Nia DaCosta
Biography
Nia DaCosta is an American filmmaker born on November 8, 1989, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. She grew up in Harlem and originally aspired to become a poet. Her mother is Charmaine DaCosta, a Jamaican-born founding vocalist of the band Worl-A-Girl. Nia DaCosta is known for directing. Her feature-length directorial debut was the crime thriller Little Woods in 2018, which won the Nora Ephron Prize for Female Filmmakers at the Tribeca Film Festival. She subsequently directed two episodes of the British thriller series Top Boy in 2019. She later directed the horror film Candyman in 2021 and the Marvel Comics film The Marvels in 2023.
Career overview
Nia DaCosta is an American filmmaker born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on November 8, 1989, and raised in Harlem. Initially aspiring to become a poet, she ultimately pursued filmmaking. She rose to prominence with her feature-length directorial debut, the crime thriller Little Woods in 2018. The film won the Nora Ephron Prize for Female Filmmakers at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Following her debut, DaCosta directed two episodes of the British thriller series Top Boy in 2019. She later directed the horror film Candyman, which was released in 2021, and she became the first Black female director to debut at number one at the United States box office for the film's weekend opening. DaCosta subsequently directed the 2023 film The Marvels, making her the first Black woman to direct a Marvel Comics film.
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Career timeline
Full filmography
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Director
- Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean (2026) as Self
- Too Much (2025) as Jocelyn
- Hedda (2025) Director
- Hedda (2025) Producer
- Hedda (2025) Writer
- Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of The Marvels (2024) as Self - Co-Writer / Director
- The Marvels (2023) Writer
- The Marvels (2023) Director
- Candyman (2021) Screenplay
- Candyman (2021) Director
- Behind the Monsters (2021) as Self
- Industry (2020) as Beye Cyalader
- Top Boy (2019) Director
- Little Woods (2019) Director
- Little Woods (2019) Screenplay
- Odessa (2014) Second Unit Director
- A Perfect Man (2013) Additional Camera
- Night and Day (2013) Director
- Night and Day (2013) Producer
- Night and Day (2013) Editor
- Sex Criminals Director
- Driver Director
- Sleeping with the Enemy Director
- Sleeping with the Enemy Writer
- The Water Dancer Director