- Born
- Birth nameJennifer Michelle Rebecchi
- Jennifer Lee is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter and director who made history at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Raised in Rhode Island, she pursued an English degree at the University of New Hampshire before earning her Master of Fine Arts from the Columbia University School of the Arts. Initially working in live-action film, she entered the animation industry when she co-wrote the screenplay for Disney's hit feature Wreck-It Ralph (2012).
Her breakout success came with the global phenomenon Frozen (2013), which she wrote and co-directed. The film earned her an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, making her the first female director of a feature-length Disney animated film. She went on to write and co-direct the record-breaking sequel, Frozen 2 (2019). Through these films, she became the first female director to have two separate projects gross over $1 billion at the global box office.
In 2018, Lee was appointed Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Walt Disney Animation Studios, overseeing the creative output of the legendary studio for six years. During her leadership tenure, she also served as an executive producer or writer on major projects like Zootopia (2016), Moana (2016), and Wish (2023). In late 2024, she stepped down from her executive role to return to full-time filmmaking, focusing on writing and directing the upcoming Frozen sequels.
In her personal life, Lee has one daughter, Agatha, from a previous marriage. In August 2021, she married acclaimed actor Alfred Molina in a ceremony officiated by their mutual friend and Frozen cast member, Jonathan Groff.
- IMDb mini biography by: Nizam Miah
- SpousesAlfred Molina(August 2021 - present)Robert Joseph Monn(May 30, 1999 - ?) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- RelativesAmy Rebecchi(Sibling)
- American director & screenwriter.
- Graduated from the University of New Hampshire w/ a B.A. in English.
- Graduated from Columbia University w/ a MFA.
- First Female Director: She made cinematic history as the first woman to direct a full-length, theatrically released Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film (Frozen).
- Billion-Dollar Milestone: She was the first female director to have two separate feature films reach over $1 billion at the global box office (Frozen and Frozen 2).
- [Making 'Frozen'] It was much more of an action adventure, and we really wanted to go more musical, with more comedy. I made a commitment to writing the script with the songwriters, where you're going back and forth a lot. So we all had to be on the same page and have the same vision. I was getting excited about Bobby and Kristen's ideas (the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez); they were getting excited about my ideas. Really, it's just about creating a very powerful, emotional story, but also having it be something that is a lot of fun and actually quite epic, something big.
- [When asked about perceptions of a homosexual undertone in the film Frozen] "We know what we made. But at the same time I feel like once we hand the film over, it belongs to the world, so I don't like to say anything, and let the fans talk. I think it's up to them. Disney films were made in different eras and were all celebrated for different reasons, but a 2013 film would have a 2013 point of view".
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