Mimi Leder
Leder at the 75th AnnualPeabody Awards in 2016
Born	Miriam Leder (1952-01-26)January 26, 1952 (age 73) New York City, U.S.
Education	AFI Conservatory
Occupation(s)	Film director, film producer, script supervisor
Years active	1976–present
Spouse	Gary Werntz
Children	Hannah Leder

Miriam Leder (/ˈliːdər/;^[1][2] born January 26, 1952) is an American film and television director and producer;^[3] she is noted for her action films and use of special effects.^[4] She has directed the filmsThe Peacemaker (1997),Deep Impact (1998),Pay It Forward (2000), andOn the Basis of Sex (2018). She was the first female graduate of theAFI Conservatory, in 1973. She has been nominated for tenEmmy Awards, winning two.^[5]

Miriam Leder was born inNew York City in 1952, the daughter of Etyl, a classical pianist, andPaul Leder, a director, producer, actor, writer, and editor of films includingMy Friends Need Killing,A*P*E, andI Dismember Mama.^[6][7] Leder grew up inLos Angeles in aJewish household. Her mother is aHolocaust survivor (Auschwitz concentration camp) fromBrussels, Belgium.^[8] During childhood, her father, a low-budget independent filmmaker, introduced Mimi and her siblings to film production. Her father often dropped her off at the cinema to watch the latest films. Leder said that one of the early films which had an impact on her wasFederico Fellini's8½.^[6] She was the first woman accepted into theAFI Conservatory, where she studied cinematography.

Leder began her career as a second unit director on her father's 1976 filmA*P*E, then as a script supervisor on a string of films, includingSpawn of the Slithis (1978),Dummy (1979),The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980), andA Long Way Home (1980) and then moved to the TV seriesHill Street Blues (1981). After making the short filmShort Order Dreams, written and funded by her father Paul,^[9] she screened it forSteven Bochco, creator ofHill Street Blues, and his friendGregory Hoblit who hired her to direct an episode ofL.A. Law.

In 1988, Leder directed episodes ofCrime Story,The Bronx Zoo,Midnight Caller, then directed several episodes ofChina Beach (1988–91) for which she was nominated for four Emmys. She made the made-for-TV filmsWoman with a Past (1992),House of Secrets (1993), andBaby Brokers (1994), then became one of the core directors forER (1994–2009). The show earned her Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series in 1995 and 1996. She returned to direct an episode of the series during its final season in 2009. She soon received a job offer fromSteven Spielberg to direct the filmThe Peacemaker (1997).

Continuing to work forDreamWorks, she directedDeep Impact (1998) andPay It Forward (2000) while simultaneously creatingSentimental Journey (1999), a personal love story about her parents. When asked for a reaction about her filmDeep Impact (1998) vs. a rival movie release at the same timeArmageddon (1998), she responded: "Michael Bay did come to my premiere, which really shocked me. And I can tell you that after—after [seeing] my film—he went and reshot the end of his."^[10] After makingPay It Forward Leder went through a period where she wasn't hired to direct any feature films. "Most women who don't have commercial success are not asked back to the party. It did not hurt me in television, but it did in features."^[11] Leder felt as though she had been put into a "movie jail" byHollywood for the lack of success ofPay It Forward.^[11][12]

Leder's dry spell of feature films after the release ofPay It Forward drove her to other pursuits in television and film. She shot nine pilots and produced six series, includingThe Beast (2001),John Doe (2002),Johnny Zero (2005), andVanished (2006). Leder also made many made-for-TV movies such asThick as Thieves (2009),U.S. Attorney (2009), andHeavenly (2011).^[13] In 2015, Leder was brought by HBO to direct a first-season episode ofThe Leftovers and later hired as a co-showrunner.

Leder's feature filmOn the Basis of Sex, the story ofRuth Bader Ginsburg's path to become aU.S. Supreme Court Justice, was released in December 2018. It was Leder's first theatrical feature in 18 years.^[14]

Leder has a daughter,Hannah, with her husband actor Gary Werntz.^[15] Mimi Leder has said she "was raised a feminist" and "was an anti-war protester all during the Vietnam War."^[16]

Film

• The Peacemaker (1997)
• Deep Impact (1998)
• Sentimental Journey (1999) (Short film)
• Pay It Forward (2000)
• Thick as Thieves (2009)
• On the Basis of Sex (2018)

Ref.:^{[17][18][19][20][21]}

TV movies

TV series

• Scott, Tobias. "Veteran TV Director Still Tries to Scale Film Barriers."New York Times (10/13/2015): C2. Accessed November 13, 2018
• Brodesser, Claude. "Helmer: Leder Among Men."Daily Variety (6/9/2000): A4. Accessed November 13, 2018
• Goldman, Michael. "Mimi Leger: Director."Millimeter (Nov 1998) Accessed November 13, 2018
• Rochlin, Margy. "For Mimi Leder, Persistence Pays Off."Directors Guild of America Quarterly (Spring 2018) Accessed November 14, 2018

• Mimi Leder atIMDb
• The Paley Center for Media:She Made It | Mimi Leder

• 1952 births
• Living people
• AFI Conservatory alumni
• Film producers from New York (state)
• 20th-century American Jews
• American television directors
• Television producers from New York City
• American women television producers
• American women film directors
• American women television directors
• Jewish American film people
• Film directors from New York City
• American women film producers
• Primetime Emmy Award winners
• 21st-century American Jews
• 20th-century American women
• 21st-century American women

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