Nneka Onuorah (born 1988) is a director and producer. She is best known for her directorial debut, ''

The Same Difference ''The Same Difference'' is a 2015 documentary, directed by Nneka Onuorah. The documentary provides an insightful look at lesbians who discriminate against other lesbians based on gender roles. The film follows a series of lesbian women stories, di ...

'' (2015), about

gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

in the Black lesbian community. She received a 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program for her work on ''

Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls ''Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls'' is an American reality television series in which 13 women compete to be dancers for singer Lizzo, who also hosts the show. It premiered on March 25, 2022 on Amazon Prime Video. In April 2023, the series ...

''.

Early life and education

Onuorah was born in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York and raised in the

LeFrak City LeFrak City (originally spelled Lefrak and pronounced ) is a 4,605-apartment development in the southernmost region of Corona and the easternmost part of Elmhurst, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located between Junct ...

neighborhood. Her father is Nigerian and her mother is African-American. She moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to live with her grandmother in fifth grade and moved back to Queens for high school. She studied dance at

Broadway Dance Center Broadway Dance Center is a dance school located at 322 West 45th Street west of Times Square in New York City. It was founded in 1984 as one of the first "drop-in" dance training schools in the world, offering classes in jazz, tap, ballet, conte ...

, and later received her associate degree in psychology from

LaGuardia Community College LaGuardia Community College is a public community college in New York City. It is in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in and part of the City University of New York. LaGuardia is named after former congressman and New York City mayor ...

Career

In 2009, Onuorah did an internship at BET, and she was subsequently hired as a producer. She worked on ''

Black Girls Rock! BLACK GIRLS ROCK! is a company founded by executive producer, businesswoman, celebrity DJ, and former model Beverly Bond. The company hosts an annual award show of the same name that honors and promotes Black women's achievements. BLACK GIRLS ROC ...

'' and various music documentaries. After six years, Onuorah left the network to work on her first film, ''

''. She launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to fund the film, a documentary about strict behavioral roles for studs and femmes in Black lesbian communities. Her stated inspiration to produce the documentary was the dearth of representations of Black

LGBTQIA ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...

people in mainstream media. She has spoken about experiencing backlash from other lesbians when she chose to dress feminine rather than her usual masculine of center presentation. Onuorah failed to reach her fundraising goal and instead independently financed the film. ''The Same Difference'' premiered in June 2015. She directed the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''First and Last'' and produced ''My House'', a

Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...

series about New York's Black and Latinx

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

community. She attended balls during adolescence and walked in the Butch category. In 2019, Onuorah and co-director/co-producer Giselle Bailey released a documentary called ''Burn Down the House'' about Parisian dancer Kiddy Smile, which premiered at NewFest LGBTQ Film Festival. In 2021, Onuorah and Bailey directed and produced the documentary '' The Legend of the Underground,'' about the Nigerian LGBTQ community and its members who have left the country seeking asylum due to

anti-LGBTQ Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used against homosexuality or other non-heterosexual sexual orientations in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. They range from the ...

laws. In 2022, Onuorah directed the eight-episode

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

series ''

''. The show, hosted and developed by singer-songwriter

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After col ...

features plus-size dancers competing to join Lizzo's touring dance group, the Big Grrrls. The show focuses on support, positivity and development of the dancers' inner strength and potential as well as mastering choreography quickly. Onuorah won a

Creative Arts Emmy Award The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, set ...

for Outstanding Directing For A Reality Program for her work on the series.

Personal life

Onuorah is a lesbian. She began to identify as a lesbian at age 14. She was raised Christian.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Onuorah, Nneka 1988 births Living people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people American women film directors American women film producers Lesbian artists LGBT African Americans LGBT film directors LGBT producers American people of Nigerian descent Film directors from New York City People from Queens, New York African-American film directors 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Primetime Emmy Award winners