Rachel Morrison, ASC (born April 27, 1978) is an American cinematographer and director of film and television. As a cinematographer, she is known for her work with directors Rick Famuyiwa, Ryan Coogler, Dee Rees, and Joe Berlinger. For her work on Rees' Mudbound (2017), Morrison became the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Morrison made her feature film directorial debut with the biographical sports drama The Fire Inside (2024), a biopic of boxer Claressa Shields.
Early life Morrison grew up in a Jewish family in Cambridge, Massachusetts,"Behind the Camera on 'Fruitvale Station'" and graduated from Concord Academy in 1996."Rachel Morrison ’96: An Authentic Career"
She took up photography at a young age, and attended New York University, where she completed a double major in film and photography because she was unable to choose between the two; by the end of her degree, she had decided to concentrate on cinematography. She then attended the AFI Conservatory's graduate cinematography program and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 2006. In 2018, Morrison was awarded with the 28th Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal awarded to alumni of the AFI Conservatory.
Career Morrison began her career in television, working on series and telefilms for a number of networks. Her cinematography on the 2005 television documentary Rikers High, about high school education within the Rikers Island prison complex, was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Morrison worked on The Hills for two years, then shot Zal Batmanglij's Sound of My Voice, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Over the next two years, she photographed Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie and Fruitvale Station, which premiered at Sundance in 2012 and 2013 respectively, as well as Any Day Now (2012), Some Girl(s) (2013) and The Harvest (2013).
At the 2013 Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards, Morrison was awarded the Kodak Vision Award for her work in cinematography and her collaboration with other women filmmakers. The same year, Variety named her as one of the "Up Next" in their Below The Line Impact Report, while Indiewire named her as one of their "Cinematographers To Watch".
In 2014, she photographed Cake, directed by Daniel Barnz, which she followed up with the 2015 film Dope. Dope premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, making it Morrison's seventh film to screen at the annual festival in six consecutive years.
2014 marked Morrison's first foray into directing, as she was offered the chance to direct an episode of the television series American Crime, which aired in 2015. In 2017 she became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.Instagram 17 March 2017.
Morrison was the cinematographer for Dee Rees's 2017 film Mudbound.New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Willem Dafoe Wins Supporting Actor, ‘Mudbound’ DP Makes History – Variety For her work on the film, Morrison became the first woman to win the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer, the first woman to be nominated for the feature category of the American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Awards, and the first woman ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Morrison served as cinematographer for Marvel's Black Panther (2018).
On June 19, 2019, it was announced Morrison would make her directorial debut on Flint Strong, which was later retitled The Fire Inside and released in 2024.
In March 2023, Morrison directed an episode of the Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian season 3. In 2025, she began directing the film Love of Your Life, starring Margaret Qualley, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aaron Pierre and Gabriel Basso.
In addition to filmmaking, Morrison is also a faculty member of the Maine Media College.
Personal life Morrison married Rachel Garza in December 2011. They have a son, who was born in 2014, and a daughter born in 2018.
Filmography Director
Feature film Year Title Notes 2024 The Fire Inside 2026 Love of Your Life Post-production
Television Year TitleNotes 2015 QuanticoEpisode: "Kill"2015–16American Crime2 episodes 2020 HomemadeEpisode: "The Lucky Ones"Also writer2020–21Hightown4 episodes2021 The Morning ShowEpisode: "A Private Person"American Crime Story2 episodes 2023 The MandalorianEpisode: "Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore"The Savant2 episodes Cinematographer
Feature film Year Title DirectorNotes2003Just an American BoyAmos PoeDocumentary 2007 Palo Alto Brad Leong2011 Sound of My Voice Zal Batmanglij Dorfman in Love Brad Leong2012 Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie Tim HeideckerEric Wareheim Any Day Now Travis Fine2013 Fruitvale Station Ryan Coogler Some Girl(s) Daisy von Scherler Mayer The Harvest John McNaughton2014 Little Accidents Sara Colangelo Druid Peak Marni Zelnick Cake Daniel Barnz2015Life on the LineIsaac FederDocumentary Dope Rick Famuyiwa 2017 Mudbound Dee Rees 2018 Black Panther Ryan Coogler 2019 Seberg Benedict Andrews 2021 Absolutely Accidental Jake Schick
Television series Year Title Notes 2003–09 Room Raiders 2007 Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County 2008–09 The Hills 24 episodes 2011 Funny or Die Presents... 1 episode2011Visionaries: Inside the Creative MindSegment "Will.i.am"2012–13Oprah's Master ClassDocumentary; 5 episodes2014The System with Joe BerlingerDocumentary; Episode: "False Confessions" 2020 Homemade Episode: "The Lucky Ones"2022They Call Me MagicDocumentary; 4 episodes
Television movies, miniseries, and specials Year Title DirectorNotes2005Rikers HighVictor BuhlerDocumentary 2010Summit on the SummitMichael Bonfiglio2011Lady Gaga: Inside the OutsideDavi Russo2012Oprah's Master Class: Special Edition Joe BerlingerMichael BonfiglioBruce Sinofsky2015Oprah's Master Class: Civil Rights SpecialJoe BerlingerMichael BonfiglioBruce SinofskyAnnetta MarionOprah's Master Class: Belief SpecialJoe BerlingerMichael BonfiglioBruce SinofskyAnnetta Marion 2016 Confirmation Rick FamuyiwaWhat Happened, Miss Simone?Liz GarbusDocumentary2021VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the WorldRyan Polito 2023 LEGO: Play is your superpower Ellen Kuras
Awards and nominations Institution Year Category Work Result Academy Awards2017 Best CinematographyMudbound American Society of Cinematographers2017 Outstanding Cinematography Critics' Choice Movie Awards2017 Best Cinematography News and Documentary Emmy Awards 2012 Outstanding Achievement in a Craft: Cinematography Rikers High New York Film Critics Circle 2017 Best CinematographerMudbound Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society2017 Best Cinematography Primetime Emmy Awards 2016 Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program What Happened, Miss Simone? Satellite Awards 2018 Best Cinematography Black Panther https://web.archive.org/web/20181130052029/http://www.pressacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_Press_Academy_NOMINATIONS.pdf Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association2017 Best CinematographyMudbound Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards 2013 Kodak Vision Award
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