Liza Johnson

Liza Johnson (born December 13, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and writer.

Biography Johnson was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1970. She attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, graduating with a B.A. in Visual Arts in 1992. She then went to the University of California, San Diego, where she received her MFA in 1995. have screened in Berlin, Rotterdam Film Festival, at the Cannes Film Festival, and many other international festivals, and other fine arts venues.

Her video installations have been shown in Artists Space in New York, the Institute of Contemportary Art (ICA) in Philadelphia, Cineboords in Rotterdam, Mass MoCA

Johnson has also published academic and critical writing on art and film,

In 2025, Netflix released Shondaland's The Residence, of which Johnson served as director for the first four episodes. That year, Johnson also directed The Diplomat on Netflix. the $25,000 Rappaport Prize, awarded to a contemporary artist.

In 2011, Johnson's film, Return, starring Linda Cardellini, was selected for the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, the only American film to be honored at the Director's Fortnight that year.

In 2026, Johnson was nominated for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Dramatic Series for her work directing the Netflix show The Diplomat.

Filmography Short film Giftwrap (1998) Falling (2004) Desert Motel (2005) South of Ten (2006) (Documentary short) In the Air (2009) Karrabing! Low Tide Turning (2012)

Feature film Fernweh – The Opposite of Homesick (2000) Return (2011) Hateship, Loveship (2013) Elvis & Nixon (2016) Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024)

Television