A prolific art director and production designer in the 1980s and 1990s, Catherine Hardwicke made an impressive leap to the director’s chair with 2003’s harrowing “Thirteen.” Inspired by the turbulent life of an ex-boyfriend’s teenage daughter, the indie drama about a young girl’s descent into a dangerous lifestyle was widely praised by critics and audiences alike for its gritty honesty. Hardwicke followed this with “Lords of Dogtown” (2005), an unsentimental look at teen skateboarders in the early eighties. In 2008, she tackled the biggest project of her directorial career with “Twilight,” a
Moved to California to study at UCLA’s Film School
1990
Worked as art director on "Mr. Destiny," a movie about a former baseball player who gets a second chance
Served as production designer for such films as "Tombstone" (1993) starring Kurt Russell, "Mad City" (1997) starring John Travolta and "The Newton Boys" (1998) starring Matthew McConaughey
2001
Was a production designer for "Vanilla Sky" starring Tom Cruise
2003
Made directorial debut with "Thirteen"; co-written with Nikki Reed, who also starred in the film; earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay
