What Is Ava DuVernay’s Net Worth and Salary?
Ava DuVernay is a highly successful American director, producer, screenwriter, and former publicist. Her net worth is estimated at $60 million.
She made history as the first black woman to receive the Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival, earn a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director, and have a film she directed receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
Ava has directed, written, and produced several films and documentaries, including “I Will Follow,” “Middle of Nowhere,” “This is the Life,” and “13th.” She also directed “Selma” and “A Wrinkle in Time.”
Aside from her work in film, Ava has created several television series, including “Queen Sugar,” “When They See Us,” “Cherish the Day,” “Colin in Black & White,” “Home Sweet Home,” and “Naomi.” She has also executive produced these projects.
Ava began her career as a publicist and later founded The DuVernay Agency in 1999. Her accomplishments have been recognized by “Time” magazine, which named her one of “The Most Influential People in the World” in 2017, and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which elected her to its board of governors in 2020.
Ava DuVernay Signs $100 Million Exclusive Production Deal with Warner Bros.
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay has signed a $100 million multi-year exclusive production deal with Warner Bros. Her company, Forward Movement, will produce both TV and movie projects for the studio in order to compete with Netflix.
Ava DuVernay’s Background
Ava DuVernay was born on August 24, 1972, in Long Beach, California. She grew up in Lynwood with her mother, Darlene, stepfather Murray Maye, and four siblings. DuVernay’s biological father is Joseph Marcel DuVernay III. She attended Saint Joseph High School in Lakewood, graduating in 1990, and majored in African-American studies and English literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her summers spent near Selma, Alabama, influenced the filming of “Selma.”
Ava DuVernay’s Career Highlights
Ava DuVernay initially pursued journalism but interned at CBS News for the O.J. Simpson murder trial before pivoting to publicity. She worked as a junior publicist before opening The DuVernay Agency in 1999. She made her first short film “Saturday Night Life” in 2005 and went on to direct and produce several documentaries and films.
Her film “Middle of Nowhere” earned her the Directing Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. She directed “Selma” in 2014, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. In 2016, she wrote, directed, and produced the documentary “13th,” which was also nominated for an Academy Award.
She created the television drama “Queen Sugar” in 2016, which has aired over 75 episodes. In 2018, she directed “A Wrinkle in Time,” making her the first woman of color to helm a live-action movie with a budget of over $100 million. She created the miniseries “When They See Us” in 2019, which was nominated for 11 Primetime Emmys.
In 2021, she created the limited series “Colin in Black & White” and directed the first episode. She is currently writing and executive producing the superhero drama “Naomi,” which she co-created with Jill Blankenship.
Ava DuVernay’s Impact Beyond Film
In 2015, Ava was named one of Mattel’s Sheroes for inspiring girls by breaking boundaries. Mattel created a one-of-a-kind Ava DuVernay Barbie, auctioned for charity. Upon demand, it went on sale and profits were donated to Color of Change and WITNESS. Ava is a vegan, and PETA named her and Benedict Cumberbatch Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrities of 2018.
Ava DuVernay’s Awards and Honors
Ava DuVernay has received numerous awards and nominations for her work in film and television. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature for “13th” and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director – Motion Picture for “Selma.” DuVernay has won six Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming for “13th.” She has also won awards from the BAFTA Awards, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, and Women Film Critics Circle Awards for “13th.” Her other projects, “When They See Us” and “Selma,” have earned her various awards from different organizations, including the AAFCA TV Honors, Black Reel Awards for Television, and Gotham Awards. DuVernay has also received awards for her screenplays, including Best Screenplay from the African-American Film Critics Association for “I Will Follow” and “Middle of Nowhere.” She has been named Woman of the Year at the “Elle” Women in Hollywood Awards and received the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing at the BAFTA/LA Britannia Awards. In 2018, she won the PGA Awards Visionary Award and the GLAAD Media Awards Excellence in Media Award. In 2019, she received the Tribute Award at the Gotham Awards and the Legacy Award at the Odyssey Awards. In 2020, she won the Showmanship Award for Television at the ICG Publicists Awards and the Humanitas Prize Voice for Change Award, among other honors.
Ava DuVernay’s Real Estate Ventures
In 2017, DuVernay bought a 3,600 square foot home in the Hollywood Hills for $1.85 million. She listed the property for $2.48 million in early 2021 and sold it for $2.06 million a few months later. Two years prior, she purchased a 7,380 square foot Los Feliz home from “The O.C.” creator Josh Schwartz for $9.8 million.
