Jennifer Lee | |
|---|---|
 Lee in 2015 | |
| Born | Jennifer Michelle Rebecchi (1971-10-22)October 22, 1971 (age 53) Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Education | University of New Hampshire (BA) Columbia University (MFA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Employer | Walt Disney Animation Studios (2011–present) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Frozen (2013) |
Jennifer Michelle Lee (bornRebecchi; October 22, 1971)[1] is an American filmmaker and playwright. She served as thechief creative officer (CCO) ofWalt Disney Animation Studios from 2018 to 2024, before stepping down to return to full-time filmmaking.[2][3] She is best known as the writer and one of the directors ofFrozen (2013) and its sequelFrozen 2 (2019), the former of which earned her anAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature. Besides being the first female CCO of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Lee was the first female director of a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film[4] and the first female director of two feature films that each earned more than $1 billion in gross box office revenue.[5][6]
Jennifer Michelle Rebecchi was born on October 22, 1971[4][7] to Linda Lee and Saverio Rebecchi, who were living inBarrington, Rhode Island at the time.[8] After their divorce, Lee and her older sister Amy, who later became an English teacher, lived with their mother inEast Providence, Rhode Island.[7][8] Both Lee and her older sister graduated fromEast Providence High School and theUniversity of New Hampshire.[8] Lee earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1992[9][10] and relocated to New York City, where she worked as a graphic artist in publishing; she designed audiobooks forRandom House.[7][8] As an adult, she began using her mother's maiden name, Lee, in a professional capacity[8] and in January 1995,legally changed her last name from Rebecchi to Lee.[1]
Lee graduated fromColumbia University School of the Arts' Film Program with anMFA in film in 2005.[11] While at Columbia, she won several awards for excellence in screenwriting and gave birth to her daughter.[7][11]
Her script forThe Round Up was a quarter-finalist in theNicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition in 2009 and was subsequently optioned byAppian Way Productions.[11]
In March 2011,Phil Johnston, a former classmate at Columbia, called Lee to ask her to join him at Disney Animation inBurbank to help him writeWreck-It Ralph.[7] What was supposed to be a temporary eight-week writing gig eventually turned into a much longer commitment.[7] First, she was asked to stay on untilRalph was finished.[7] She then became involved withFrozen, initially as screenwriter and later as director alongsideChris Buck.[7] When Lee was brought on board, she helped transition the film from an action-adventure to "more musical, with more comedy."[12] She worked closely with the songwriters (Robert Lopez andKristen Anderson-Lopez) in the writing of the script.[12]Frozen gave her the opportunity to celebrate "wild and wonderful" girls like her childhood self, and her daughter, Agatha.[12] Lee drew inspiration from her life to create one of the biggest animated films ever. Lee inspiredFrozen from her relationship with her sister, Amy. Connecting script to real life, Lee referred to herself as the wild, little daydreaming mess, a Tasmanian devil, and [Amy] was always the responsible one, a straight-A student,” says Ms. Lee, who identifies with Kristen Bell’s clear-as-a-bell Anna, not Idina Menzel’s Elsa.[13] Audiences worldwide resonated with the story of two sisters, asFrozen was also the highest-earning film with a female director in terms of domestic earnings, until surpassed byWarner Bros.'Wonder Woman.[14]
On May 17, 2014, Lee delivered thecommencement address to the class of 2014 at her alma mater, the University of New Hampshire.[15][16][17] She revealed that she had struggled with self-doubt while growing up,[18]: 2:00 and then in April of her junior year of college, her boyfriend was killed in a boating accident, after which she felt "no doubt, only grief ... and for a brief moment ... [knew] better than to waste a second doubting."[18]: 6:18 Years later, that memory would help her overcome her initial doubt over whether she was good enough to apply to Columbia.[18]: 7:10 At Columbia, Johnston recognized she was talented but insecure, and one day asked her to "promise ... that you'll leave it out of your work, just know that you're good enough and move on."[17] She concluded: "If I learned one thing it is that self-doubt is one of the most destructive forces. It makes you defensive instead of open, reactive instead of active. Self-doubt is consuming and cruel and my hope today is that we can all collectively agree to ban it ... Please know, from here on out, you are enough and dare I say, more than enough."[17] UNH then awarded her the honorary degree ofDoctor of Humane Letters.[19]
In September 2014, it was announced that Lee and Buck would co-direct ashort film featuring theFrozen characters calledFrozen Fever. It was released in March 2015.[20] Lee was one of several Disney writers and directors who received credit for "Creative Leadership" onBig Hero 6 (2014),Zootopia (2016), andMoana (2016), and also received a story co-writer credit onZootopia.[21][22][23]
In August 2014,Variety reported that Lee's next project afterFrozen would be anadaptation ofMadeleine L'Engle's 1962 novelA Wrinkle in Time.[24][25] After the news broke, Lee tweeted: "Been in love with the book for over 30 years. Writing this script means the world to me."[26] Catherine Hand, the executive producer of the2003 television film version, and Jim Whitaker produced for Disney,[24] andAva DuVernay directed the film, based on Lee's script.A Wrinkle in Time was released in March 2018.[27][28]
On March 12, 2015, Disney announced that Lee and Buck would co-direct a full length sequel toFrozen.[29]
In June 2018, Lee was named the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, followingJohn Lasseter's departure from Disney.[2] Lee was the studio’s first woman creative chief, a milestone for the company that was established in 1923.[30] During her time as CCO, she first finished overseeingRalph Breaks the Internet (2018), a film for which she was already an executive producer,[31] in the final five months leading up to its release following the exit of Lasseter who was the primary executive producer and CCO on that film since its inception in 2014.[32] Lee also remained the director (alongside Buck) and writer of the sequel toFrozen, now officially titledFrozen 2 (2019), the first film primarily under her leadership.[33]Frozen 2 would become the highest-grossing animated film of all-time in January 2020,[34] untilInside Out 2 (2024) surpassed it in July 2024.[35] FollowingFrozen 2, Lee would oversee the production ofRaya and the Last Dragon (2021),Encanto (2021),Strange World (2022),Wish (2023), andMoana 2 (2024). Lee also co-wroteWish, a film that was started under her leadership in 2018 and was created to celebrate the legacy of the Walt Disney Animation Studios.[36]
In September 2024, Lee announced that she was stepping down from her position as Disney Animation's chief creative officer to return to full-time filmmaking at the studio—specifically, to direct and writeFrozen 3 and to also write and executive produceFrozen 4.[3]Jared Bush was named as her successor.[3] Prior to Bush's succession in the role, Lee also oversawZootopia 2 (2025), a film which Bush is directing (alongsideByron Howard) and writing.[37][38]
Lee married Robert Joseph Monn[39] on May 30, 1999, at theRhode Island Country Club.[40] They have a daughter, Agatha Lee Monn[41] (b. 2003),[4][7] who voices pre-teen Anna for the middle verse of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" inFrozen.[39] They later divorced.[8]
In November 2019, Lee confirmed that she was in a relationship withFrozen 2 actorAlfred Molina.[42] They were married in August 2021 by actor and mutual friendJonathan Groff who had introduced them,[43] and live in theSan Fernando Valley inLos Angeles County, California with Lee's daughter.
| Year | Film | Credited as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Other | Notes | ||
| 2012 | Wreck-It Ralph | No | Screenplay | No | No | |
| 2013 | Frozen | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Voice of Queen Iduna / Additional Voices |
| 2014 | Big Hero 6 | No | No | No | Yes | Creative Leadership |
| 2016 | Zootopia | No | Story | No | Yes | |
| Moana | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2018 | A Wrinkle in Time | No | Screenplay | No | No | |
| Ralph Breaks the Internet | No | No | Yes | Yes | Studio and Creative Leadership | |
| 2019 | Frozen 2 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2021 | Raya and the Last Dragon | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Encanto | No | No | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2022 | Strange World | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Wish | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2024 | Moana 2 | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 2025 | Zootopia 2 | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 2027 | Frozen 3[44] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| TBA | Frozen 4[45][46] | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Year | Title | Director | Story | Executive Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | A Thousand Words | Assistant | No | Producer | |
| 2015 | Frozen Fever | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2020 | At Home with Olaf | No | No | Yes | YouTube short films[47] |
| Once Upon a Snowman | No | No | Yes | Disney+ Original short film[48] | |
| 2021 | Us Again | No | No | Yes | [49] |
| How to Stay at Home | No | No | Yes | Disney+ Original short films[50] | |
| Olaf Presents | No | No | Yes | ||
| Far from the Tree | No | No | Yes | [51] | |
| 2022 | Baymax! | No | No | Yes | Disney+ Original short films[52] |
| Zootopia+ | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2023 | Once Upon a Studio | No | No | Yes | |
| 2024 | Iwájú | No | No | Yes | Disney+ Original long-form limited series |
| D.I.Y. Duck | No | No | Yes | [53] |
| Year | Title | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic | Herself |
| 2016 | Imagining Zootopia[54] | Herself |
| 2017 | Quality Problems | Very Special Thanks |
| Olaf's Frozen Adventure | Special Thanks | |
| 2020 | Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 | Herself; Special Thanks |
| 2021 | How to Stay at Home | Special Thanks |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | EDA Award | Best Animated Feature Film | Frozen | Nominated | [55] [better source needed] |
| EDA Female Focus Award | Best Woman Director | Nominated | |||
| Best Woman Screenwriter | Nominated | ||||
| AFCA Award | Best Animated Film | Won | |||
| Dubai International Film Festival | People's Choice Award | Won | |||
| SLFCA Award | Best Animated Film | Won | |||
| Annie Awards | Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Wreck-It Ralph | Won | ||
| 2014 | Academy Awards | Best Animated Feature Film of the Year | Frozen | Won | |
| BAFTA Film Award | Best Animated Film | Won | |||
| BAFTA Children's Award | BAFTA Kids Vote - Feature Film | Won | |||
| Best Feature Film | Nominated | ||||
| Saturn Award | Best Writing | Nominated | |||
| Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Won | |||
| Outstanding Achievement in Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Nominated | ||||
| Gold Derby Award | Animated Feature | Won | |||
| Hugo Award | Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form | Nominated | |||
| International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA) | Best Animated Feature | Won | |||
| Italian Online Movie Awards (IOMA) | Best Animated Feature Film (Miglior film d'animazione) | Nominated | |||
| Seattle Film Critics Award | Best Animated Feature | Won | |||
| VES Award | Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture | Won | |||
| 2015 | Tokyo Anime Award | Grand Prize, Feature Film | Won | ||
| 2017 | Gold Derby Award | Original Screenplay | Zootopia | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Seattle Film Critics Award | Best Animated Feature | Frozen II | Nominated | |
| 2020 | BAFTA Film Award | Best Animated Featured Film | Nominated | ||
| Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Nominated | ||||
| Gold Derby Award | Animated Feature | Nominated | |||
| LEJA Award | Best Animated Feature | Nominated | |||
| OFTA Film Award | Best Animated Picture | Nominated | |||
| 2023 | Children's and Family Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children's or Young Teen Animated Series | Zootopia+ | Won | [56] |
| Baymax! | Nominated | ||||
| 2024 | Iwájú | Nominated | [57] | ||
| Outstanding Animated Short Form Program | Once Upon a Studio | Won | [58] |
Lee, 42, is the first woman in the studio's history to act as a director on one of its animated features (she co-directed with Chris Buck).
Raised in East Providence, R.I., Lee, 41, was a flute-playing band nerd who "became a cheerleader — a nerd cheerleader."
