Jane Campion

Campion's directorial debut was Two Friends. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films The Piano (1993) and The Power of the Dog (2021). Her other films include An Angel at My Table (1990), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), Holy Smoke! (1998), and Bright Star (2009). She co-created the television series Top of the Lake (2013) and its sequel, China Girl (2017). Campion was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) in the 2016 New Year Honours, for services to film.

Jane Campion studied at Victoria University of Wellington, Chelsea College of Art and Design and Australian Film Television and Radio School. The recorded working language is English. Residence is recorded at Sydney. Positions recorded include President of the Jury at the Cannes Festival. Work by Jane Campion is recorded in the collections of Harvard Film Archive. Distinctions recorded are Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, Palme d'Or, Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay and Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay.

• Honorific Prefix — Dame • Name — Jane Campion • Honorific Suffix — DNZM • Birth Name — Elizabeth Jane Campion • Born — 30 April 1954 • Birthplace — Wellington, New Zealand • Occupation — * Screenwriter • producer • director • Known for — * The Piano • The Power of the Dog • Father — Richard Campion • Mother — Edith Campion • Children — 2, including Alice Englert Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion DNZM (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is one of the prominent female filmmakers in the history of cinema and women's, noted her works often with themes of feminism, sexuality, and tension between independence and submission. Her accolades include two Academy Awards and nominations of three Primetime Emmy Awards. Campion's directorial debut was Two Friends. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films The Piano (1993) and The Power of the Dog (2021). Her other films include An Angel at My Table (1990), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), Holy Smoke! (1998), and Bright Star (2009). She co-created the television series Top of the Lake (2013) and its sequel, China Girl (2017). Campion was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) in the 2016 New Year Honours, for services to film.

Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the second daughter of Edith Campion (born Beverley Georgette Hannah), an actress, writer, and heiress; and Richard M. Campion, a teacher, and theatre and opera director. Her maternal great-grandfather was Robert Hannah, a well-known shoe manufacturer, the founder of Hannahs Shoe Companies, for whom Antrim House was built. Her father came from a family that belonged to the fundamentalist Christian Exclusive Brethren sect. She attended Queen Margaret College and Wellington Girls' College. Along with her sister, Anna, a year and a half her senior, and brother, Michael, seven years her junior, Campion grew up in the world of New Zealand theatre. Their parents founded the New Zealand Players. Campion initially rejected the idea of a career in the dramatic arts and graduated instead with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington in 1975. In 1976, she enrolled in the Chelsea Art School in London and travelled throughout Europe. She earned a graduate diploma in visual arts (painting) from the Sydney College of the Arts at the University of Sydney in 1981. Campion's later film work was shaped in part by her art school education; she has, even in her mature career, cited painter Frida Kahlo and sculptor Joseph Beuys as influences. Campion's dissatisfaction with the limitations of painting led her to filmmaking and the creation of her first short, Tissues, in 1980. In 1981, she began studying at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, where she made several more short films and graduated in 1984.

• Illustration — Jane Campion at the 47th Venice International Film Festival in 1990 Campion's first short film, Peel (1982), won the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, and other awards followed for the shorts Passionless Moments (1983), A Girl's Own Story (1984), and After Hours (1984). After leaving the Australian Film and Television School, she directed an episode for ABC's light entertainment series Dancing Daze (1986), which led to her first TV film, Two Friends (1986), produced by Jan Chapman. Her feature debut, Sweetie (1989), won international awards.

Further recognition came with An Angel at My Table (1990), a biopic about the life of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, from a screenplay written by Laura Jones. Widespread recognition followed with The Piano (1993), which won the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, Best Director from the Australian Film Institute, and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1994. At the 66th Academy Awards, Campion was the second woman ever to be nominated for Best Director for her movie The Piano. Campion's 1996 film The Portrait of a Lady, based on the Henry James novel, featured Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, Barbara Hershey and Martin Donovan. Holy Smoke! (1999) saw Campion teamed with Harvey Keitel for a second time (the first being The Piano), this time with Kate Winslet as the female lead. In the Cut (2003), an erotic thriller based on Susanna Moore's bestseller, provided Meg Ryan an opportunity to depart from her more familiar onscreen persona. In 2006 she produced Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story. Campion has also served as a faculty member of the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.

Her 2009 film Bright Star, a biographical drama about poet John Keats (played by Ben Whishaw) and his lover Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. In an interview with Jan Lisa Huttner, Campion discussed how she focused on Fanny's side of the story, pointing out that only two of the film's scenes did not feature her. Campion created, wrote, and directed the TV mini-series Top of the Lake, which received near universal acclaim, won numerous awards—including, for its lead actress Elisabeth Moss, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries—and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Campion was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special. • Illustration — Jane Campion in 2014 She was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and Short Film sections at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and the head of the jury for the main competition section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. When Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan received the Prix du Jury for his film Mommy, he said that Campion's The Piano "made me want to write roles for women—beautiful women with soul, will and strength, not victims or objects." Campion responded by rising from her seat to give him a hug. In 2014, it was announced that Campion was nearing a deal to direct an adaptation of Rachel Kushner's novel The Flamethrowers. In 2015, Campion confirmed that she would co-direct and co-write a second season of Top of the Lake with the story moved to Sydney and Harbour City, Hong Kong, and with Elisabeth Moss reprising her role as Robin Griffin. The sequel series titled Top of the Lake: China Girl was released in 2017. Shot and set in Sydney, Top of the Lake: China Girl features Alice Englert, Campion's daughter, in a lead role as Robin's biological daughter. The series also features Ewen Leslie, David Dencik and Nicole Kidman. In 2019, Campion's first film in a decade was announced, an adaptation of Thomas Savage's novel The Power of the Dog. The film was written and directed by her and was released in 2021, having premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where Campion was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Direction. The film was critically acclaimed internationally, winning numerous awards and nominations for the direction, screenplay, and performance of the cast of actors. Campion earned three nominations in the respective categories for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture at the Golden Globe Awards, AACTA International Awards, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and Satellite Awards. Campion issued an apology to Serena and Venus Williams following criticism of her acceptance speech for Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director, in which Campion said, "And you know, Serena and Venus, you are such marvels. However, you do not play against the guys — like I have to." Her apology included, "I made a thoughtless comment equating what I do in the film world with all that Serena Williams and Venus Williams have achieved," she said. "I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world-class athletes." In February 2022, the film received 12 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, leading that year's Oscar nominations. The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst, and Best Supporting Actor for both Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons. Campion became the first woman to receive multiple Best Director nominations, and she won Best Director for the film. In 2026, Campion served on the jury of Taormina Film Fest. While at the festival, she stated that she was actively working on her next project, which would be a musical film.

In 1992, Campion married Colin David Englert, an Australian who worked as a second unit director on The Piano. Their first child, Jasper, was born in 1993 but lived for only 12 days. Their second child, Alice Englert, was born in 1994; she is an actress. The couple divorced in 2001.

• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer — Notes • 2013 — Top of the Lake — Miniseries; co-directed with Garth Davis • 2017 — Top of the Lake: China Girl — Miniseries; co-directed with Ariel Kleiman

• rowspan=2 — 1986 — 1989 — 1990 — 1993 — 1996 — 1999 — 1999 — 2003 — 2009 — 2013 — 2017 — 2021 • Two Friends (TV) — Sweetie — An Angel at My Table — The Piano — The Portrait of a Lady — Holy Smoke — Soft Fruit — In the Cut — Bright Star — Top of the Lake (S1) — Top of the Lake (S2) — The Power of the Dog • Roger Ashton-Griffiths • Kerry Fox • Paul Goddard • Holly Hunter • Harvey Keitel • Nicole Kidman • Genevieve Lemon • Elisabeth Moss • Kerry Walker

• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer — Notes • 1986 — Two Friends — Television film • 1989 — Sweetie • 1990 — An Angel at My Table • 1993 — The Piano • 1996 — The Portrait of a Lady • 1999 — Holy Smoke! • 2003 — In the Cut • 2006 — Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story — Documentary • 2009 — Bright Star • 2021 — The Power of the Dog

• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer — Notes • 1980 — Tissues • 1981 — Mishaps of Seduction and Conquest • 1982 — Peel: An Exercise in Discipline • 1983 — Passionless Moments • 1984 — A Girl's Own Story • After Hours • 2006 — The Water Diary — Segment of 8 • 2007 — The Lady Bug — Segment of To Each His Own Cinema • 2012 — I'm the One • 2016 — Family Happiness