Quinn Shephard

Last updated
Quinn Shephard
Quinn Shephard 2017.jpg
Shephard in 2017
Born (1995-02-28) February 28, 1995 (age 29)
New Jersey, U.S. [1]
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Actress
  • filmmaker
Years active2001–present
Partner(s) Nadia Alexander (2015–present; engaged)

Quinn Shephard (born February 28, 1995) [2] is an American actress, film director, producer, screenwriter and film editor. She played the roles of Donna Malone in the Christmas comedy Unaccompanied Minors and Morgan Sanders in the television series Hostages . In 2017, her feature film directorial debut, Blame (which she also wrote, produced, edited, and starred in), screened at several film festivals and earned critical attention. [3]

Contents

Early life

Shephard grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey [ citation needed ] and the surrounding New York area. [4] She attended Metuchen High School, which was used to film scenes from her movie Blame. [5]

Career

Shephard's big screen debut was in the 2001 French film Harrison's Flowers at the age of five. [6] Shephard's first starring role was in the holiday comedy feature film Unaccompanied Minors . Shephard and her co-stars were nominated for Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film at the 29th Young Artist Awards. [7] She later appeared in the comedy film Assassination of a High School President (2008) and the horror film Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl (2016).

Shephard has also appeared on television. In 2013, she played the recurring role of Morgan Sanders in the CBS thriller series Hostages . From 2014 to 2015, she portrayed Claire Mahoney in the fourth season of Person of Interest . Shephard has played guest roles in several television series, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2011), Made in Jersey (2012), The Blacklist (2013), and Believe (2014). [1]

In 2015, she was the recipient of the Rising Star Award at the Garden State Film Festival. [8] In 2018, she appeared in the film The Miseducation of Cameron Post , which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival; it won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Drama, the festival's highest honor. [9]

Directorial debut

Shephard developed the script for her first feature film, Blame , for several years. [10] In 2015, after her financier fell through during the first week of shooting, Shephard partially self-financed Blame using money from her college fund. [10] The film was shot in 19 days, and Shephard produced it with her mother, Laurie Shephard. [10] Shephard also starred in the film as Abigail Grey, alongside Chris Messina, Nadia Alexander, and Tate Donovan. [11]

Blame screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, making Shephard the youngest female director to debut a film there. [12] It was nominated for several awards at Tribeca and won the award for Best Actress in a U.S. Narrative Feature (for Alexander's performance). [13] The film received generally positive reviews from critics; it holds an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, [14] while on Metacritic it holds a 54/100 rating. [15] IndieWire called it a "solid debut", while writing that, though it "isn't fully realized", it establishes Shephard as "someone to watch". [3] Glenn Kenny of The New York Times described the film as "earnest but underdeveloped". [16] Filmmaker called the film "a poignant and incisive examination of modern American adolescence." [17] The Hollywood Reporter called it "a mixed bag of a directorial debut". [18]

Personal life

Shephard identifies as queer. [19]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001 Harrison's Flowers Margaux Lloyd
2004From Other WorldsLinda Schwartzbaum
2006 Unaccompanied Minors Donna Malone
2008 Assassination of a High School President Eye Patch Girl
2015 Windsor Kat
2016 Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl Beth
2017 Blame Abigail Grey
2018 The Miseducation of Cameron Post Coley Taylor
Midnight Sun Morgan
2020The Man in the WoodsJean Fenny
2022 Not Okay Herself

Filmmaking credits

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
2017 Blame YesYesYesAlso editor
2022 Not Okay YesYesNo
2024 Under the Bridge YesYesYesMiniseries

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Emma ButlerEpisode: “Lost Traveller”
2012 Made in Jersey Kate GarrettiEpisode: "Ridgewell"
2013TrooperOlive FlaxtonTelevision film
2013–2014 Hostages Morgan SandersMain role
2013 The Blacklist Abby FisherEpisode: "Ivan"
2014And, We're Out of TimeScarlettTelevision film
Believe Sasha FerrelEpisode: "Collapse"
2014–2015 Person of Interest Claire MahoneyEpisodes: "Nautilus", "Q & A"
2015Almost ThereScarlett4 episodes
2017RedlinersKatie RhymerTelevision film
2018–2019 God Friended Me Rachel BlakeEpisode: "Unfriended", "The Greater Good"
2018 Bull Tally North Episode: "A Girl Without Feelings"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloë Grace Moretz</span> American actress (born 1997)

Chloë Grace Moretz is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Arnold</span> English film director and actor

Andrea Arnold, OBE is an English filmmaker and former actor. She won an Academy Award for her short film Wasp in 2005. Her feature films include Red Road (2006), Fish Tank (2009), and American Honey (2016), all of which have won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Arnold has also directed four episodes of the Amazon Prime Video series Transparent, as well as all seven episodes of the second season of the HBO series Big Little Lies. Her documentary Cow premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and played at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheryl Dunye</span> Liberian-American actress and director

Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. Dunye's work often concerns themes of race, sexuality, and gender, particularly issues relating to black lesbians. She is known as the first out black lesbian to ever direct a feature film with her 1996 film The Watermelon Woman. She runs the production company Jingletown Films based in Oakland, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harley Quinn Smith</span> American actress and musician

Harley Quinn Smith is an American actress and musician. Smith has appeared in the film Tusk and starred in its spin-off Yoga Hosers, both written and directed by her father, filmmaker Kevin Smith. She is also the bass player and one of the singers in the punk rock band The Tenth. She also appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe Lister-Jones</span> American actress and screenwriter

Zoe Lister-Jones is an American actress and filmmaker who co-starred as Jen Collins Short in the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces from 2015 to 2019. She is also known for her roles in the television shows Delocated (2009–2010), Whitney (2011–2013), and New Girl (2015). Lister-Jones made her directorial debut with the 2017 comedy-drama film Band Aid. In 2020, she wrote and directed the horror film The Craft: Legacy. During the Covid-19 pandemic she co-wrote and co-directed the comedy-drama film How It Ends (2021) with Daryl Wein. In 2023 she produced, wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy series Slip for The Roku Channel, with Dakota Johnson as executive producer under her TeaTime Pictures banner. On December 5, 2023, it was announced that Slip was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy</span> Pakistani filmmaker and journalist (born 1978)

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a Canadian-Pakistani journalist, filmmaker and political activist known for her work in films that highlight gender inequality against women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ava DuVernay</span> American filmmaker (born 1972)

Ava Marie DuVernay is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, two NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award, and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee of an Academy Award and Golden Globe. In 2011, she founded her independent distribution company ARRAY.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoey Deutch</span> American actress (born 1994)

Zoey Francis Chaya Thompson Deutch is an American actress. Deutch is a daughter of director Howard Deutch and actress-director Lea Thompson. She gained recognition for her roles in the film Everybody Wants Some!!, the Netflix comedy series The Politician, and the romantic comedy film Set It Up.

<i>Una noche</i> 2012 film

Una noche is a 2012 Cuban-set drama-thriller film written and directed by Lucy Mulloy and starring Dariel Arrechaga, Anailín de la Rúa de la Torre, and Javier Nuñez Florián.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desiree Akhavan</span> American film director, producer, screenwriter and actress

Desiree Akhavan (Persian: دزیره اخوان, born December 27, 1984) is an American filmmaker, writer and actress. She is best known for her 2014 feature film debut Appropriate Behavior, and her 2018 film The Miseducation of Cameron Post. She appeared in the found footage horror film Creep 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadia Alexander</span> American actress

Nadia Alexander is an American actress. She has performed in several television series, including The Sinner (2017) and Seven Seconds (2018). She won the award for Best Actress in a U.S. Narrative Film at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival for her performance in Blame (2017) and was nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Dark (2019).

Meera Menon is an Indian–American director, writer, and editor. Her feature directorial debut, Farah Goes Bang, screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013 and was awarded the inaugural Nora Ephron Prize by Tribeca and Vogue. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Reed Morano is an American film director and cinematographer. Morano was the first woman in history to win both the Emmy and Directors Guild Award for directing a drama series in the same year for the pilot episode of The Handmaid's Tale. Morano is known for her cinematography work on feature films such as Frozen River (2008), Kill Your Darlings (2013) and The Skeleton Twins (2014).

<i>Untogether</i> 2018 American film

Untogether is an American drama film written and directed by Emma Forrest. Her directorial debut, it stars Jamie Dornan, Ben Mendelsohn, Lola Kirke and Jemima Kirke. The film centers on a recovering addict who attempts to get her writing career back on track.

Janicza Michelle Bravo Ford is an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Her films include Gregory Go Boom, a winner of the short-film jury award at the Sundance Film Festival; Lemon, co-written with Brett Gelman; and Zola, co-written with playwright Jeremy O. Harris.

<i>The Miseducation of Cameron Post</i> (film) 2018 film by Desiree Akhavan

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a 2018 coming-of-age drama film directed by Desiree Akhavan and written by Akhavan and Cecilia Frugiuele, based on the 2012 novel by Emily M. Danforth. It stars Chloë Grace Moretz, John Gallagher Jr., Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, Marin Ireland, Owen Campbell, Kerry Butler, Quinn Shephard, Emily Skeggs, Melanie Ehrlich, and Jennifer Ehle. Moretz plays a teenager sent to a gay conversion therapy centre. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2018. It was released in the United States on August 3, 2018, by FilmRise, and United Kingdom on September 7, 2018, by Vertigo Releasing. It received positive reviews and has grossed $2 million globally.

Margaret Betts is an American filmmaker. Her debut feature Novitiate was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and received a Jury Award for her direction.

<i>Blame</i> (2017 film) 2017 American film

Blame is a 2017 American teen psychological drama film written, co-produced, edited, and directed by Quinn Shephard, who also stars alongside Nadia Alexander, Tate Donovan, and Chris Messina. The film is Shephard's feature film directorial debut. It screened at several film festivals, including at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it was nominated for several awards and won the award for Best Actress in a US Narrative Feature.

<i>The Partys Just Beginning</i> 2018 film by Karen Gillan

The Party's Just Beginning is a 2018 comedy-drama film written and directed by Karen Gillan, in her feature film directorial debut. It stars Gillan, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard, Paul Higgins and Siobhan Redmond.

Nikyatu Jusu is an American independent writer, director, producer, editor and assistant professor in film and video at George Mason University. Jusu's works center on the complexities of Black female characters and in particular, displaced, immigrant women in the United States. Her work includes African Booty Scratcher (2007), Flowers (2015), Suicide By Sunlight (2019), and Nanny, which received the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

References

  1. 1 2 "Garden State Film Festival Seeks Submissions For 2016 Rising Star Award". New Jersey Stage . 21 October 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "This day in history". The Boston Globe . 28 February 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 Nordine, Michael (30 April 2017). "'Blame' Review: Quinn Shephard Makes a Strong First Impression in Her Debut as Writer, Director, and Star". IndieWire. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  4. ↑ Steve Weintraub (8 December 2006). "Tyler James Williams and Quinn Shephard Interviewed – 'Unaccompanied Minors'". Collider . Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Makin, Bob. "Young Metuchen artist’s feature directorial debut to premiere at Tribeca", Courier News , April 8, 2017. Accessed May 31, 2018. "The film draws many parallels to the Arthur Miller play, which Shephard appeared in at Playhouse 22 in East Brunswick while a student at Metuchen High School, the movie’s main set location."
  6. ↑ "Quinn Shephard attends her film premiere of "Harrison's Flowers"". United Press International. 12 March 2002. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "28th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Award. 10 March 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ed Asner & More Wrap Up 2015 Garden State Film Festival". Broadway World. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "Sundance awards grand jury prize to 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post'". USA Today. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 "After an investor bailed, a 20-year-old filmmaker spent her entire college fund finishing her award-winning debut". Business Insider. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  11. ↑ Patrick Hipes (25 November 2015). "Chris Messina & Tate Donovan Topline Indie Drama 'Blame'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  12. ↑ John Carucci (May 3, 2017). "Young director Quinn Shepard makes a bit of history with film debut". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Award Screening: Best Actress, US Narrative Competition: Blame | 2017 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Blame - Rotten Tomatoes , retrieved 7 February 2018
  15. ↑ Blame - Metacritic , retrieved 7 February 2018
  16. ↑ Kenny, Glenn (2018). "Review: 'Blame' Conjures 'Carrie,' but Without Telekinesis". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  17. ↑ Astle, Randy. "Tribeca 2017: Five Questions with Blame Director Quinn Shephard | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "'Blame': Film Review | Tribeca 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  19. ↑ Quinn Shephard's Instagram, archived from the original on 2021-12-24, retrieved 12 September 2020
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.