Valerie Faris (born October 20, 1958) is an American music video and film director. She and filmmaker husband Jonathan Dayton received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine (2006). Later they directed the romantic comedy-drama Ruby Sparks (2012), and the biographical sports drama Battle of the Sexes (2017). Their most recent directing project is the Netflix comedy series, Living with Yourself, starring Paul Rudd.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 20, 1958 (68)
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Director and producer
- 9 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
What are Valerie Faris' films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 0
Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 0
Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 1 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 0
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet5
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Valerie Faris' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Valerie Faris' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
21 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Stick(2025)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
Fleishman Is in Trouble(2022)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
Living with Yourself(2019)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows
Battle of the Sexes(2017)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Highston (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Ruby Sparks(2012)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Little Miss Sunshine(2006)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Offspring - Complete Music Video Collection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
The Check Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Janet Jackson: From Janet. To Damita Jo: The Videos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Weezer: Video Capture Device - Treasures from the Vault 1991-2002 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
R.E.M.: In View 1988-2003 (The Best of R.E.M.) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
The Smashing Pumpkins - Greatest Hits Video Collection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Making the Video (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
The Smashing Pumpkins: 1979 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
R.E.M.: Rough Cut(1995)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Janet Jackson: janet. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Shadrach (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 21 titles from 1988 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Highest rated
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Most popular right now
Stick (2025)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
3 major awards from 9 major nominations, 1990–2023.
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
- BAFTA Award, nominated
+2 other major bodies · 1 win and 1 nomination
- Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
- Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Director
- Grammy Award, won · Best Short Form Music Video
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Short Form Music Video
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Music Video, Short Form
- Grammy Award, won · Best Music Video, Long Form
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Valerie Faris' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 85th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th4
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 9 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser6
Reviewers score the atmosphere 73/100 and the pacing 58/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Valerie Faris' work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier than most films and violence & gore lighter.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Valerie Faris work with?
People who share at least 2 of Valerie Faris' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jonathan Dayton shares the most, 7.
Directors
- Jonathan DaytonShared titles: Stick (2025), Living with Yourself (2019), Battle of the Sexes (2017), Ruby Sparks (2012), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), R.E.M.: Rough Cut (1995), The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)See all 7 shared titles with Jonathan Dayton
Actors
- Steve CarellShared titles: Battle of the Sexes (2017), Little Miss Sunshine (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Steve Carell
- Paul DanoShared titles: Ruby Sparks (2012), Little Miss Sunshine (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Dano
Editors
- Pamela MartinShared titles: Battle of the Sexes (2017), Ruby Sparks (2012), Little Miss Sunshine (2006)See all 3 shared titles with Pamela Martin
Producers
- Robert GrafShared titles: Battle of the Sexes (2017), Ruby Sparks (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Graf
- Albert BergerShared titles: Ruby Sparks (2012), Little Miss Sunshine (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Albert Berger
- Bart LiptonShared titles: Ruby Sparks (2012), Little Miss Sunshine (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Bart Lipton
- Ron YerxaShared titles: Ruby Sparks (2012), Little Miss Sunshine (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Ron Yerxa
