# Melina Matsoukas
**Melina Matsoukas** is an American film, television, music video, and commercial director best known for directing Beyoncé's "Formation" and Rihanna's "We Found Love" and for her debut feature film *Queen & Slim* (2019). Born in New York and based in Los Angeles, Matsouka has Greek, Jewish, Afro-Cuban, and Afro-Jamaican heritage.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/25/melina-matsoukas-interview-director-queen-and-slim)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Education | Undergraduate degree in directing from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts; MFA in cinematography from the American Film Institute[2](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/meet-video-girl-melina-matsoukas) • [3](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas) |
| Signature music videos | Beyoncé's "Formation" and *Lemonade*, Rihanna's "We Found Love", Solange's "Losing You", Lady Gaga's "Just Dance"[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/25/melina-matsoukas-interview-director-queen-and-slim) • [4](https://time.com/5733530/queen-and-slim-music/) |
| Firsts | First director to win a music Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions ("Formation"); first solo female director to win MTV's Best Video Award ("We Found Love"); in 2021, first woman and first Black filmmaker to win the DGA Award for commercials[3](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas) • [5](https://www.aaf.org/Public/Public/Bios/Other/M-N/Melina_Matsoukas.aspx) • [6](https://lbbonline.com/news/into-the-library-with-melina-matsoukas) |
| Grammys | "Formation" won Best Music Video at the 2017 Grammys; "We Found Love" also won a Grammy[3](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas) • [7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/) |
| Television | Executive producer and director of HBO's *Insecure*; directed the Emmy-winning *Master of None* episode "Thanksgiving" (2017)[5](https://www.aaf.org/Public/Public/Bios/Other/M-N/Melina_Matsoukas.aspx) • [3](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas) |
| Feature debut | *Queen & Slim* (2019), written by Lena Waithe, starring Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya, released November 27, 2019[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-12-13/director-behind-beyonces-formation-video-makes-her-feature-film-debut) |
## Education and early career
Matsoukas studied directing as an undergraduate at New York University and completed a master's in cinematography at the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) in Los Angeles.[2](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/meet-video-girl-melina-matsoukas) She has said she deliberately started in music videos, describing the genre as a place where she could experiment and hone her craft before moving into film and television.[2](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/meet-video-girl-melina-matsoukas) During her first year at the [AFI Conservatory](https://www.edgepedia.org/afi-conservatory) she attended classes four days a week and shot or helped on fellow students' films the rest of the time; for her second-year project, instead of the required short film, she made a music video.[7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/)
A year after graduating from AFI she directed the 2006 black-and-white video for "Dem Girls" by her cousin Red Handed, Scooby, and Houston rapper [Paul Wall](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-wall), which led to work on Ludacris's "Money Maker." Her handling of brown skin tones, a longstanding problem in the film business, drew attention; as *California Sunday* put it, she made black people look like themselves.[7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/)
## Music videos
In August 2006, at a post-MTV Music Video Awards gathering, Matsoukas met Jay-Z and Beyoncé; a few months later she was directing four videos for the B'Day Anthology Video Album, released in spring 2007 with the deluxe edition of Beyoncé's album *B'Day*.[7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/) She has worked with Beyoncé regularly since 2007[2](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/meet-video-girl-melina-matsoukas) and has also directed videos for [Christina Aguilera](https://www.edgepedia.org/christina-aguilera), Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, and [Lily Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/lily-allen).[9](https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/QueenSlim_QnA_1119) • [2](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/meet-video-girl-melina-matsoukas) • [7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/)
**"Formation" and *Lemonade*.** Matsoukas served as creative director for Beyoncé's 2016 album *Lemonade* and directed its "Formation" video, inspired by the aftermath of [Hurricane Katrina](https://www.edgepedia.org/hurricane-katrina), with themes of black agency and hope.[3](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas) The video made her the first director to win a music Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions, won six MTV VMA awards including Video of the Year, and won Best Music Video at the 2017 Grammys.[3](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas)
**"We Found Love".** Her 2011 video for Rihanna's "We Found Love," which she describes as telling a two-sided story of a druggy, toxic relationship, won a Grammy and MTV's Video of the Year Award; Matsoukas was the first solo female director to win that MTV award.[7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/) • [5](https://www.aaf.org/Public/Public/Bios/Other/M-N/Melina_Matsoukas.aspx) TIME has written that through conceptually ambitious, stylized works like these, Matsoukas shifted the modern ambition and aesthetic of the music video, bringing it closer to that of a feature film.[4](https://time.com/5733530/queen-and-slim-music/)
## Television
Matsoukas was an executive producer and director on HBO's *Insecure*, created by and starring [Issa Rae](https://www.edgepedia.org/issa-rae), her first scripted television show.[5](https://www.aaf.org/Public/Public/Bios/Other/M-N/Melina_Matsoukas.aspx) She credits Rae as the first woman to hire her in television, when no one else would because she lacked that experience.[7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/) In 2017 she directed two episodes of Netflix's *Master of None*, including "Thanksgiving," written by [Lena Waithe](https://www.edgepedia.org/lena-waithe), a coming-out story about a black lesbian that Waithe told her had never been seen on television.[7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/) The episode won an Emmy for Waithe's writing, and Matsoukas earned a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for it.[7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/) • [9](https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/QueenSlim_QnA_1119) The Television Academy lists her as a 2020 Emmy nominee for Outstanding Comedy Series as an executive producer of *Insecure*.[10](https://www.emmys.com/bios/melina-matsoukas)
## Queen & Slim
*Queen & Slim*, Matsoukas's feature directorial debut, was written by Lena Waithe from an original idea by [James Frey](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-frey) and stars [Jodie Turner-Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/jodie-turner-smith) and [Daniel Kaluuya](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-kaluuya) as an African American couple whose first date ends when a traffic stop escalates, Slim kills a racist police officer in self-defense, and the pair go on the run; footage of the incident goes viral and makes them symbols of trauma and grief across the country.[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-12-13/director-behind-beyonces-formation-video-makes-her-feature-film-debut) • [9](https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/QueenSlim_QnA_1119) It was released on November 27, 2019.[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-12-13/director-behind-beyonces-formation-video-makes-her-feature-film-debut)
Matsoukas has called the film protest art and a meditation on the black experience, and she urged audiences not to compare it to [Bonnie and Clyde](https://www.edgepedia.org/bonnie-and-clyde), saying she dislikes when black films are measured against white archetypes.[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-12-13/director-behind-beyonces-formation-video-makes-her-feature-film-debut) • [11](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a29798187/queen-and-slim-director-melina-matsoukas-interview/) Music was central to the film: she and Waithe built a soundtrack spanning blues, soul, and contemporary artists, with contributions from [Megan Thee Stallion](https://www.edgepedia.org/megan-thee-stallion), Vince Staples, Syd, Moses Sumney, Lil Baby, and [Lauryn Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/lauryn-hill), whose "Guarding the Gates" was her first new music in over five years.[4](https://time.com/5733530/queen-and-slim-music/) Filming in a polar vortex at times forced the crew to rig the car inside a warehouse because they could not shoot outside.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/25/melina-matsoukas-interview-director-queen-and-slim)
Matsoukas has said she did not grow up seeing two dark-skinned people fall in love on screen and wanted to redefine what beauty means; at film school a teacher told her class that casting a black woman as a lead would not be profitable.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/25/melina-matsoukas-interview-director-queen-and-slim)
## Recognition and current work
In 2019 Matsoukas received AFI's Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal, the first black woman to receive the award, and accepted [The Wall Street Journal](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wall-street-journal)'s Innovator award.[7](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/) In 2021 she became the first woman and first Black filmmaker to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials; her commercial clients have included Nike, Adidas, Stella McCartney, Coca-Cola, Beats by Dre, and Levi's, and she directed Nike's "Equality" campaign with Wieden + Kennedy, starring LeBron James.[6](https://lbbonline.com/news/into-the-library-with-melina-matsoukas) • [3](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas) She has announced an adaptation of Marlon James's novel *A Brief History of Seven Killings* for Amazon Studios.[3](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas)
## References
1. [Simran Hans, "Melina Matsoukas: 'I didn't grow up seeing dark-skinned people fall in love on screen'", The Guardian, 25 January 2020](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/25/melina-matsoukas-interview-director-queen-and-slim)
2. ["Meet Video Girl Melina Matsoukas", Teen Vogue](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/meet-video-girl-melina-matsoukas)
3. ["Melina Matsoukas", LA Phil](https://www.laphil.com/people/melina-matsoukas)
4. ["How Queen and Slim's Filmmakers Captured the Past, Present and Future of Black Music", TIME, 22 November 2019](https://time.com/5733530/queen-and-slim-music/)
5. ["Melina Matsoukas", AAF bios](https://www.aaf.org/Public/Public/Bios/Other/M-N/Melina_Matsoukas.aspx)
6. ["Into the Library with Melina Matsoukas", LBBOnline](https://lbbonline.com/news/into-the-library-with-melina-matsoukas)
7. ["Her Own Space", The California Sunday Magazine](https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/)
8. ["Director behind Beyoncé's 'Formation' video makes her feature film debut", Los Angeles Times, 13 December 2019](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-12-13/director-behind-beyonces-formation-video-makes-her-feature-film-debut)
9. ["Director Melina Matsoukas discusses Queen & Slim", Directors Guild of America, 10 November 2019](https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/QueenSlim_QnA_1119)
10. ["Melina Matsoukas", Television Academy](https://www.emmys.com/bios/melina-matsoukas)
11. ["Queen & Slim Director Melina Matsoukas on Telling the Story of Police Brutality", Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a29798187/queen-and-slim-director-melina-matsoukas-interview/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Film directors by country and region › North and South American directors › Contemporary American directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license