Chloé Zhao (Beijing, 1982) is a Chinese-born filmmaker and one of the most acclaimed directors working in cinema today. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Zhao first gained international attention with her intimate, landscape-driven films Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015) and The Rider (2017), both praised for their lyrical realism and non-professional casts. She reached global recognition with Nomadland (2020), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Director — making her the first woman of colour to receive the award — along with Best Picture. Her work is defined by a deeply humanist approach, blending documentary sensibility with poetic storytelling, often set against vast, open American landscapes. Her 2025 film Hamnet, a stunning adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel, won the Golden Globe for Best Drama and earned her further Oscar nominations.