Jennifer Lee

Jennifer Michelle Lee (born Jennifer Michelle Rebecchi; October 22, 1971) is an American filmmaker and playwright. She served as the chief creative officer (CCO) of Walt Disney Animation Studios from 2018 to 2024, before stepping down to return to full-time filmmaking. and the first female director of two feature films that each earned more than $1 billion in gross box office revenue.

Early life Jennifer Michelle Rebecchi was born on October 22, 1971 to Linda Lee and Saverio Rebecchi, who were living in Barrington, Rhode Island at the time. After their divorce, Lee and her older sister Amy, who later became an English teacher, lived with their mother in East Providence, Rhode Island. and relocated to New York City, where she worked as a graphic artist in publishing; she designed audiobooks for Random House. While at Columbia, she won several awards for excellence in screenwriting and gave birth to her daughter. She worked closely with the songwriters (Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez) in the writing of the script. Audiences worldwide resonated with the story of two sisters, as Frozen was also the highest-earning film with a female director in terms of domestic earnings, until surpassed by Warner Bros.' Wonder Woman.

On May 17, 2014, Lee delivered the commencement address to the class of 2014 at her alma mater, the University of New Hampshire. She revealed that she had struggled with self-doubt while growing up, and then in April of her junior year of college, her boyfriend was killed in a boating accident, after which she felt "no doubt, only grief ... and for a brief moment ... [knew] better than to waste a second doubting."

In September 2014, it was announced that Lee and Buck would co-direct a short film featuring the Frozen characters called Frozen Fever. It was released in March 2015. Lee was one of several Disney writers and directors who received credit for "Creative Leadership" on Big Hero 6 (2014), Zootopia (2016), and Moana (2016), and also received a story co-writer credit on Zootopia.

In August 2014, Variety reported that Lee's next project after Frozen would be an adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 novel A Wrinkle in Time. After the news broke, Lee tweeted: "Been in love with the book for over 30 years. Writing this script means the world to me." Catherine Hand, the executive producer of the 2003 television film version, and Jim Whitaker produced for Disney,

On March 12, 2015, Disney announced that Lee and Buck would co-direct a full length sequel to Frozen.

In June 2018, Lee was named the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, following John Lasseter's departure from Disney. Lee was the studio's first woman creative chief, a milestone for the company that was established in 1923. During her time as CCO, she first finished overseeing Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), a film for which she was already an executive producer, in the final five months leading up to its release following the exit of Lasseter who was the primary executive producer and CCO on that film since its inception in 2014. Lee also remained the director (alongside Buck) and writer of the sequel to Frozen, now officially titled Frozen 2 (2019), the first film primarily under her leadership. Frozen 2 would become the highest-grossing animated film of all-time in January 2020, until Inside Out 2 (2024) surpassed it in July 2024. Following Frozen 2, Lee would oversee the production of Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Encanto (2021), Strange World (2022), Wish (2023), and Moana 2 (2024). Lee also co-wrote Wish, a film that was started under her leadership in 2018 and was created to celebrate the legacy of the Walt Disney Animation Studios.

In September 2024, Lee announced that she was stepping down from her position as Disney Animation's chief creative officer to return to full-time filmmaking at the studio—specifically, to direct and write Frozen 3 and to also write and executive produce Frozen 4. Jared Bush was named as her successor.

Personal life Lee married Robert Joseph Monn on May 30, 1999, at the Rhode Island Country Club. They have a daughter, Agatha Lee Monn (b. 2003), They were married in August 2021 by actor and mutual friend Jonathan Groff who had introduced them, and live in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California with Lee's daughter.

Filmography Films

Shorts and series

Other credits Year Title Credit 2014 The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic Herself 2016 Imagining Zootopia Herself 2017 Quality Problems Very Special Thanks Olaf's Frozen Adventure Special Thanks 2020 Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 Herself, Special Thanks

Accolades