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Just one year after facing public backlash for failing to nominate any female directors in its Best Director category, the Golden Globes recognized a record number of women in one of its most coveted brackets.
The announcement was made on Wednesday morning, when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association revealed their nominations for Best Director. Regina King received a nod for One Night in Miami, Chloé Zhao for Nomadland, and Emerald Fennell was nominated for Promising Young Woman. This trio of Best Director nominations triples the group‘s previous record of recognizing only one female directing nominee across the five past ceremonies.
The other two nominees in the category are David Fincher for Mank and Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7.
This is a huge milestone for the Golden Globes and the women who put in the work to make this change. Prior to today’s nominations, Ava DuVernay was the last woman to receive a nod for her work in directing the 2014 biopic Selma. Before that, there was another years-long gap in recognition, with Kathryn Bigelow being nominated for 2008’s The Hurt Locker five years after Sofia Coppola was nominated in 2003 for Lost in Translation.
While nominations are becoming more frequent, Barbra Streisand still holds the title as the sole woman winner after triumphing at the 1984 Golden Globes ceremony for her work on Yentl.
A year ago, social media went absolutely crazy with their criticism of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association after the Golden Globes decided not to nominate any female directors. Fans were hoping for nods for multiple projects directed by women, including Little Women’s Greta Gerwig, but five men ended up dominating the entire category, just like years past.
Another woman who was proud to be recognized for her work in 2020 was Kaley Cuoco, who received her first ever Golden Globe nomination this morning for her work on The Flight Attendant.
She posted her reaction to the news on social media, uploading a vulnerable clip to Instagram on Tuesday morning. When she heard the news, she immediately put her hands over her face, exclaiming, “Oh my God!” The star then turned to her husband and said, “I can‘t believe it!”
The 78th annual Golden Globes air on Sunday, February 28 on NBC.