American filmmaker Kimberly Peirce was BOTD in 1967. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, she grew up in New York and Florida. She studied at the University of Chicago, working as a photographer in Japan and New York City before studying filmmaking at Columbia University. She is best known for her 1999 debut feature film Boys Don’t Cry, a drama based on the life of trans teenager Brandon Teena. Produced by indie powerhouse Christine Vachon, the film became a surprise critical and commercial hit, winning a number of industry prizes and making a star of Hilary Swank, whose stunning performance as Teena won her an Oscar. Now considered a landmark film in its representation of transgender experience, it was also criticised for casting a cis-gendered actress in a trans role and for its graphic depiction of Teena’s rape. Peirce’s next film Stop-Loss, a drama about American soldiers returning from Iraq, was critically praised but little seen. After a decade-long sabbatical from filmmaking, she returned in 2013 with a tepidly-received remake of horror film classic Carrie. Peirce has directed extensively for television, including American Horror Story, I Love Dick and Dear White People. Identifying as a genderqueer dyke, she is married to Turkish-American academic Evren Savci.