The two nonprofessional actors are the plus-ones of Chloé Zhao (nominated for four Academy Awards) and the movie’s nominated cinematographer, Joshua James Richards (who is also Zhao’s partner).
Oscars 2021: Chloé Zhao Becomes 2nd Woman to Win Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow won for “The Hurt Locker” in 2010
Beatrice Verhoeven | April 25, 2021 @ 6:03 PM
ABC
On Sunday, Chloé Zhao became the second woman in history to win Best Director at the Academy Awards for “Nomadland,” a victory that came more than a decade after Kathryn Bigelow broke the gender barrier with “The Hurt Locker” in 2010.
David Fincher (“Mank”), Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”), Zhao (“Nomadland”) and Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) were nominated in the category this year.
Zhao also became the first Asian woman and the first woman of color to win the award. Her win also means that Asian directors have won the Oscar the last four times they’ve been nominated (Ang Lee won in 2006 and 2013, while Bong Joon-ho won in 2020).