Nzingha Stewart is an American filmmaker. She began her career directing music videos, later moving to the television and movie industry in 2010 with the drama ''

For Colored Girls ''For Colored Girls'' is a 2010 American drama film adapted from Ntozake Shange's 1975 original choreopoem ''for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf''. Written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry, the film featu ...

'' as an executive producer. She has directed two movies for Lifetime, ''With This Ring'' and ''Love by the 10th Date''. In 2019, Netflix released Stewart's first feature film, ''

Tall Girl ''Tall Girl'' is a 2019 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Nzingha Stewart, from a screenplay by Sam Wolfson. The film stars Ava Michelle, Griffin Gluck, Sabrina Carpenter, Paris Berelc, Luke Eisner, Clara Wilsey, Anjelika Washingt ...

''.

Early life

Stewart attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Gallatin School The Gallatin School of Individualized Study (commonly referred to as Gallatin) is a small interdisciplinary college within New York University (NYU). Students at Gallatin design an interdisciplinary program that meets their specific interests a ...

, and graduated with a degree in philosophy.

Career

Music videos

Stewart began her career directing music videos, working with

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

, Common,

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

, Sunshine Anderson, Joss Stone, Jay-Z, Missy Elliott,

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places *Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karachi, ...

, and 50 Cent. ''Clutch'' writer explains of Stewart's music video work: "With incredible artistic direction and originality, Nzingha provides imagery, mood, and storyline effortlessly."

Film and television

She has directed episodes of ''Maid'', ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'', ''How To Get Away With Murder'', and ''Unreal''. Stewart has directed one movie for Lifetime and has a second in-production. ''With This Ring'' aired in 2015, "explor ngrelationships between four African-American women who vow to get married within a year of attending a friend’s wedding," starring

Regina Hall Regina Lee Hall (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Brenda Meeks in the comedy horror ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has since appeared in the television series '' Ally McBeal ...

, Jill Scott, and

. Stewart earned two nominations at the

47th NAACP Image Awards The 47th Image Awards, was presented by the NAACP, commemorating roles, talents, and achievements of people of color in film, television, music and literature during the 2015 calendar year. This ceremony was hosted for the third time by Anthony A ...

for ''With This Ring'', Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television) and Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Television). The movie was also a commercial success, becoming one of the five most-viewed movies on Lifetime that year and a cable television ratings success among women; ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

'' said, "Lifetime has struck ratings gold by betting on" female directors including Stewart. Stewart's next Lifetime movie ''The 10th Date'' is "a comedy that follows four friends who embark on an often hilarious journey to successfully get to that elusive tenth date--a holy grail in the dating world when they think a man finally feels committed." It began filming in Los Angeles in 2016, to air in 2017.

Meagan Good Meagan Monique Good is an American actress. She first gained critical attention for her role in the film ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), prior to landing the role of Nina in the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Cousin Skeeter'' (1998–2001). Good received further ...

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the gr ...

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and actress. She was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia and spent most of her youth working with producer Anthony Dent as a songwriter and background vocalist for ...

Kellee Stewart Kellee Stewart (born March 31, 1976) is an American actress. Early life Stewart grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania and graduated from Norristown Area High School in 1993. Stewart also attended the BFA Acting Program at State University of New ...

Cat Deeley Catherine Elizabeth Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter and actress. From 1998 to 2002, she hosted the ITV children's show '' SMTV Live,'' for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show '' ...

, and

Brandon T. Jackson Brandon Timothy Jackson (born March 7, 1984) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his roles in the films '' Roll Bounce'' (2005), ''Tropic Thunder'' (2008), '' Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'' (2010), '' ...

will appear in the movie; Stewart writes and directs. For

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

, Stewart directed ''Our Icon'', a documentary about

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. In May 2016, Hulu announced it is developing a comedy series ''Bitches'' to be written by Stewart and G. L. Lambert and produced by

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...

. Adapted from the 2013 Brazilian series ''As Canalhas'', ''Bitches'' follows a "different woman each week confiding her dirty deeds and misadventures to her hair stylist." In 2010, Stewart served as an executive producer of ''

''. In 2019, it was announced that Stewart would direct 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 fi ...

film ''

''. In 2021, it was announced that Stewart would direct the pilot as well as four additional episodes of ''From Scratch,'' a Netflix limited series from showrunner

Attica Locke Attica Locke (born 1974 in Houston, Texas) is an American fiction author and writer/producer for television and film. Career A 1995 graduate of Northwestern University School of Communication, Locke was a fellow at the Sundance Institute's Featu ...

. The project, executive produced by

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

, Zoe Saldana and Lauren Neustadter, was adapted from the 2019

Tembi Locke Tembekile "Tembi" Locke is an American actress who has appeared in television shows and film. She is best known as Dr. Grace Monroe on Syfy's series ''Eureka'' and as Dr. Diana Davis in '' Sliders''. Locke is also the author of the bestselling me ...

memoir entitled '' From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home.'' In 2021, Stewart directed several episodes of '' Maid''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Nzingha Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American film directors American women film directors American music video directors New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study alumni 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women