Chloé Zhao is 44 years old as of October 2026. She was born on 31 March 1982.
Beijing-born filmmaker who directed Nomadland and became the first woman of colour to win the Academy Award for Best Director
Did you know?Before her success in cinema, she worked various jobs in New York including stints as a bartender and a party promoter.
Quick facts
Date of birth31 March 1982
Age44
NationalityChinese
BirthplaceBeijing, People's Republic of China
Occupationfilm director, screenwriter, film producer
Editor's Take:
Chloé Zhao makes quiet, lyrical films about people on the edges of American life. She was born in Beijing and went to boarding school in England before moving to the United States. She studied political science and then film at New York University. Her first features, Songs My Brothers Taught Me and The Rider, were shot on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota with non-professional actors. Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand as a woman living in a van, won the Golden Lion in Venice. At the 2021 Oscars it won Best Picture, and Zhao became the first woman of colour to win Best Director. She then directed Marvel's Eternals. Her film Hamnet followed in 2025.
Key Milestones
2015: Releases her debut feature, Songs My Brothers Taught Me
2017: Releases The Rider
2020: Nomadland wins the Golden Lion at Venice
2021: Wins the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture
Chloé Zhao (born Zhao Ting; 31 March 1982) is a Chinese filmmaker. She is known primarily for her work on independent films.
