Patty Jenkins

Patty Jenkins

American film director
more_vert
Patty Jenkins
pencil

Patricia Lea "Patty" Jenkins is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing Monster (2003) and Wonder Woman (2017).

Early life Patricia Lea Jenkins was born July 24, 1971 in Victorville, California, to William T. Jenkins, an Air Force captain and fighter pilot who earned a Silver Star in the Vietnam War, and Emily Roth, who worked in San Francisco as an environmental scientist. She has two sisters, Elaine Roth and Jessica Jenkins Murphy.

Jenkins lived in 15 different countries before she was six, and four different states before college. She spent kindergarten through her junior year of high school living in Lawrence, Kansas. While attending the AFI Conservatory, Jenkins, an avid fan of the films of Pedro Almodóvar, made the 2001 short film Velocity Rules, that she describes as a cross between a superhero film and Almodóvar's tone about an accident-prone housewife. She graduated from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1993.

Career Jenkins wrote and directed the 2003 crime drama film Monster about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in Florida in 2002 for killing six men in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 2011 she directed the made for television film Five. In October 2011, she was hired to direct the sequel to Thor but was dismissed after less than two months over creative differences. In 2015, Jenkins signed on as director for the DC Extended Universe film, Wonder Woman, with a screenplay by Allan Heinberg and a story co-written by Heinberg, Zack Snyder, and Jason Fuchs. Wonder Woman premiered in 2017 and gave Jenkins the biggest domestic opening of all-time for a female director (surpassing previous record holder Fifty Shades of Grey). With this film, Jenkins also became the first female director of a studio superhero movie. Jenkins is signed on to direct the film's sequel which is currently in development.

Activism On October 21, 2016, the 75th anniversary of the first appearance of Wonder Woman, that character was designated by the United Nations as its Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, a gesture intended to promote gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. In attendance to mark the occasion was Jenkins, Wonder Woman actresses Gal Gadot and Lynda Carter, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson, and U.N. Under-Secretary General Cristina Gallach.

Nominations and awards On July 14, 2011, Jenkins received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the pilot of The Killing. She received two nominations for the 2012 DGA Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, one for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series" for The Killing and "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series" for Five. On January 28, 2012, she won the DGA award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for a Dramatic Series for the pilot of The Killing.

Personal life In 2007, Jenkins married Sam Sheridan, author of the books A Fighter's Heart and The Fighter's Mind. They have a son together.

Patty Jenkins A director with a remarkable grasp of characterization and emotional depth, Patty Jenkins stunned audiences in 2003 with her powerful debut feature, Monster. Based on the life of convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos (played by a virtually unrecognizable Charlize Theron), Monster not only offered a thoughtful, compelling take of the killer's tragic life, but also served to showcase Jenkins as a true talent to watch for. By the tender age of six, Jenkins had pretty much traversed the globe due to her father's status as a fighter pilot; when it came time for Jenkins to pursue her higher education, she set her sights on Cooper Union. Though she hadn't really considered a career in film to this point, her creativity and interest in painting certainly pointed to a career in the arts, and Jenkins' interest in film was soon piqued. Following in the footsteps of such acclaimed filmmakers as David Lynch, Jenkins was soon accepted into the Experimental Film Program at the American Film Institute, despite an ever-increasing interest in creating narrative films. In 2001, a pair of short films, Just Drive and Velocity Rules (the recipient of the Warner Bros. Production Grant), began attracting attention to the young director.

After watching an interview with Aileen Wuornos on television, Jenkins began corresponding with the convicted killer. Though she was upfront about her intentions of making a film based on Wuornos' life, Jenkins lacked an actress capable of convincingly portraying the controversial figure. She got past this difficult obstacle when she turned on the television late one sleepless night and noticed Theron's harrowing performance in The Devil's Advocate. Jenkins immediately knew that Theron was the woman for the part, and though it did take some convincing, Theron was drawn to the solid script and the director's uncompromising vision. Aided by documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield (who had directed two documentaries on Wuornos), Jenkins and Theron soon had a good feel for Wuornos' physical nuances, and it wasn't long before the cameras were rolling. Released to great critical acclaim in 2003, Monster earned star Theron an Oscar for Best Actress and pointed to great things to come for first-time director Jenkins.

Patty Jenkins Director - Date of Birth 24 July 1971, George Air Force Base, Victorville, California, USA

Birth Name Patricia Lea Jenkins

Mini Bio (1)

edit

Patty Jenkins is a writer/director best known for her debut feature Monster, based on the life of convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos, helming the pilot episode of AMC's hit show The Killing and as the director of the upcoming Wonder Woman for Warner Brothers.

Patty began her career as a painter at The Cooper Union in New York City. Upon transitioning to filmmaking, she spent eight years as a First Assistant Camera Person/Focus Puller. After attending the AFI in Los Angeles, she wrote and directed Monster .

Roger Ebert named Monster as the Best Film of the Year and Third Best Film of the Decade. AFI named it on the Ten Best Films of the Year. Charlize Theron went on to sweep the awards circuit for her performance in the film, winning the Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG Award, and numerous critics' awards in the Best Actress category. Patty also garnered a number of awards and nominations, including winning Best First Feature at the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards.

Jenkins went on to direct many commercials and TV programs including the pilot and finale episode for AMC's The Killing for which she received and Emmy nomination, and won the DGA award for best dramatic directing. She directed several other pilots and episodes including Fox's Arrested Development and HBO's Entourage. She was nominated for another Emmy for the final segment of FIVE - a series of short films about breast cancer for Lifetime she shared with fellow directors Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore and Penelope Spheeris.

She is currently in production on Warner Brother's and DC Comic's highly anticipated Wonder Woman, due in theaters June 2017.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse (1) Sam Sheridan (1 September 2007 - present)

Trivia (9) She attended the director's program at the American Film Institute.

Studied painting and received her undergraduate BFA at The Cooper Union in New York City.

The daughter of a distinguished U.S.A.F. F4 fighter pilot who received the silver star while serving in the Vietnam war. During that time, Jenkins and her family lived in Cambodia and Thailand.

She has two sisters. Her older sister, Elaine Roth, is professor of Film Studies at Indiana University South Bend, and her younger sister, Jessica Jenkins, assisted on the set of Monster (2003).

Took a year off from her career to give birth to her son before returning to direct pilot of The Killing (2011).

In pursuit of writing Monster (2003), Jenkins corresponded with convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who left Jenkins all of her personal letters before Wuornos was executed in Florida.

Is related to Sir Richard Burton. Her father, William Jenkins, was Burton's second cousin.

Traveled back to her hometown of Lawrence, Kansas with buddy Steve Perry (lead singer of Journey) to lecture at the University of Kansas on her film, Monster (2003). [April 2004]

Member of the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS) since 2016.

Personal Quotes (4) I was into photography and music probably more than anything. I still think probably music is my real love. I think that it's listening to music that made me want to be a filmmaker. When I was in film school, the second I sat down at a Steenbeck with film that I had just shot and put in music to it, that was it. Instantaneously, I couldn't get enough of it, and it had nothing to do with career or want or desire. I liked to sit there and do that twenty-four hours a day. I was like, 'I can't stop doing this. This is it.'

[re work of directors Kazan, Kubrick, Scorsese] Those guys are great at the tension of the unknown. You don't know where the story is going, and you're not made to feel comfortable or safe.

I really understand visuals in a way that I didn't before, which is by no means to say I'm a master at all. It's only to say that by getting to try out a bunch of different styles, and different lenses, my understanding has become more fluid.

[on Kodak's new Super 8 camera] People like to think that digital mediums can do anything film can do, nowadays, but that simply isn't true. Digital is great for certain things, but it is still different. There are plenty of looks, feelings and qualities that only film can do, and you simply cannot capture digitally.

View details Hide details
expand_more
Patty Jenkins was born on Saturday, 24 July 1971 in George Air Force Base, Victorville, California, USA. Her full name at birth was Patricia Lea Jenkins. She is best known as a director. Jenkins' country of citizenship (nationality) is American. She has dark brown eyes and dark brown hair (color). Her net worth is reported to be $10,000,000 US dollars. Patty Jenkins is 53 years old and her zodiac star sign is Leo.

You can find people similar to Patty Jenkins by visiting our lists Superhero film directors and Screenwriters from California.

Full name at birth
Patricia Lea Jenkins
edit
Claim to fame add_black claim to fame
Date of birth
24 July 1971
edit
Place of birth
George Air Force Base, Victorville, California, USA
edit
Age
Occupation
Film director, screenwriter
edit
Occupation category
edit
Nationality
edit

PERSONAL DETAILS

Height add_black height
Build
edit
Hair color
edit
Eye color
edit
Gender
edit
Ethnicity
edit
Religion add_black religion
Zodiac sign
Distinctive feature add_black distinctive feature
Pets add_black pets

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Net worth
$10,000,000 USD
edit
High school add_black high school
University add_black university
Talent agency add_black talent agency
Political affiliation add_black political affiliation
Political party add_black political party

Patty Jenkins is known for her role in the film Wonder Woman (2017) as directed by.

She is also known for her role in the film Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) as producer - produced by, p.g.a..

This page is the FamousFix profile for Patty Jenkins. Content on this page is contributed by editors who belong to our editorial community. We welcome your contributions... so please create an account if you would like to collaborate with other editor's in helping to shape this website.

On the Patty Jenkins page you will be able to add and update factual information, post media and connect this topic to other topics on the website. This website does skew towards famous actors, musicians, models and sports stars, however we would like to expand that to include many other interesting topics.

Terms of Use · Copyright · Privacy
Copyright 2006-2025, FamousFix · 0.31s