Kimberly Peirce

Kimberly Peirce is an American filmmaker known for Boys Don't Cry (1999), her debut feature about the life and murder of Brandon Teena — a transgender man in Nebraska — which won Hilary Swank the Academy Award for Best Actress and became one of the most important American films about trans identity ever made. Peirce, who is queer, approached the material with both deep research and personal investment. She also directed Stop-Loss (2008) and Carrie (2013). Boys Don't Cry remains a defining work of queer and trans cinema, though its depiction of Brandon Teena has also been the subject of debate about trans representation.