Ryan Coogler

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Ryan Coogler
)
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active2009–present
Spouse
Zinzi Evans
(m. 2016)

Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986)[1] is an American filmmaker. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards and four Black Reel Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.

He made his feature-length debut with the independent film Fruitvale Station (2013), which won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. It also won at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, for Best First Film.[2]

He has since co-written and directed films such as the

Rocky series spinoff, Creed (2015), and the Marvel film Black Panther (2018), the latter of which broke numerous box office records and became the highest-grossing film of all time by an African American director.[3] Coogler also co-wrote and directed its sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(2022).

Coogler's films have received widespread acclaim and commercial success.[4] His work has been hailed by critics for centering on often overlooked cultures and characters—most notably African Americans.[5][6] He frequently collaborates with actor Michael B. Jordan, who appeared in all four feature films directed by Coogler, as well as composer Ludwig Göransson, who has scored all of his films.[7]

In 2013, he was included on

Proximity Media to create event-driven content across various platforms.[10]

Early life

Coogler was born on May 23, 1986, in Oakland, California. His mother, Joselyn (née Thomas),[1] is a

longshoreman, and the former secretary treasurer of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.[12]

Coogler lived in Oakland until age eight, when the family moved to Richmond, California.[11] During his youth, he ran

Coogler attended Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California on a football scholarship as a redshirt wide receiver his college freshman semester, intending to major in chemistry.[11] The football players were encouraged to take a creative writing course. Coogler's teacher praised his work, noting that it was very visual, and encouraged him to learn screenwriting.[16][17] As a student athlete coming up in the Bay Area, Coogler befriended and often played against NFL running back Marshawn Lynch.[18]

After Saint Mary's canceled its football program in March 2004,[19] Coogler transferred and earned a scholarship to Sacramento State, where he had 112 receptions for 1,213 yards and 6 touchdowns during his four years playing football.[20] At Sacramento, he obtained a bachelor's degree in finance and also took as many film classes as he could fit in with the rigors of college football. Following graduation, he was accepted into the highly competitive three-year master's program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he made a series of short films.[21][11]

Career

2000s: Early career

While at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Coogler directed four short films, three of which won or were nominated for various awards. Locks (2009)

DGA Student Film Award, and was nominated for Outstanding Independent Short Film at the Black Reel Awards. Gap (2011), written by Carol S. Lashof, won the Jack Nicholson Award for Achievement in Directing.[citation needed
]

2013: Breakthrough