Jane Campion Biography

Jane Campion is the writer and director of the films The Piano and The Power of the Dog.

Campion grew up in New Zealand and studied film and television in Australia. She attracted international attention in the early 1980s with the short films Peel (1982), Passionless Moments (1983) and A Girl’s Own Story (1984), and in 1989 she released her first feature film, Sweetie.

The Piano, starring Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel, was a critical success that brought Campion an Oscar nomination for directing and an Oscar win for writing.

Campion became the first woman to be nominated twice for directing after she was again nominated for 2021’s The Power of the Dog. The movie, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee, was brought in a total of 12 Oscar nominations, including nominations for all four principal actors and for best picture. Campion won for best director.

Jane Campion also had success with her television series Top of the Lake (2013-17), a mystery mini-series that earned 8 Emmy nominations.

Her other films include The Portrait of a Lady (1996, with Nicole Kidman), Holy Smoke (1999, with Kate Winslet) and In the Cut (2003, with Mark Ruffalo) .