Daughter of the great Francis Ford Coppola and the first American woman to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar, Sofia Coppola has emerged as one of the most popular of a new generation of brand-name writer-directors.
Coppola was born on May 14, 1971 in New York City into one of the most prominent showbiz families in history. In addition to her legendary father, Sofia is a niece of Talia Shire and a cousin of Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman, who stars in her latest film “Marie-Antoinette”. Growing up in Northern California, Coppola was a sometime child actress, appearing in small parts in her father’s first two “Godfather” films, “Rumble Fish”, and “The Outsiders”. She also appeared in 1984’s “The Cotton Club” and “Peggy Sue Got Married” in 1986. Her only major role to date came with her father’s 1990 sequel “The Godfather Part III”, for which she famously won dual Razzie Awards – for Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star. Coppola had been a last-minute replacement for Winona Ryder, and the turn essentially ended her acting career.
However, Coppola had already decided to pursue directing, and was studying at Mills College in California. After graduating she studied film at the California Institute of the Arts, and in 1996 made her directing debut with the short film “Lick the Star”. In 1999 her first feature hit theaters, an adaptation of “Middlesex” author Jeffrey Eugenides’ popular novel “The Virgin Suicides”. With an impressive cast including Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, James Woods, and Kathleen Turner, the film was a critical hit and a modest commercial success, putting Coppola on the map as a talent to watch.
Her second feature, 2003’s “Lost in Translation”, has made her a bona fide international superstar, winning her a slew of film festival awards in addition to an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay on top of nominations for Best Picture and Director. The superbly directed drama, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, showcased Coppola’s remarkable ability at easing through major tonal shifts, and the film’s deliberately casual pace made its sharp script and gorgeous camerawork all the more unique. Her eagerly awaited third feature, a biopic of the Austrian princess turned doomed French queen Marie Antoinette, stars Kirsten Dunst in the title role and Jason Schwartzman as Louis XVI. “Marie-Antoinette” promises to be a unique take on the period film, and was recently in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Like her ex-husband Spike Jonze, Coppola is helping lead the pack of talented, hip young directors like Wes Anderson and Richard Kelly. With her already-lengthy list of achievements and her singular style, Coppola is well out of her famous father’s shadow.