Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Ann Bigelow (Kathryn Ann Bigelow, November 27, 1951 -), born in California, United States, is an American film director and the first female winner of the Academy Award for Best Director. She mainly directs films in the science fiction, action and horror genres. Her two most recent films, "The Hurt Locker" and "Osama Bin Laden," have received critical acclaim, with Bigelow winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, beating out her ex-husband James Cameron's blockbuster "Avatar" for the former. She is the fourth female director in history to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director (the other three are Lina Wertmüller for "Seven Beauties" in 1976, New Zealand director Jane Camping for "The Pianist and Her Lover" in 1993, and Sofia Coppola for "Love, No Translation" in 2003), and the first female director to win this honor.