Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1970-04-11
- Born Place: USA
Also Known As:
Elizabeth Freya Garbus
Liz Garbus
Elizabeth "Liz" Freya Garbus (born April 11, 1970) is an acclaimed American documentary film director and producer known for her compelling storytelling and focus on social issues. Born and raised in New York City, she is the daughter of civil rights attorney Martin Garbus and writer Ruth Meitin Garbus. Garbus graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in history and semiotics, where she also took video production classes.Her filmmaking career began in the early 1990s, and in 1998, she co-founded Moxie Firecracker Films with Rory Kennedy. Her directorial debut, "The Farm: Angola, USA," (co-directed with Jonathan Stack and Wilbert Rideau) earned her an Academy Award nomination and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. Garbus has directed and produced numerous notable documentaries addressing a range of subjects, including "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib" (2007), "Bobby Fischer Against the World" (2011), "Love, Marilyn" (2012), "What Happened, Miss Simone?" (2015), which earned her another Academy Award nomination and an Emmy Award, "The Fourth Estate" (2018), "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" (2020), "Lost Girls" (2020), "Becoming Cousteau" (2021), and "Harry & Meghan" (2022). In 2019, she co-founded Story Syndicate with her spouse, producer Dan Cogan, continuing to create a wide array of non-fiction and scripted content. She is a two-time Oscar nominee, two-time Emmy winner, Peabody Award winner, Grammy nominee, and DGA-nominated director.
