Mimi Leder

Born: 26th January 1952
Where: New York

Daughter of the late independent filmmaker Paul Leder, Mimi was the first woman accepted to study cinematography at the American Film Institute.

She began her career as a script supervisor, serving a six-year stint on the TV series Hill Street Blues.

In 1982, she produced her father's film I'm Gonna Be Famous.

She then produced and directed a short film Short Order Dreams, which impressed the producers of L.A. Law, who let her direct a 1986 episode of that hit series.

Mimi's big break came when she worked on the highly successful drama ER.

She won two Emmys (one for directing, the other as co-executive producer) before Steven Spielberg tapped her to make her feature debut in 1997, directing The Peacemaker, which starred George Clooney and Nicole Kidman.

She followed with the very personal Sentimental Journey, scripted by her brother and based on a story written by her father before his death.

The film tells the story of how Paul Leder, a soldier in Patton's army, met his wife Etyl, a survivor of Auschwitz.

In 2000, she directed Oscar-winners Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt in Pay It Forward.