Ava Duvernay was born on the 24th August 1972, in Long Beach, California USA, and is an award-winning director, screenwriter, producer, marketer and film distributor, but probably best known for her Oscar-nominated drama film “Selma” (2014). Her career on film started in 2008, when she directed the documentary “This Is Life”.
Have you ever wondered how rich Ava Duvernay is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that de Duvernay’s net worth is as high as $3 million, an amount earned through her successful career in the film industry.
Ava Duvernay Net Worth $3 Million
Ava Duvernay was born in Long Beach, but raised in Lynwood, California. During her childhood, she also spent a lot of time near Selma, Alabama, where her father, Murray Maye, was born. Duvernay was raised by her father, who owned a carpeting business. Having finished Saint Joseph High School, she enrolled at the University of California, where she majored with a double degree in English and African American studies. Her first love was journalism, and she worked as an intern for CBS News for a time, covering the O. J. Simpson trial. However, she later moved to marketing and public relation, having grown disillusioned with journalism. She founded her own public relations firm, The Duvernay Agency, which focused on movie marketing, specifically for African American audiences. Having spent so much time around the film industry at this point, Duvernay became inspired to make her own films.
Her directorial debut, “This Is Life” (2008), revolved around alternative hip-hop artists, reflecting Duvernay’s long lasting love of hip-hop. She continued in the same direction with her second directorial piece, “My Mic Sounds Nice: The Truth About Women in Hip Hop” (2010), and in the same year, she finally make a breakthrough into feature film, when she directed and wrote the independent drama film “I Will Follow” (2010), which starred Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Beverly Todd, and Omari Hardwick; the film was praised by the critics, especially by the noted film critic, the late Roger Ebert. Her second film, “Middle of Nowhere” (2012) earned a spot at the Sundance Film Festival; it was another independent feature, starring Emayatzy Corinealdi, David Oyelowo, Omari Hardwick and Lorraine Toussaint. It earned the Directing Award for US Dramatic Film at Sundance.
Duvernay’s next feature film put her on the map as one of the most promising newcomers. In 2014, she directed a historical drama film entitled “Selma”, which told the story of the Civil Rights Movement, including the 1965 protest marches from Selma to Montgomery, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. The film featured a stellar cast, including David Oyelowo as Dr. King, then Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Carmen Ejogo, and the rapper Common. The film was nominated for several Golden Globe and Academy Awards, winning both for Best Original Song.
Continuing her rise to prominence as one of the leading voices for African American rights in Hollywood, she next directed the documentary “13th” (2016), which opened the New York Film Festival. The documentary revolves around school-to-prison pipeline, and mass incarceration of African American men, within the USA prison-industrial complex, and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2017 Academy Awards.
Confirming her newly-acquired status in Hollywood, Duvernay was in talks to direct “Black Panther”, the new superhero entry in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. However, she decided to adapt the classic children’s novel, “A Wrinkle In Time” instead; the film is scheduled to release in 2018.
Duvernay supports African American writes, and she is a founder of AFFRM, the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, meant to uplift the voices of black people. She will go down in history as the first African American woman to win the Best Director Prize at Sundance Film Festival, as well as first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
When it comes to her personal life, and relationships, Ava has been spotted with actor and rapper Common.
