Biography

Jen McGowan is a director based in Los Angeles. Her recent feature film, the survival thriller, Rust Creek, was released in theaters by IFC Midnight, hailed as "the feminist thriller Hollywood needs right now" by Harper's Bazaar. When it dropped on Netflix it premiered at #3 of all film & tv in the US and stayed in the top ten for over a week. Rust Creek made the top ten on Netflix in 40 countries and was certified "fresh" 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.

McGowan's first feature, the dramedy Kelly & Cal (Juliette Lewis & Cybill Shepherd) premiered at SXSW where she won the Gamechanger Award. The film was released theatrically by IFC Films to rave reviews (71% on Rotten Tomatoes). She got her start with award-winning short films, Confessions of a Late Bloomer and Touch, which played at over a hundred festivals worldwide winning the majority and qualifying for the Oscar.

In television she has directed multiple episodes of Star Trek:Discoveryfor Secret Hideout/Paramount+ and Titans for HBOMax as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone for Monkeypaw/Paramount+ and The Purge for Blumhouse/USA. With her partner Eliza Lee she co-created the series, Angelica, about the last remaining abortion clinic in a small Midwest town and Replica, the true story of a pair of unassuming high school teachers who after their deaths were discovered to have been prolific art thieves.

She was the creator of Glass Elevator (2015-2021), the free international skill-sharing, networking & jobs resource for professional women in film & television. In that time Glass Elevator had over 5,000 members who benefited from over 300 classes & events & access to over 700 jobs. Glass Elevator was named Best in LA by LA Weekly, part of the Sundance Women's Initiative Resource and featured in Forbes.

WeForShe selected her for the DirectHer program. A Film Independent Fellow, finalist for the Clint Eastwood Filmmakers Award, recipient of the AWD Breakout Award for Excellence in Directing she was named one of Vulture's Women Directors Hollywood Should Be Hiring.

Since 2017 she has trained as an amateur boxer with Golden Gloves champ Jill Morley and Gold Medal Olympian Wayne McCullough. In her free time she hangs with her husband, documentary Director & Producer, Phil Lott, and their dog Ellie.
- IMDb mini biography by: mgmt/pr