Greta Celeste Gerwig (/ˈɡɜːrwɪɡ/GUR-wig;[1] born August 4, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. Initially known for working on variousmumblecore films,[2][3] she has since expanded from acting in and co-writing independent films to directing major studio films. Gerwig was included in the annualTime 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2018.[4]
As a solo filmmaker, Gerwig has written and directed coming-of-age filmsLady Bird (2017) andLittle Women (2019), and the fantasy-comedyBarbie (2023), all of which earned nominations for theAcademy Award for Best Picture.[8] ForLady Bird, she receivedAcademy Award nominations forBest Director andBest Original Screenplay,[9] and forLittle Women, she was nominated forBest Adapted Screenplay.Barbie, which she co-wrote with Baumbach, became the only film from a solo female director to gross over a billion dollars worldwide,[10] and earned her a second Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.[11]
Gerwig was born inSacramento, California, and grew up in the River Park neighborhood.[12] She is the daughter of Christine, anOB-GYN nurse, and Gordon Gerwig, who worked for acredit union on small business loans.[12][13] She is close to her parents and they make an appearance inFrances Ha as her character's parents.[13] She has an older brother, a landscape architect; and a sister, a manager at theEqual Employment Opportunity Commission.[14][15][16] Gerwig hasGerman ancestry.[15]
Gerwig originally intended to become aplaywright, but she turned to acting when she was not admitted to playwritingMFA programs.[13] In 2006, while still studying at Barnard, she was cast in a minor role inJoe Swanberg'sLOL, and appeared inBaghead byJay andMark Duplass. She began a partnership with Swanberg, which resulted in the duo's co-writingHannah Takes the Stairs (2007), and sharing both writing and directing duties onNights and Weekends (2008). Through these films, she became known as a key figure in the risingmumblecore film movement[2][3] and was often referred to as an "it girl".[5][25][26] Despite her consistent association with the movement, Gerwig dislikes the term "mumblecore", and has defended the style by saying, "People had gotten used to a version of a movie at a film festival that was like a calling-card for the real movie you were going to make later. What was different about these movies was these filmmakers were like, 'There is not another movie. This is the real movie.'"[27]
Although she had an association with a number of other mumblecore filmmakers and appeared in several films, mainstream success remained elusive. Of this period in her life, Gerwig has said, "I was really depressed. I was 25 [in 2008] and thinking, 'This is supposed to be the best time and I'm miserable' but it felt like acting was happening for me, and I went back to acting classes."[20] In order to support herself financially, she worked as ananny and atutor for theSAT.[28]
In 2010, Gerwig starred inNoah Baumbach'sGreenberg withBen Stiller,Rhys Ifans, andJennifer Jason Leigh.[29][30] In an appraisal of her work in this and other films,The New York Times criticA. O. Scott described Gerwig as an "ambassador of a cinematic style that often seems opposed to the very idea of style." "She seems to be embarked on a project," Scott wrote, "however piecemeal and modestly scaled, of redefining just what it is we talk about when we talk about acting."[31] In 2010, Gerwig made her first talk show appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live! From 2011 to 2015, she voiced Pony, one of the main characters in theAdult Swim animated seriesChina, IL. In 2011, she was cast as a lead in anHBO pilot adaptation ofThe Corrections, which however was not picked up to series.[20] Also that year she starred inWhit Stillman's comedyDamsels in Distress (2011) which premiered at theVenice International Film Festival. CriticRoger Ebert compared the film favorably to the novels ofP.G. Wodehouse and praised Gerwig's performance, writing "He's also lucky to have found an actress in Gerwig who finds the perfect note for playing a woman who knows everything better than you do, but doesn't believe she's being stuck up about it; she's just being kind."[32] In 2012, Gerwig appeared inWoody Allen's filmTo Rome with Love in the vignetteJohn's Story, acting alongsideJesse Eisenberg andAlec Baldwin.[33]
Gerwig and Baumbach co-wrote Baumbach's next film,Frances Ha, which was released in May 2013 after having toured the festival circuit since September 2012. Gerwig played the title role, and received a nomination for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her performance.[34]Richard Brody ofThe New Yorker wrote "Gerwig may be famed for acting like a nonactor, but she's an extraordinarily accomplished actor (as she proved inDamsels in Distress), and here she puts the movie on her back and carries it from beginning to end, combining the spontaneous inspiration and personal presence of her earlier films".[35] Her third collaboration with Baumbach,Mistress America, was released in August 2015 to generally positive reviews.[36][37]
In February 2014, Gerwig served as a jury member at the64th Berlin International Film Festival.[38] In May 2014, Gerwig made her stage debut as Becky inPenelope Skinner'sThe Village Bike at theLucille Lortel Theatre in New York. The production earned mixed reviews but her performance was praised by many includingBen Brantley ofThe New York Times who wrote, "Ms. Gerwig uses the off-balance, open-faced presence she brought to films likeFrances Ha andGreenberg to hook us from the moment we set eyes on her." He added, "Gerwig turns out to be the perfect person to ride right over the edge of a cliff with".[39] The show ran until the end of June.[40] She was nominated for theOuter Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her performance.[41] She was cast in the lead role in aspin-off ofHow I Met Your Mother titledHow I Met Your Dad in 2014,[42] but it was not picked up to series.[43]
In 2017, Gerwig made her solo directorial debut (after having co-directedNights and Weekends) with the coming-of-age comedy-drama filmLady Bird, which she also wrote.[52] It starredSaoirse Ronan in the title role.[53]Lady Bird premiered at theTelluride Film Festival and was theatrically released in November 2017. The film grossed over $78 million against its $10 million budget worldwide.Lady Bird received critical acclaim, with reviewers particularly lauding Gerwig's screenplay and direction.[54][55] The film was chosen by theNational Board of Review, theAmerican Film Institute, andTime magazine as one of the top ten films of 2017.[56][57][58] According to the review-aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes, it was given 196 positive reviews in a row, making it the record-holder for the most "fresh" reviews,[59] until the first "rotten" one arrived in December 2017.[60] As of 2019, it had a 99% rating on the aforementioned website.[61]
Gerwig co-starred withAdam Driver in Baumbach's 2022 filmWhite Noise, adapted from the novel of the same name byDon DeLillo forNetflix. The movie opened both the79thVenice International Film Festival and the 60thNew York Film Festival and was made available on the streaming platform in late 2022.[71] Gerwig also directed and co-wrote with Baumbach the fantasy comedyBarbie forWarner Bros. Pictures, based on theBarbie fashion dolls byMattel. It finished filming in 2022 and opened theatrically on July 21, 2023. The movie featuresMargot Robbie in the title role alongsideRyan Gosling (as the dollKen).[72][73][74] The film was a commercial success, and eventually crossed the$1 billion gross mark worldwide, making Gerwig the first woman with sole director credit to have a movie make more than $1 billion at the global box office.[75] It received critical acclaim andother accolades, including eightAcademy Award nominations, among them Gerwig and Baumbach forBest Adapted Screenplay.
Gerwig worked on the screenplay for Disney's live-action filmSnow White but was uncredited.[76] She describes her role as "I was hired for a couple of weeks. I did a 'pass' — I wrote some jokes."[77]The New Yorker reported in July 2023 that she had been hired by Netflix to write and direct two film adaptations ofC. S. Lewis'The Chronicles of Narnia book series. Gerwig'stalent agent, Jeremy Barber, said that she was "looking to move beyond thesmall-scale dramas she was known for," and that her ambition was to be a "big studio director."[78] In October 2024,Puck'sMatthew Belloni reported that Gerwig had raised concerns to Netflix chairmanDan Lin about giving the film a theatrical release in addition to being on the streamer.[79] In January 2025, Belloni reported that the adaptation,Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, would receive an exclusiveIMAX release in November 2026, before being released on Netflix on Christmas.[80]
In 2024, Gerwig presided over the feature film jury for the Official Competition of the2024 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first American female director to take on the role of Jury President atCannes Film Festival.[81]
Gerwig's films tend to be based on her own experiences. In a behind-the-scenes video on the set ofLady Bird she said, "I tend to start with things from my own life, then pretty quickly they spin out into their own orbit."[82] Gerwig presses her actors to incorporate their personalities into their performances as well, and says of her writing and directing, "it's all about actors."[82] By contrast, she allows little lineimprovisation and the script is followed fairly closely.[13]
Gerwig lives inManhattan with her husband, filmmakerNoah Baumbach, whom she married in 2023 after 12 years together.[89][90][91] They have two sons together, born in March 2019 and February 2023.[92][93]
In 2011, Gerwig won an award from theAthena Film Festival for her artistry as one ofHollywood's definitive screen actresses of her generation.[98] In 2018, her nomination forBest Director at the90th Academy Awards forLady Bird made her the first woman in eight years (and one of only five women in Oscar history) to have been nominated in that category.[9][99] Gerwig's work onLady Bird was nominated for sixteen awards in notable circuits, winning six of those awards.[57][100][101]
Directed Academy Award performances Under Gerwig's direction, these actors have receivedAcademy Award nominations for their performances in their respective roles.
^Verhoeven, Beatrice (January 23, 2024)."'Barbie's' Greta Gerwig Snubbed for Oscars Best Director Nomination".The Hollywood Reporter.Gerwig is a notable snub, as the Barbie director, throughout the awards season, received various best director nominations (the Directors Guild of America, the Golden Globes, Critics Choice) and wins (Palm Springs International Film Fest).
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