Tracy Droz Tragos

Tracy Droz Tragos (born January 8, 1969) is an American documentary filmmaker. She is known for her documentary films Rich Hill, Abortion: Stories Women Tell, and Plan C. In 2003, she directed her first documentary, Be Good, Smile Pretty, it aired on PBS's Independent Lens and won an Emmy in the category of best documentary at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards in 2004.

In 2014, along with her first cousin Andrew Droz Palermo, she co-directed Rich Hill, a family drama set in the small Missouri town of Rich Hill. It won the best documentary at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Though the film highlights family issues in rural America, Traz Dragos and Palermo, who was also the DP, made sure not to sensationalize poverty, they said when the film screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In 2016, Tragos directed and produced the documentary Abortion: Stories Women Tell, which was broadcast on HBO and nominated for an Emmy for outstanding social issue documentary at the 37th News and Documentary Emmy Awards. She was the recipient of a 2020 Guggenheim fellowship. In 2021, She directed The Smartest Kids in the World, based on the New York Times bestseller The Smartest Kids in the World.

In 2023, Tragos' documentary, Plan C, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Shot over four years, Plan C captures the work of the Plan C campaign activists and providers who began to mail abortion pills during the pandemic.

She is an adjunct professor teaching documentary filmmaking at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

In January 2025, Tragos' home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles burned down due to the Palisades Fire.

Selected filmography

Awards and nominations YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.2004 WonNews and Documentary Emmy AwardsBest DocumentaryIndependent Lens:Be Good, Smile Pretty WonTraverse City Film FestivalBest Film NominatedChamps-Élysées Film FestivalBest American Feature Film2015 NominatedDocavivBest International Film WonZagrebDoxSpecial awards 2016 NominatedNews and Documentary Emmy AwardsOutstanding Business and Economic Reporting - Long Form 2018 NominatedOutstanding Social Issue DocumentaryAbortion: Stories Women Tell NominatedCinema Eye HonorsOutstanding Achievement in Broadcast Nonfiction Filmmaking NominatedDoc NYCViewfinders Grand Jury PrizeThe Smartest Kids in the World 2023 NominatedCleveland International Film FestivalBest FilmPlan C NominatedNashville Film FestivalBest Documentary Feature NominatedSouth by SouthwestFestival Favorites