18 Facts About Mimi Leder

Miriam Leder is an American film and television director and producer noted for her action films and use of special effects.

Mimi Leder was the first female graduate of the AFI Conservatory, in 1973.

Mimi Leder has won 2 Emmy Awards and received nominations for 10 Emmy awards.

Mimi Leder was born in New York City in 1952, the daughter of Etyl, a classical pianist, and Paul Mimi Leder, a director, producer, actor, writer, and editor of such films as My Friends Need Killing, Attack of the Giant Horny Gorilla, and Dismember Mama.

Mimi Leder was raised in Los Angeles in a Jewish household.

Mimi Leder's mother is a Holocaust survivor from Brussels, Belgium, who was interned at Auschwitz.

Mimi Leder was the first woman accepted into the AFI Conservatory, where she studied cinematography.

Mimi Leder began her career as a script supervisor on a string of films, including Spawn of the Slithis, Dummy, The Boy Who Drank Too Much, and A Long Way Home, and then moved to the TV series Hill Street Blues.

In 1988, Mimi Leder directed episodes of Crime Story, The Bronx Zoo, Midnight Caller, then directed several episodes of China Beach for which she was nominated for four Emmys.

Mimi Leder made the made-for-TV films Woman with a Past, House of Secrets, and Baby Brokers, then became one of the core directors for ER.

Mimi Leder returned to direct an episode of the series during its final season in 2009.

Mimi Leder soon received a job offer from Steven Spielberg to direct the film The Peacemaker.

Mimi Leder's dry spell of feature films after the release of Pay It Forward drove her to other pursuits in television and film.

Mimi Leder shot nine pilots and produced six series, including The Beast, John Doe, Johnny Zero, and Vanished.

Mimi Leder made many made-for-TV movies such as Thick as Thieves, US Attorney, and Heavenly.

In 2015, Mimi Leder was brought by HBO to direct a first-season episode of The Leftovers and later hired as a co-showrunner.

Mimi Leder has one daughter, Hannah, with her husband actor Gary Werntz.

Mimi Leder states she "was raised a feminist" and "was an anti-war protester all during the Vietnam War".