Liz Garbus

Liz Garbus studied at Brown University. The recorded working language is American English. Works named in the authority record are What Happened, Miss Simone? Distinctions recorded are National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-Fiction Film and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.

• Name — Liz Garbus • Birth Name — Elizabeth Freya Garbus • Born — 11 April 1970 • Occupation — Documentary filmmaker • Education — Brown University • Years Active — 1993–present • Spouse — Dan Cogan • Children — 2 • Illustration — Garbus at the Miami Film Festival presentation of Nothing Left Unsaid

Garbus grew up in New York City. She is the daughter of civil rights attorney Martin Garbus and writer, therapist, and social worker Ruth Meitin Garbus. Her family is Jewish. In 1992, Garbus graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in history and semiotics from Brown University.

While in high school, Garbus made a documentary about students' last day of school. At Brown she took classes in video production in addition to her major subjects. After college, Garbus worked as an intern at Miramax. She eventually landed a job working for filmmaker Jonathan Stack. They co-directed The Farm: Angola, USA, which was nominated for a 1998 Academy Award. The film garnered multiple awards, including the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and two Emmy awards. In 1998, Garbus co-founded an independent documentary production company, Moxie Firecracker Films, with fellow Brown University alumna Rory Kennedy. They combined the names of each woman's previous production company for their joint one: Kennedy's was called Moxie and Garbus’ was called Firecracker. In 2002, Garbus' film The Execution of Wanda Jean was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, Garbus directed The Nazi Officer's Wife, which was narrated by Susan Sarandon and Julia Ormond. ¹ In 2005, Garbus collaborated with partner Rory Kennedy to executive-produce Street Fight about the 2002 Newark mayoral election; it was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2006, the pair worked with actress Rosie Perez to produce her film Yo Soy Boricua. In 2007, Garbus' film Ghosts of Abu Ghraib premiered at Sundance. It and won an Emmy for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special of 2007. In 2007, Garbus directed the film Coma, which aired on HBO in July of that year. The film follows four brain-injured patients receiving treatment at the JFK-Johnson Medical Facility in New Jersey. In 2009, Garbus’s film, Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (HBO) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2011, There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane was chosen to be a part of HBO’s Documentary Films Summer Series. In 2011, Garbus directed Bobby Fischer Against the World, which chronicled the great Cold War showdown between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972. The film premiered on HBO and opened the Premiere Documentary Section of the Sundance Film Festival. Bobby Fischer Against the World, opened the documentary section of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, reserved for master American documentary filmmakers. In 2011, Garbus was nominated a second time for an Academy Award, for her film Killing in the Name, which she produced with her producing partner Rory Kennedy. Garbus' 2012 film, Love, Marilyn featured Elizabeth Banks, Ellen Burstyn, Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Jennifer Ehle, Lindsay Lohan, Lili Taylor, Uma Thurman, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood and others reading from Monroe’s never-before-seen private writings. The film opened as a Gala Premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by HBO for a 2013 debut. Love, Marilyn, internationally opened as a Gala Premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and aired on HBO summer of 2013. In 2014, A Good Job: Stories of the FDNY, which Garbus directed and produced, premiered on HBO and featured first-hand accounts of veteran firefighters and interviews conducted by former FDNY member Steve Buscemi. In 2015, she directed What Happened, Miss Simone? a documentary about the singer Nina Simone. What Happened, Miss Simone? was the opening night film for Sundance Film Festival, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature 2015, a Grammy for Best Music Film 2015, and Garbus was nominated for a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. The film was released by Netflix on June 26, 2015. It won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary. In January 2018, The New York Times announced that Garbus and a documentary crew had been "basically living in the...newsroom since Inauguration Day [with] full access to the Russia investigation and much more." The completed work called The Fourth Estate aired on Showtime in May 2018. In May 2018, HBO premiered Garbus' documentary, A Dangerous Son, which portrays three families as they deal with severe mental illness of three different children, and their efforts to get treatment and navigate the health care system. In September 2020, Garbus released All In: The Fight for Democracy, a documentary film about voting rights in the United States. It featured voting rights activist Stacey Abrams and other American politicians, including former United States Attorney General Eric Holder and then-Representative Marcia Fudge. In 2021, Garbus released Becoming Cousteau, a documentary about Jacques Cousteau for National Geographic Documentary Films. In 2022, Garbus directed Harry & Meghan, a documentary series for Netflix revolving around Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Garbus is married to film producer Dan Cogan; the two have a daughter, Amelia, and a son, Theodore.

• | Year — Film — Director — Producer — Notes • | 1996 — Final Judgment: The Execution of Antonio James • | 1998 — The Farm: Angola, USA • | 1999 — Different Moms — Executive • | 2000 — Epidemic Africa — Documentary short • | 2000 — The Changing Face of Beauty — Co-directed with Rory Kennedy • | 2000 — Juvies • | 2000 — True Life – MTV — Episode: "The Travelers" • | 2002 — The Execution of Wanda Jean • | 2002 — Schooling Jewel • | 2003 — Together: Stop Violence Against Women • | 2003 — A Boy's Life • | 2003 — The Nazi Officer's Wife • | 2003 — Pandemic: Facing AIDS — TV mini-series documentary • | 2003 — Girlhood • | 2003 — Con Man — Co-executive • | 2004 — Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable • | 2005 — Xiara's Song — Cinemax • | 2005 — P.O.V. — Executive — Episode: Street Fight • | 2006 — Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas! — Co-directed with Rosie Perez • | 2006 — Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America — Episode: "The Homestead Strike" • | 2007 — Addiction — Episode: "Brain Imaging Brookhaven National Laboratory" • | 2007 — Coma IV • | 2007 — Ghosts of Abu Ghraib • 2009 — Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech • | 2010 — Family Affair • | 2010 — The Fence (La Barda) — Documentary short • | 2010 — Killing in the Name — Documentary short • | 2011 — Bobby Fischer Against the World • | 2011 — There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane • | 2011 — The Fight for Fischer's Estate — Video documentary short • | 2011 — Chess History — Video documentary short • | 2011 — Focus Forward: Short Films, Big Ideas — Documentary short • | 2012 — Love, Marilyn • | 2012 — Robot — Documentary short • | 2014 — A Good Job: Stories of the FDNY • | 2013 — Before the Spring: After the Fall • | 2015 — What Happened, Miss Simone? • | 2016 — Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper • | 2018 — The Fourth Estate • | 2018 — A Dangerous Son • | 2019 — Who Killed Garrett Phillips? — Two-part documentary • |2020 — Lost Girls — Executive • |2020 — I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Six episodes • |2020 — All In: The Fight for Democracy • 2020 — Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You — Concert film • 2021 — The Handmaid's Tale • 2021 — Becoming Cousteau • 2021 — Fauci — Executive • 2022 — Harry & Meghan — Executive — Documentary series; six episodes • 2023 — Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York — Executive — Documentary series • 2025 — Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer — Executive — Documentary series • 2025 — One Night in Idaho: The College Murders — Executive — Documentary series • 2026 — Give Me the Ball! — Co-directed with Elizabeth Wolff • 2026 — Dynasty: The Murdochs — Executive — Documentary series • 2026 — A Killer Story — Executive — Documentary series