If you caught the Award-Winning movie Selma that chronicled the historic 1965 voting right campaign led by Dr. King Jr., you might have wondered who was the amazing and captivating director behind the project. That would be Ava Duvernay.
The Compton-raised powerhouse became the first Black woman to be nominated for a Best Director Golden Globe for the intense history-remaking she produced with Selma featuring actor David Oyelowo.
A visionary beauty in every sense of the word, DuVernay is a writer, producer, director and a distributor for independent film projects. Making her directorial debut with the critically-acclaimed 2008 hip-hop documentary, This Is Life, DuVernay has quickly stepped into front and center for documentary, social, and directorial work, including her award-winning drama Middle of Nowhere and of course the infamous Scandal.
The loc’d beauty is not only successful in her own right, but a major advocate for female directors, the proper representation of women of color in the media, and opening the discussion on a critical analysis of major topics through cinema and film.
All of DuVernay’s political and social activism is not going unnoticed; after years of hard work, she’s finally getting the props she (rightfully) deserves. She’s appeared in and on the cover of Elle’s “Women in Hollywood” issue, as well as Essence’s “The Game Changers” issue, only showing how this beautiful storyteller is truly touching the world one project at a time. She’s making waves in the industry, openly speaking about her pride being a “black director” and unapologetically shining a light to the discrimination practices of Hollywood and the world.
As if we didn’t need another reason to love her, DuVernay recently made huge headlines when her Ava DuVernay Barbie, with waist-grazing dreads and all, which hit online stores just one day ago. The DuVernay doll sold out within a matter of 17 minutes on Mattel, and shortly thereafter on Amazon, who issued a statement saying they didn’t know when (or if) the doll would be restocked. The best part? All proceeds of the doll’s sales went to two non-profit organizations (Witness and Color of Change) which raise awareness about issues including police brutality and over-incarceration. Even with her doll, she’s making a positive contribution to her community!
Aside from being a positive role model for all young girls out there, she is definitely a beauty changing the world slowly but surely, and is thus our Beauty Crush Wednesday.
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Images: Vogue/Getty