineMovie.tv |date=May 31, 2011 |access-date=July 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616232203/http://www.cinemovie.tv/cinemovie_new/interviews/72-celebrity-interviews-movies-new-box-office-articles/1467-kung-fu-panda-2-director-jennifer-yuh-nelson-interview |archive-date=June 16, 2011 }}</ref> Although she hadn't expressed interest in directing the sequel to the film, Producer Melissa Cobb stated that she should direct the second film due to her excellent work on the first, to which the rest of the crew supported the decision.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://caamedia.org/blog/2016/01/25/qa-with-jennifer-yuh-nelson-director-of-kung-fu-panda-3/|title=Q&A with Jennifer Yuh Nelson|date=January 25, 2016|website=CAAM|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=February 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205184143/http://caamedia.org/blog/2016/01/25/qa-with-jennifer-yuh-nelson-director-of-kung-fu-panda-3/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film proved a major critical and international box office success with a worldwide gross of $665.6 million, making it the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman until director [[Jennifer Lee (filmmaker)|Jennifer Lee]]'s ''[[Frozen (2013 film)|Frozen]]'' two years later. She held the record for highest-grossing film by a solo female director until the release of [[Patty Jenkins]]' 2017 film ''[[Wonder Woman (2017 film)|Wonder Woman]]''. She eventually became the first woman to be nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature]] Film (since 2007's ''[[Persepolis (film)|Persepolis]]'') and to win the [[Annie Award for Best Directing in a Feature Production]]. Yuh returned to co-direct ''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]'' alongside [[Alessandro Carloni]], which was released in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last=Young|first=John|title='Kung Fu Panda 2' becomes highest-grossing film directed by a woman|url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/08/29/kung-fu-panda-jennifer-yuh-nelson/|access-date=September 2, 2011|newspaper=Entertainment Weekly|date=August 29, 2011|archive-date=October 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010205443/http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/08/29/kung-fu-panda-jennifer-yuh-nelson/|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2016, she was also added as one of the board of Governors by [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/news/academy-appoints-jennifer-yuh-nelson-governor-large|title=Academy Appoints Jennifer Yuh Nelson Governor At Large|website=Animation World Network|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=December 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224221838/http://www.awn.com/news/academy-appoints-jennifer-yuh-nelson-governor-large|url-status=live}}</ref>


In 2016, Yuh announced that would be making her live action directorial debut with an adaptation of [[Alexandra Bracken]]'s ''[[The Darkest Minds]]'' for [[20th Century Fox]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2016/07/darkest-minds-jennifer-yuh-nelson-kung-fu-panda-young-adult-1201704925|title='Darkest Minds': Jennifer Yuh Nelson of 'Kung Fu Panda' to Make Live-Action Directorial Debut with Ya Adaptation|publisher=Indiewire|last=Nordine|first=Michael|date=July 12, 2016}}</ref> Producer [[Shawn Levy]] praised Jennifer for her visual sensibility as well as her natural narrative qualities. She described herself as soft-spoken, contrary to what contemporary directors are often personified as; instead, she used storyboards to help pitch her ideas to Shawn Levy and 21 Laps.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/spotlight/darkest-minds-jennifer-yuh-nelson-kung-fu-panda-1202883313/|title=Billion Dollar Filmmaker: Jennifer Yuh Nelson Moves From Toontown to 'Darkest' Side|last=Barker|first=Andrew|date=2018-07-26|work=Variety|access-date=2018-11-16|language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2016, Yuh announced that she would be making her live action directorial debut with an adaptation of [[Alexandra Bracken]]'s ''[[The Darkest Minds]]'' for [[20th Century Fox]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2016/07/darkest-minds-jennifer-yuh-nelson-kung-fu-panda-young-adult-1201704925|title='Darkest Minds': Jennifer Yuh Nelson of 'Kung Fu Panda' to Make Live-Action Directorial Debut with Ya Adaptation|publisher=Indiewire|last=Nordine|first=Michael|date=July 12, 2016|access-date=July 13, 2016|archive-date=July 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713173005/http://www.indiewire.com/2016/07/darkest-minds-jennifer-yuh-nelson-kung-fu-panda-young-adult-1201704925/|url-status=live}}</ref> Producer [[Shawn Levy]] praised Jennifer for her visual sensibility as well as her natural narrative qualities. She described herself as soft-spoken, contrary to what contemporary directors are often personified as; instead, she used storyboards to help pitch her ideas to Shawn Levy and 21 Laps.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/spotlight/darkest-minds-jennifer-yuh-nelson-kung-fu-panda-1202883313/|title=Billion Dollar Filmmaker: Jennifer Yuh Nelson Moves From Toontown to 'Darkest' Side|last=Barker|first=Andrew|date=July 26, 2018|work=Variety|access-date=November 16, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=November 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116085936/https://variety.com/2018/film/spotlight/darkest-minds-jennifer-yuh-nelson-kung-fu-panda-1202883313/|url-status=live}}</ref>


In June 2019, Yuh was hired as supervising director of the second season of the [[Netflix]] animated anthology series, ''[[Love, Death & Robots]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maas |first1=Jennifer |title='Love, Death and Robots' Renewed at Netflix, Adds 'Kung Fu Panda 3' Director |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/love-death-robots-renewed-at-netflix-jennifer-yuh-nelson-joins-1216997 |access-date=June 10, 2019 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=June 10, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
In June 2019, Yuh was hired as supervising director of the second season of the [[Netflix]] animated anthology series, ''[[Love, Death & Robots]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maas |first1=Jennifer |title='Love, Death and Robots' Renewed at Netflix, Adds 'Kung Fu Panda 3' Director |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/love-death-robots-renewed-at-netflix-jennifer-yuh-nelson-joins-1216997 |access-date=June 10, 2019 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=June 10, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612042628/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/love-death-robots-renewed-at-netflix-jennifer-yuh-nelson-joins-1216997 |url-status=live }}</ref>


==Filmography==
== Filmography ==
⚫
===Director===
'''Film'''
⚫
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Notes
⚫
|-
⚫
| 2011
⚫
| ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]''
⚫
|
⚫
|-
⚫
| 2016
| ''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]''
⚫
| Co-directed with [[Alessandro Carloni]]
|-
⚫
| 2018
⚫
| ''[[The Darkest Minds]]''
|
|}

'''Television'''
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Episodes
|-
|rowspan=4| 1998–1999
|rowspan=4| ''[[Todd McFarlane's Spawn]]''
| "Home, Bitter Home"
|-
| "Send in the KKKlowns"
|-
| "The Mindkiller"
|-
| "Hunter's Moon"
|-
|rowspan=2| 2021–present
|rowspan=2| ''[[Love, Death & Robots]]''
| "Pop Squad"
|-
| "Kill Team Kill"
|}


===Feature films===
=== Other credits ===
'''Film'''
⚫
{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Year
! Title
! Title
! class="unsortable" | Role
! Role
|-
|-
| 1998
| 1998
Line 60: Line 103:
| 2008
| 2008
| ''[[Kung Fu Panda (film)|Kung Fu Panda]]''
| ''[[Kung Fu Panda (film)|Kung Fu Panda]]''
| Head of story
| Head of story<br />[[Annie Awards#Individual achievement|Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production]]
⚫
|-
⚫
| 2011
⚫
| ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]''
| Director<br/>[[Annie Awards#Individual achievement|Annie Award for Best Directing in a Feature Production]]
⚫
|-
⚫
| 2016
| ''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]''<ref name=Slate2016>{{cite news|title=New Distributor Twentieth Century Fox Unveils DreamWorks Animation's Release Slate Through 2016 |url=http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=705761 |access-date=September 10, 2012|date=September 9, 2012 |work=[[DreamWorks Animation]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131012035253/http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=705761 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 }}</ref>
⚫
| Director (with [[Alessandro Carloni]])
⚫
|-
⚫
| 2018
| ''[[The Darkest Minds]]''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Howey|first1=Josh|title=Gwendoline Christie Joins YA Novel Adaptation The Darkest Minds|url=http://www.empireonline.com/people/gwendoline-christie/gwendoline-christie-joins-ya-adaptation-darkest-minds/|access-date=April 27, 2017|work=Empire|date=March 23, 2017}}</ref>
⚫
| Director
|-
|-
| 2019
| 2019
Line 80: Line 111:
|}
|}


===Television===
'''Television'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Year
! Title
! Title
! class="unsortable" | Role
! Role

|-
|-
| rowspan="2" |1997
| rowspan="2" |1997
Line 94: Line 124:
| Storyboard artist
| Storyboard artist
|-
|-
| 1997–1999
| 1997-1999
| ''[[Todd McFarlane's Spawn]]''
| ''[[Todd McFarlane's Spawn]]''
| Director, storyboard artist, character designer
| Storyboard artist and character designer
|-
|-
| 1998
| 1998
Line 104: Line 134:
|2008
|2008
|''[[HBO First Look]]''
|''[[HBO First Look]]''
|Herself
|rowspan=4|Herself
|-
|-
|2012
|2012
|''IC Places Hollywood''
|''IC Places Hollywood''
|Herself
|-
|-
|2016
|2016
|''[[Tavis Smiley (TV series)|Tavis Smiley]]''
|''[[Tavis Smiley (TV series)|Tavis Smiley]]''
|Herself
|-
|-
|2018
|2018
|''Kore Conversations''
|''Kore Conversations''
|Herself
|-
|-
| 2021–present
|2021
|''[[Love, Death & Robots]]''
| ''[[Love, Death & Robots]]''
|Supervising director, director: "Pop Squad" and "Kill Team Kill"
| Supervising director
|}
|}


'''Direct-to-video'''
===Videos===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Year
! Title
! Title
! class="unsortable" | Role
! Role
|-
|-
|1994
|1994
|''Cinderella''
|''Cinderella''
|Assistant designer
|rowspan=8|Assistant designer
|-
|-
| 1994
|rowspan=3| 1994
| ''[[Happy, the Littlest Bunny]]''
| ''Happy, the Littlest Bunny''
| Assistant designer
|-
|-
| 1994
| ''Leo the Lion: King of the Jungle''
| ''Leo the Lion: King of the Jungle''
| Assistant designer
|-
|-
| ''A Christmas Carol''
| 1994
⚫
| ''[[A Christmas Carol]]''
| Assistant designer
|-
|-
| 1995
|rowspan=4| 1995
| ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]''
| ''Alice in Wonderland''
| Assistant designer
|-
|-
⚫
| ''Magic Gift of the Snowman''
| 1995
⚫
| ''[[Magic Gift of the Snowman]]''
| Assistant designer
|-
|-
⚫
| ''Jungle Book''
| 1995
⚫
| ''[[Jungle Book]]''
| Assistant designer
|-
|-
⚫
| ''Heidi''
| 1995
⚫
| ''[[Heidi]]''
| Assistant designer
|-
|-
|2003
| 2003
|''[[Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas#Cyclops Island|Sinbad and the Cyclops Island]]''
| ''[[Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas#Cyclops Island|Sinbad and the Cyclops Island]]''
|Story writer
| Story writer
|-
|-
|2008
| 2008
|[[Secrets of the Furious Five|''Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five'']]
| [[Secrets of the Furious Five|''Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five'']]
|Storyboard artist
| Storyboard artist
|}
|}


==Awards and nominations ==
== Awards and nominations ==
* [[Annie Awards#Individual achievement|Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production]] at [[36th Annie Awards]]
* [[Annie Awards#Individual achievement|Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production]] at [[36th Annie Awards]]
* [[Annie Awards#Individual achievement|Annie Award for Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production]] at [[39th Annie Awards]]
* [[Annie Awards#Individual achievement|Annie Award for Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production]] at [[39th Annie Awards]]
* [[Primetime Emmy Awards#Individual achievement|Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour)]] at [[51st Primetime Emmy Awards]]
* [[Primetime Emmy Awards#Individual achievement|Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour)]] at [[51st Primetime Emmy Awards]]
* [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program]] at [[73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards]]
* [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program]] at [[74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards]]
* [[LA Femme International Film Festival#Individual achievement|Maverick Award]] at [[2011 LA Femme International Film Festival]]
* [[LA Femme International Film Festival#Individual achievement|Maverick Award]] at [[2011 LA Femme International Film Festival]]
*Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature
*Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature
*[[KoreAm]] Award for Director of the Year
*[[KoreAm]] Award for Director of the Year
*In May 2023, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, [[California State University, Long Beach]].


==References==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0950775}}
* {{IMDb name|0950775}}
Line 199: Line 217:
[[Category:American women film directors]]
[[Category:American women film directors]]
[[Category:American animated film directors]]
[[Category:American animated film directors]]
⚫
[[Category:Women animated film directors]]
[[Category:American women animators]]
[[Category:American women animators]]
[[Category:Annie Award winners]]
[[Category:Annie Award winners]]
Line 210: Line 229:
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:South Korean emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:South Korean emigrants to the United States]]
⚫
[[Category:South Korean women film directors]]
[[Category:South Korean women animators]]

Latest revision as of 20:13, 8 September 2024

Not to be confused with Jennifer Nelson (filmmaker).

Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Jennifer Yuh Nelson in May 2012 at the C2-MTL business conference
Born
Jennifer Yuh

(1972-05-07) May 7, 1972 (age 52)[1]
South Korea
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCalifornia State University, Long Beach
Occupation(s)Story artist, character designer, television director, illustrator, film director
Years active1994–present
Notable workKung Fu Panda 2
Kung Fu Panda 3
The Darkest Minds

Jennifer Yuh Nelson (née Yuh; born May 7, 1972) is an American story artist, character designer, illustrator, and film and television director. She is best known for directing the films Kung Fu Panda 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, and The Darkest Minds. Yuh is the first woman to solely direct and the first Asian American to direct a major American animated film,[2] and has been recognized as a commercially successful Asian American director.[3]

She won an Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production for directing the opening for Kung Fu Panda and was the second woman nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, for her work on Kung Fu Panda 2. The film proved to be one of the most financially successful films directed by a woman. As a supervisor director for her work on Love, Death & Robots, she won Emmy Awards two consecutive times.

Biography

[edit]

Yuh was born in 1972 in South Korea and immigrated to the United States with her parents and two sisters when she was four years old. She started sketching and drawing at a young age, while developing an interest in 1980s action movies and anime. Her favorite filmmakers were James Cameron, Ridley Scott, and Katsuhiro Otomo. Yuh spent her childhood in Lakewood, California, where she enjoyed watching martial arts movies, playing with cars, and drawing. "I have been drawing since age 3 and making movies in my head for almost as long. In fact, drawing for me was a way to express those films when I had no other means of doing so," said Yuh.[4] As a young girl, she would sit at the kitchen table for hours and watch her mother draw, copying her every stroke. As a kid, she would fancy stories with her sisters and was learning to draw to get down those stories. Yuh traces the lineage of her career to those formative family experiences.[citation needed]

Interested in art, Yuh followed her sisters to California State University, Long Beach,[5] where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration.[6] There she got introduced to animation, "When I was in college years later, a veteran storyboard artist came to talk to my class. He showed us how he drew movies for a living. My mind exploded. And that led to a career in animation."[4] Jennifer then followed her sisters into the animation industry, at first working as a cleanup artist at Jetlag Productions, where she worked on various direct-to-video features.[4] Following a brief stint at Hanna-Barbera Productions on The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest for Cartoon Network,[7] she was later hired as a storyboard artist on HBO's Todd McFarlane's Spawn series in 1997.[8]

In 1998, Yuh joined DreamWorks Animation as a storyboard artist, where she worked on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and Madagascar. As a big fan of martial arts movies, she asked to work on the first Kung Fu Panda film, where she served as head of story and director of the opening hand-drawn dream sequence.[5] After the release of Kung Fu Panda, Jeffrey Katzenberg, DWA's CEO at the time, approached Yuh about directing Kung Fu Panda 2.[9] Although she hadn't expressed interest in directing the sequel to the film, Producer Melissa Cobb stated that she should direct the second film due to her excellent work on the first, to which the rest of the crew supported the decision.[10] The film proved a major critical and international box office success with a worldwide gross of $665.6 million, making it the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman until director Jennifer Lee's Frozen two years later. She held the record for highest-grossing film by a solo female director until the release of Patty Jenkins' 2017 film Wonder Woman. She eventually became the first woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film (since 2007's Persepolis) and to win the Annie Award for Best Directing in a Feature Production. Yuh returned to co-direct Kung Fu Panda 3 alongside Alessandro Carloni, which was released in 2016.[11] In July 2016, she was also added as one of the board of Governors by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[12]

In 2016, Yuh announced that she would be making her live action directorial debut with an adaptation of Alexandra Bracken's The Darkest Minds for 20th Century Fox.[13] Producer Shawn Levy praised Jennifer for her visual sensibility as well as her natural narrative qualities. She described herself as soft-spoken, contrary to what contemporary directors are often personified as; instead, she used storyboards to help pitch her ideas to Shawn Levy and 21 Laps.[14]

In June 2019, Yuh was hired as supervising director of the second season of the Netflix animated anthology series, Love, Death & Robots.[15]

Filmography

[edit]

Director

[edit]

Film

Year Title Notes
2011 Kung Fu Panda 2
2016 Kung Fu Panda 3 Co-directed with Alessandro Carloni
2018 The Darkest Minds

Television

Year Title Episodes
1998–1999 Todd McFarlane's Spawn "Home, Bitter Home"
"Send in the KKKlowns"
"The Mindkiller"
"Hunter's Moon"
2021–present Love, Death & Robots "Pop Squad"
"Kill Team Kill"

Other credits

[edit]

Film

Year Title Role
1998 Dark City Production illustrator/Story artist
2002 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Story artist
2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Head of story
2005 Madagascar Story artist
2008 Kung Fu Panda Head of story
2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Additional story artist

Television

Year Title Role
1997 Real Adventures of Jonny Quest Character designer, background artist, storyboard artist
Extreme Ghostbusters Storyboard artist
1997–1999 Todd McFarlane's Spawn Storyboard artist and character designer
1998 Spicy City Head of story, visual effects
2008 HBO First Look Herself
2012 IC Places Hollywood
2016 Tavis Smiley
2018 Kore Conversations
2021–present Love, Death & Robots Supervising director

Direct-to-video

Year Title Role
1994 Cinderella Assistant designer
1994 Happy, the Littlest Bunny
Leo the Lion: King of the Jungle
A Christmas Carol
1995 Alice in Wonderland
Magic Gift of the Snowman
Jungle Book
Heidi
2003 Sinbad and the Cyclops Island Story writer
2008 Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five Storyboard artist

Awards and nominations

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Yuh, Jennifer". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  2. ^ Yuh Nelson, Jennifer. "TIME Firsts Women Leaders: Jennifer Yuh Nelson". Time. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Kim, Elaine H. (2017). "Overcoming barriers to representation". The Routledge Companion to Asian American Media. Taylor & Francis. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-317-54084-7.
  4. ^ a b c "JENNIFER YUH NELSON • DREAMWORKS". WomenWorthWatching.com. April 18, 2011. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Hulett, Steve (January 23, 2012). "The Jennifer Yuh Nelson Interview -- Part I". The Animation Guild Blog. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Sperling, Nicole (May 25, 2011). "Tough enough". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  7. ^ Inoa, Christopher (August 14, 2018). "Darkest Minds director Jennifer Yuh Nelson is a quiet force making history in Hollywood". Syfy Wire. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  8. ^ Nusair, David. "Jennifer Yuh Bio". About.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  9. ^ "Interview with KUNG FU PANDA 2 Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson". CineMovie.tv. May 31, 2011. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  10. ^ "Q&A with Jennifer Yuh Nelson". CAAM. January 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  11. ^ Young, John (August 29, 2011). "'Kung Fu Panda 2' becomes highest-grossing film directed by a woman". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 10, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  12. ^ "Academy Appoints Jennifer Yuh Nelson Governor At Large". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  13. ^ Nordine, Michael (July 12, 2016). "'Darkest Minds': Jennifer Yuh Nelson of 'Kung Fu Panda' to Make Live-Action Directorial Debut with Ya Adaptation". Indiewire. Archived from the original on July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  14. ^ Barker, Andrew (July 26, 2018). "Billion Dollar Filmmaker: Jennifer Yuh Nelson Moves From Toontown to 'Darkest' Side". Variety. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  15. ^ Maas, Jennifer (June 10, 2019). "'Love, Death and Robots' Renewed at Netflix, Adds 'Kung Fu Panda 3' Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
[edit]
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