Mandy Walker , , (born 1963) is an Australian cinematographer. She is best known for the films Hidden Figures, Mulan, and Elvis, the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.
Life and career Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, Walker became interested in photography while a student in high school. After graduation she studied film criticism and cinema studies with John Flaus, who introduced her to several people working in the industry. She apprenticed as an unpaid assistant on several documentaries and music videos before shooting her first feature film, Return Home, at the age of twenty-five. Additional screen credits include Parklands, The Well, Lantana, Australian Rules, Shattered Glass, and Australia. Her television credits include the Australian Broadcasting Corporation series Raw FM.
Walker has filmed commercials for Nike, Toyota, Caltex, Cingular Wireless, Foxwoods Casino and, most notably, the spot for Chanel No. 5 directed by Baz Luhrmann and featuring Nicole Kidman.
The Australian Cinematographers Society honoured Walker with their Award of Distinction for Parklands and Lantana. She was nominated for the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography for The Well, the Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Cinematography for The Well and Lantana, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography for Shattered Glass.
Walker was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to film as a cinematographer, and to professional societies" in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.
On 4 December 2022, she became the first woman to win a cinematography award at the AACTA Awards, for her work on Elvis. On 5 March 2023, she became the first woman to win the American Society of Cinematographers Award in the feature film category, also for Elvis.
In 2025 she was elected the 48th president of the American Society of Cinematographers. She is the first woman to lead the society.
Walker presently lives in Santa Monica, California.
Filmography Film Year Title Director Notes 1990 Return Home Ray Argall 1992 Eight Ball Ray Argall 1996 Parklands Kathryn Millard Love Serenade Shirley Barrett Life Lawrence Johnston 1997 The Well Samantha Lang 2000 Walk the Talk Shirley Barrett 2001 Lantana Ray Lawrence 2002 Australian Rules Paul Goldman 2003 Shattered Glass Billy Ray 2008 Australia Baz Luhrmann 2011 Beastly Daniel Barnz Red Riding Hood Catherine Hardwicke 2013 Tracks John Curran 2015 Truth James Vanderbilt Jane Got a Gun Gavin O'Connor 2016 Hidden Figures Theodore Melfi 2017 The Mountain Between Us Hany Abu-Assad 2020 Mulan Niki Caro 2022 Elvis Baz Luhrmann 2025 Snow White Marc Webb
Television Year Title Director Notes 1992 Everyman Cherie Nowlan Episode "God's Girls: Stories from an Australian Convent" 1996 Naked: Stories of Men Geoffrey Wright Episode "A Fallen Woman" 1997 Raw FM 2023 Faraway Downs Baz Luhrmann Miniseries
TV movies Year Title Director 2013 Gilded Lilys Brian Kirk 2014 Only Human Gavin O'Connor
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Title Result 1997 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Best Cinematography The Well 2008 Satellite Awards Best Cinematography Australia 2013 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Best Cinematography Tracks 2022 Elvis American Society of Cinematographers Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Academy Awards Best Cinematography BAFTA Awards Best Cinematography
References
External links
Mandy Walker at the Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers