Golden Globes 2021 Best Director: Three woman nominated for the first time ever

Emerald Fennell, Chloe Zhao and Regina King are all in contention for the Best Director award at this year’s Golden Globes (Getty)
Emerald Fennell, Chloe Zhao and Regina King are all in contention for the Best Director award at this year’s Golden Globes (Getty)

The Golden Globes have nominated three women in the Best Director category for the first time in their history.

Emerald Fennell, Regina King and Chloé Zhao all received nominations for their films Promising Young Woman, One Night in Miami, and Nomadland.

The nominations mark the first time the Globes have recognised more than one female nominee in the category in the same year.

Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, the woman most recently nominated for Best Director was Ava DuVernay, for her 2014 historical drama Selma.

Also up for Best Director are Aaron Sorkin, for The Trial of the Chicago 7, and David Fincher, for Mank.

Read more: Promising Young Woman is the #MeToo revenge movie every teenager should watch

Fennell and Zhao are nominated in the Best Screenplay category, while their films are in contention for the Best Picture award.

You can read a full list of the Golden Globe nominations here.

Promising Young Woman is a feminist revenge drama starring Carey Mulligan as a woman who entraps predatory men.

Carey Mulligan in Promising Young WomanFocus
Carey Mulligan in Promising Young WomanFocus

Nomadland sees Frances McDormand play a woman who leaves her small rural town to travel across the western US. Both Mulligan and McDormand were nominated in the Best Actress category.

One Night in Miami, meanwhile, tells the story of a fictional meeting between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, NFL footballer Jim Brown, and soul legend Sam Cooke. It is available to stream in the UK now on Amazon Prime.

The Golden Globe winners will be announced in a ceremony to be held on Sunday, 28 February.