Kimberly Peirce staked her place as a director of singular vision and craft with her unflinching debut feature, BOYS DON'T CRY (Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevingy, Peter Sarsgaard), which earned numerous honors including Best Actress Oscar for star, Hilary Swank, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, NY and LA Film Critics, and National Board of Review Awards. Chloe Sevigny was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe and won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress. Peirce won honors as Best Debut Director from the National Board of Review and the Boston Society of Film Critics. The film received the Best Film International Critics prize at the London and Stockholm Film Festivals, the Satyajit Ray Award, and was named “Best American Feature” by Janet Maslin.
Peirce subsequently co-wrote and directed STOP-LOSS (Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Abbie Cornish, Ryan Phillipe) for Paramount Pictures, a topical and emotionally penetrating drama inspired by real-life stories of American soldiers, including her brother, fighting in Iraq. Peirce created an online community for Soldiers. Peirce won the Hamilton Behind the Camera True-Grit and Andrew Sarris Directing Awards.
In 2013 Peirce directed CARRIE (Julianne Moore, Chloë Moretz, Ansel Elgort) for Sony Pictures. The film was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and won for Best Young Actor and won the 2014 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Horror Movie.
Kimberly has directed episodes of acclaimed shows: John Ridley’s AMERICAN CRIME (Felicity Huffman, Regina King, Timothy Hutton, Lilly Taylor), AMC's TURN (Jamie Bell), AMC's HALT AND CATCH FIRE (Lee Pace, Scoot Mcnairy, Mackenzie Davis), MANHATTAN (John Benjamin Hickey, Rachel Brosnahan), A&E History Channel's SIX (Walton Goggins), WIN award, Jill Soloway’s I LOVE DICK (Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Hahn), from Amazon and Justin Simien’s DEAR WHITE PEOPLE (Logan Browning) from Netflix. She is an Executive Producer of the upcoming A&E show IMPACT.
A tireless activist for human and civil rights, Kimberly is a founding member of REFRAME, an industry-wide effort to end discrimination against women and people of color in Hollywood and she is head of the Diversity Committee for Directors for the Academy of Motion Picture and on the Oscar task force. She gave the 2017 Academy's Governors Awards Speech and Honorary Oscar to Agnes Varda, spoke at the 2017 Women's March in Park City, gave the 2016 AFI keynote, the 2015 Outfest keynote and the 2014 Yale Transgender Week keynote.
She received a 2018 WOMEN IN FILM activist award. She has received GLAAD Media, Lambda Legal Defense, People for the American Way, Lesbian Anti-Violence Project and the 2013 OUTFEST Career Achievement Awards. This year, she will be honored with the Susan B. Anthony: Failure is Impossible Award and the University of Chicago Career Achievement awards.
She is a proud to be a Governor of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, an Executive Board and Western Council member of the Director's Guild of America, a member of Time’s Up and the WGA.
Kimberly received her BA from the University of Chicago, MFA from Columbia University Graduate Film and, graduated from Sundance Institute's Writing, Directing And Producing Labs.
She is next directing three films -- THIS IS JANE, staring Michelle Williams for John Lesher and Amazon pictures and UNTITLED, a butch femme romantic, sex comedy and a documentary on MARTINA NAVRATILOVA.
Kimberly Peirce on KCRW
More from KCRW
Tim Matheson, Laurent Bouzereau, and Pamela Adlon on The Treat
ArtsTim Matheson takes us through his new memoir “Damn Glad to Meet You,” Laurent Bouzereau talks documenting John Williams, and Pamela Adlon has The Treat.
Malcolm Washington, Glenn Kenny, and Susie Essman on The Treat
ArtsFilmmaker Malcolm Washington speaks on adapting August Wilson, film critic Glenn Kenny shares insights from his book on the story of “Scarface,” and Susie Essman has The Treat.
The Oral History of Star Magazine
ArtsA teen magazine so daring, so outrageous, so scandalizing and sexually suggestive that it only lasted…five issues.
Weekend film reviews: ‘Here,’ ‘A Real Pain,’ ‘Blitz’
EntertainmentThe latest film releases include Here, A Real Pain, Blitz, and Emilia Perez.
Clint Eastwood’s ‘Juror #2’ out performs Warner Bros.’ investment; ‘The Penguin’ showrunner Lauren LeFranc talks crafting a Gotham crime boss
EntertainmentWarner Bros. unceremoniously released Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 in less than 50 theaters nationwide, but the mid-budget film has exceeded expectations.
Weekend film reviews: ‘Heretic,’ ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’
EntertainmentThe latest film releases include Heretic, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Christmas Eve in Miller's Point, and Small Things Like These.
Weekend film reviews: ‘Venom: The Last Dance,’ ‘Concave,’ ‘New Wave’
EntertainmentThe latest film releases include Venom: The Last Dance, Conclave, New Wave, and No One Asked You.
Shirley MacLaine, Mati Diop and André Holland on The Treat
ArtsShirley Maclaine tells us all about her legendary life, filmmaker Mati Diop speaks on her new doc “Dahomey,” and André Holland has The Treat.
Composer Carl St. Clair to retire from Pacific Symphony
MusicCarl St. Clair is retiring after more than 30 years leading the Pacific Symphony. The orchestra became an international success under his tenure.