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Chloé Zhao

Chloé Zhao

Director, producer, writer, editor and actor · Born March 31, 1982 (44) · Beijing, China

2 Oscars · Golden Globe winner · 3 BAFTA Awards · 8 other major award bodies

Chloé Zhao (born Zhao Ting; 31 March 1982) is a Chinese filmmaker. She is known primarily for her work on independent films. For her film Nomadland (2020), Zhao became the third woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director. Her debut feature film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), premiered at Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. The Rider (2017) was critically acclaimed and received nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and Best Director. Zhao garnered international recognition with the American film Nomadland (2020), which she wrote, produced, edited and directed, and which won numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. With four Academy Award nominations, Zhao won Best Picture and Best Director, becoming the first woman of colour to win the latter. She also won directing awards at the Directors Guild of America Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and British Academy Film Awards, becoming the second female winner of each. Zhao co-wrote and directed the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Eternals (2021). Her 2025 film, Hamnet, premiered at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival to critical acclaim. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama in 2025 and the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Zhao also received her second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director, becoming only the second woman, after Jane Campion, to achieve two nominations in this category.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 31, 1982 (44)
From
Beijing, China
Works as
Director, producer, writer, editor and actor
Titles
8 on MovieCove · 13 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 14% in 30 days

What are Chloé Zhao's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
26%
Survival
20%
Society
19%
Bonds
11%
Morality
11%
Ideas
9%
Power
2%
Grief4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 2 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
6
Melancholic
5
Warm
3
Hopeful
3
Bittersweet
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Hopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Bittersweet6
  • Ambiguous1

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 Chloé Zhao's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (2).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Chloé Zhao's 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

13 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Mother Mary(2026)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • The 23rd Annual Unforgettable Awards (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Actor

  • Hamnet(2025)

    Director · Editor · Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Mickey 17(2025)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • The Graduates(2023)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Eternals(2021)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Nomadland(2020)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Rider(2017)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Songs My Brothers Taught Me(2015)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Benachin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Daughters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Atlas Mountains (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer

  • Fall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Assistant Director

Career shape

A full career of 13 titles from 2008 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Eternals (2021)

$402M worldwide

Highest rated

Hamnet (2025)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Eternals (2021)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 13: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting8 of 13: 1 only directing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score88thWriting7 of 13: 0 only writing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score88thProducing7 of 13: 1 only producing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score88thEditing4 of 13: 0 only editing, 4 with another roleOther crew3 of 13: 3 only other crew, 0 with another role

13 titles, 7 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

2000s2 · crew2010s4 · crew2020s7 · 1 acting · 6 crew

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

2 Oscars, a Golden Globe, 3 BAFTA Awards and 13 other major awards from 41 major nominations, 2015–2026.

WinNomination
  1. 2026
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Directing
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Director - Motion Picture
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won · Outstanding British Film of the Year
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Director
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay (Adapted)
    • +4 other major bodies · 1 win and 4 nominations
      • Sundance award, won
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Adapted Screenplay
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Director
  2. 2021
    • Oscar, won · Best Achievement in Directing
    • Oscar, won · Best Motion Picture of the Year
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Film Editing
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Director - Motion Picture
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Director
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Film
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Editing
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay (Adapted)
    • +4 other major bodies · 7 wins and 1 nomination
      • Directors Guild Award, won · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
      • Producers Guild Award, won · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
      • Critics Choice Award, won · Best Adapted Screenplay
      • Critics Choice Award, won · Best Director
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Editing
      • Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Director
      • Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Editing
      • Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Feature
  3. 2020
    • Venice award, won · Best Film
    • Venice award, won ×2
  4. 2018
    • Independent Spirit Award, won
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Director
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Feature
  5. 2017
    • Cannes award, won
  6. 2016
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated
  7. 2015
    • Cannes award, nominated
    • Sundance award, nominated · Dramatic

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 Chloé Zhao's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 78th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 80th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th2

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 8 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · producer

The Graduates (2023)

80th percentile spread · 38% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer, producer, editor

Hamnet (2025)

Midcredits 97th · 84% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 79/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 7 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 Chloé Zhao's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles18–50 · median 39 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles22–52 · median 43 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 33 · mildMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles21–65 · median 37 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles21–62 · median 39 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

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 Chloé Zhao work with?

People who share at least 2 of Chloé Zhao's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Cat Clifford shares the most, 3.

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers