John Ridley
Ridley in 2013
Born	John Ridley IV (1964-10-01)October 1, 1964 (age 61) Milwaukee,Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation(s)	Screenwriter Novelist Television writer Television director
Years active	1988–present
Notable work	12 Years a Slave American Crime
Spouse	Gayle Ridley
Children	2

John Ridley IV^[1] (born October 1, 1964)^[2] is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for12 Years a Slave, for which he won anAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of theanthology seriesAmerican Crime. In 2017 he directed thedocumentary filmLet It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992.

Ridley was born inMilwaukee,Wisconsin,^[3] and was raised from the age of seven inMequon, Wisconsin,^[4][5] with anophthalmologist father, John Ridley III, and a mother, Terry Ridley, who was a special education teacher^[1] forMilwaukee Public Schools.^[4][6] He has two sisters and is the middle sibling.^[4]

Ridley graduated fromHomestead High School inMequon, Wisconsin in 1982.^[4] He enrolled inIndiana University but transferred toNew York University.^[4] There, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in East Asian languages. The subject wasn't applicable to his career, but it sparked his intellectual interests.^[7] Ridley isChristian.^[8]

Following college, Ridley spent a year living and traveling in Japan.^[7] Then, he returned to New York and began performingstandup comedy in New York City, and he made appearances onLate Night with David Letterman andThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.^[4] Moving toLos Angeles in 1990, he began writing for such televisionsitcoms asMartin,The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, andThe John Larroquette Show.^[4]After both writing and directing his film debut, the 1997 crime thrillerCold Around the Heart, he andOliver Stone co-adapted Ridley's first novel,Stray Dogs (still unpublished when Stone bought the rights^[9]) into the 1997 Stone-directed filmU Turn, which was released slightly earlier thanCold Around the Heart. Ridley went on to write the novelsLove Is a Racket andEverybody Smokes in Hell.

He challenged himself to see how quickly he could write and sell a script, and produced and sold the original screenplaySpoils of War in 18 days, which was later adapted into the 1999David O. Russell-directedThree Kings.^[9] Russell claimed he did not read Ridley's script, and just took the idea. Ridley received a "story by" credit negotiated among himself, Russell, and the releasing studio,Warner Bros.^[9] Ridley then became a writer and a supervising producer on theNBC crime dramaThird Watch. His other novels areThe Drift,Those Who Walk in Darkness, andA Conversation with the Mann.^[4] He also wrote thegraphic novelThe American Way.^[10][11]

From 2000 to 2010, he was a commentator and blogger forNPR.^[12] His blog wasVisible Man, a play onRalph Ellison'sInvisible Man.^[13] In 2003, Ridley inked a one-year overall deal withUniversal Network Television.^[14]

His work as screenwriter also includes12 Years a Slave,^[15]Red Tails, andUndercover Brother. His script for12 Years a Slave won theAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay,^[16] making Ridley the secondAfrican American to win the award, afterGeoffrey S. Fletcher (forPrecious, based on the novelPush bySapphire).^[15][17]

In April 2015, Ridley was developing anABC television series involving an existingMarvel Comics character.^[18] However, by December 2019, the project was cancelled due toMarvel Television folding intoMarvel Studios.^[19] Ridley later revealed that his cancelled project would have been a version ofEternals, which was instead developed as an unrelated movie directed byChloé Zhao.^[20]

On April 16, 2018, it was announced that Ridley would direct and write an adaptation of his graphic novelThe American Way produced byBlumhouse Productions.^[21]

On June 4, 2018, it was announced that Ridley would direct a feature film adaptation of theRobert Silverberg short story,Needle in a Timestack produced byBron Studios. The film featured performances fromLeslie Odom Jr.,Freida Pinto,Cynthia Erivo, andOrlando Bloom.^[22]

In 2021, Ridley began writing a number of series forDC Comics. The series include a newBatman series 'The Next Batman' as part of the company's line-wide event 'Future State', and a 5-issue series 'The Other History of the DC Universe' a text-based story about the history of the non-white, non-American DC heroes such asBlack Lightning andKatana.

In May 2021, Marvel Comics announced that Ridley will writeBlack Panther comics.^[23]

Ridley wrote an essay for the December 2006 issue ofEsquire, "The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger".^[24][25] As theAssociated Press reported, Ridley's essay had an "in-your-face style to rip the black underclass", with readers criticizing "the fact that a black person had blasted other blacks. In a national magazine. With a mostly white audience. Using the n-word".^[26]: 2A In his essay, Ridley said: "It's time for ascended blacks to wish niggers good luck. Just as whites may be concerned with the good of all citizens but don't travel their days worrying specifically about the well-being of hillbillies from Appalachia, we need to send niggers on their way."^[24]Leonard Pitts called that passage "addled" and contrary to "historical fact".^[27]South Florida Sun-Sentinel columnist Sherri Winston compared the essay toChris Rock's monologue "Niggas vs. Black People" and commented: "...where Rock was hailed, Ridley was assailed."^[28] The essay gained renewed attention in 2014 after Ridley won an Academy Award for12 Years a Slave.^[29][30]

In December 2007, during theWriters Guild of America strike against the major production studios, Ridley opted for legal status as a "union objector" or "fi-core," making him eligible to submit scripts to the studios while the strike was ongoing.^[31] In an op-ed published in theLos Angeles Times, Ridley explained: "After 15 years of being told shut up, sit down and be part of thegroupthink, I decided I did not belong in the guild. The guild has a way to option out. I took the option."^[32] Ridley's screenplay for12 Years a Slave was thus ineligible for aWriters Guild of America Award.^[33]

Ridley is married to wife Gayle, a formerscript supervisor.^[5][9] They have two children.^[34]

In April 2024, Asta Jonasson, an Asian American development executive, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court (Case No. 24STCV08350) alleging gender and racial discrimination, wrongful termination, and retaliation after she requested equal pay. The suit named John Ridley IV, The Walt Disney Company, and ABC Studios as defendants, claiming they failed to address systemic pay disparities and a hostile work environment during productions includingAmerican Crime.^[35][36]

Jonasson's complaint cited instances where Ridley allegedly dismissed concerns about hiring disparities, including a 2020 incident where Apple TV+ challenged him over exclusively selecting white male department heads forFive Days at Memorial. Ridley reportedly responded, "They have me," referring to his own identity as a Black man in a leadership role.^[36] Ridley's attorney denied the allegations as “false,” toRolling Stone while Disney and ABC declined to comment.^[35] A jury trial is scheduled for February 23, 2026, in Department 51 of the Los Angeles Superior Court.^[37]

Acting credits

• Ridley, John.Stray Dogs. New York: Ballantine Books, 1997.ISBN 978-0-345-41345-1
• Ridley, John.Love Is a Racket: A Novel. New York: Knopf, 1998.ISBN 978-0-375-40142-8
• Ridley, John.Everybody Smokes in Hell. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.ISBN 978-0-375-40143-5
• Ridley, John.A Conversation with the Mann: A Novel. New York: Warner Books, 2002.ISBN 978-0-446-52836-8
• Ridley, John.The Drift. New York: Knopf, 2002.ISBN 978-0-375-41182-3
• Ridley, John.Those Who Walk in Darkness New York: Warner Books, 2003.ISBN 978-0-446-53093-4
• Ridley, John, and Patricia R. Floyd.What Fire Cannot Burn. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books, 2011, 2007.ISBN 978-1-456-10151-0

• Ridley, John, and Ben Oliver.The Authority: Human on the Inside. La Jolla, CA: WildStorm Productions, 2004. 978-1-401-20070-1
• Ridley, John.The Razor's Edge: Warblade #1-5.DC Comics. 2005.
• Ridley, John, Georges Jeanty, and Karl C. Story.The American Way. La Jolla, Calif: WildStorm/DC Comics, 2007.ISBN 978-1-401-21256-8
• Ridley, John, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Cucchi, and José Villarrubia.The Other History of the DC Universe. DC Comics, 2021. ISBN 978-1-779-51197-3

• Ridley, John.Ten Thousand Years. 2005 (world premiere).

• Ridley, John (December 2006)."The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger".Esquire. Vol. 146, no. 6. Archived fromthe original on February 8, 2015. RetrievedAugust 17, 2024.

• Gennusa, Chris R. "John Ridley: Burnt Noir."Creative Screenwriting. Winter 1997, v. 4 n.4, pp. 33–38

• Archived pages of defunctofficial site:December 1, 2006 – March 1, 2007,January 8 – April 12, 2007,March 1 – August 28, 2007 (final archived page other than contact page).
• John Ridley atIMDb
• John Ridley atDC Comics.

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