Oscars 2021: Two women nominated for Best Director for first time in history

15 March 2021, 17:39

Both Chloe Zhao for Nomadland and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman are up for the Best Directing gong
Both Chloe Zhao for Nomadland and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman are up for the Best Directing gong. Picture: PA

By Kate Buck

Two women have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for the first time in history.

Both Chloe Zhao for Nomadland and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman are up for the Best Directing gong, after the Academy has previously faced criticism for not nominating women.

They are only the sixth and seventh women to ever be nominated, and Zhao is the first Asian woman, while Fennell is the first British woman.

Only one woman has won the prize - Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker.

Viola Davis, who has previously won a supporting actress prize for Fences, has also made history as the first Black woman to score two best actress nominations

She is nominated in the leading actress category for her role as a jazz singer in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Viola Davis as Ma Rainey in ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom which has earned her a nod for Best Actress
Viola Davis as Ma Rainey in ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom which has earned her a nod for Best Actress. Picture: PA

She has previously picked up a best actress nomination for her turn in The Help and a supporting nod for Doubt.

Her fourth nomination makes her the most-nominated black actress ever, as well as the only black woman with two best actress nominations.

Women also made history in the make-up and hairstyling category, as Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson became the first black women to be recognised for their work on Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

For British talent, this year has been the most fruitful for British acting talent for nearly two decades.

A total of eight of the 20 acting nominations are for British performers, the highest proportion since 2002, when the figure was also eight out of 20.

Last year British performers accounted for just four of the 20 nominees.

The eight British acting nominees this year are: Riz Ahmed (best actor, Sound Of Metal); Sir Anthony Hopkins (best actor, The Father); Gary Oldman (best actor, Mank); Vanessa Kirby (best actress, Pieces Of A Woman); Carey Mulligan (best actress, Promising Young Woman); Sacha Baron Cohen (best supporting actor, The Trial Of The Chicago 7); Daniel Kaluuya (best supporting actor, Judas & The Black Messiah); and Olivia Colman (best supporting actress, The Father).

Full list of nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards:

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

Riz Ahmed in Sound Of Metal

Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins in The Father

Gary Oldman in Mank

Steven Yeun in Minari

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:

Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Daniel Kaluuya in Judas And The Black Messiah

Leslie Odom, Jr. in One Night In Miami

Paul Raci in Sound Of Metal

LaKeith Stanfield in Judas And The Black Messiah

Performance by an actress in a leading role:

Viola Davis in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Andra Day in The United States Vs. Billie Holiday

Vanessa Kirby in Pieces Of A Woman

Frances McDormand in Nomadland

Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman

Performance by an actress in a supporting role:

Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy

Olivia Colman in The Father

Amanda Seyfried in Mank

Yuh-Jung Youn in Minari

Achievement in directing:

Another Round - Thomas Vinterberg

Mank - David Fincher

Minari - Lee Isaac Chung

Nomadland - Chloe Zhao

Promising Young Woman - Emerald Fennell

Best motion picture of the year:

The Father

Judas And The Black Messiah

Mank

Minari

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound Of Metal

The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Best animated feature film of the year:

Onward

Over The Moon

A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Soul

Wolfwalkers

Achievement in cinematography:

Judas And The Black Messiah

Mank

News Of The World

Nomadland

The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Achievement in film editing:

The Father - Yorgos Lamprinos

Nomadland - Chloe Zhao

Promising Young Woman - Frederic Thoraval

Sound Of Metal - Mikkel E. G. Nielsen

The Trial Of The Chicago 7 - Alan Baumgarten

Achievement in costume design:

Emma - Alexandra Byrne

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Ann Roth

Mank - Trish Summerville

Mulan - Bina Daigeler

Pinocchio - Massimo Cantini Parrini

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score):

Da 5 Bloods - Terence Blanchard

Mank - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Minari - Emile Mosseri

News Of The World - James Newton Howard

Soul - Walt Disney

Adapted screenplay:

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

The Father

Nomadland

One Night in Miami...

The White Tiger

Original screenplay:

Judas And The Black Messiah

Minari

Promising Young Woman

Sound Of Metal

The Trial Of The Chicago 7

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