On March 7, 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first
woman to win an Academy Award for best director,
for her movie “The Hurt Locker,” about an American
bomb squad that disables explosives in Iraq in 2004.

Prior to Bigelow, only three other women had been
nominated for a best director Oscar: Lina Wertmueller
for 1975’s “Seven Beauties,” Jane Campion for 1993’s
“The Piano” and Sofia Coppola for 2003’s “Lost in
Translation.”

Bigelow was born in San Carlos, California, in 1951
and is a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute
and earned a master’s degree in film from Columbia
University.

She made her feature film debut with 1982’s “The
Loveless,” which she co-wrote and co-directed.