Justin Simien is an American filmmaker, author, screenwriter, and actor, best known for directing the feature film Dear White People (2014). The film received the US Special Jury Award for “Breakthrough Talent” at the Sundance Film Festival that year, as well as the Audience Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival . Before his big break as a director, he directed several short films, most notably Dear White People : Rings (2006), My Wives: Inst Msgs (2009), and INST MSGS (Instant Messages) (2009).

One of the leading media production companies, Lionsgate , loved his work on the film and announced on May 5, 2016 that Dear White People will be included and released in the form of a television series distributed through Netflix. The first season premiered in April 2017, in which Justin directed 7 episodes and wrote 5. The series debut received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. After two successful seasons, the TV series was renewed for a third in June 2018. Justin has a loyal social media fan base with more than 50,000 followers on Twitter and more than 30,000 followers on Instagram.

Born name

justin simon

nickname

Justin

Sun sign

Trails

Place of birth

Houston, Texas, United States

Residence

Los Angeles, California, United States

nationality

training

Justin attended High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas, USA.

After graduation, Justin enrolled at Chapman University in Orange, California, USA, where he studied film.

occupation

Filmmaker, Director, Author, Screenwriter, Actor

family

• Father – unknown
• Mother – Anna Simien (educator)
• Siblings – unknown

Manager

Justin Simien is represented by –

• William Morris Endeavour (WME) Entertainment (Talent Agent) in Beverly Hills, Kalifornien, USA
• Grandview (Manager) in Los Angeles, California, United States
• Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein & Lezcano (legal representative) in Los Angeles, California, USA

To build

Average

Height

5 feet 8 inches or 173 cm

weight

78 kg or 172 lbs

friend/spouse

Justin Simien dated –

1. Rick Proctor (2014-Present) – His relationship with photographer Rick Proctor is known for a series of photos entitled How I Get Up can be followed through February 2014. At the time, Justin openly admitted that he was gay at the 2014 premiere of his film at the Sundance Film Festival . Since then, the couple have shared numerous social media posts and pictures of them appearing on dates to support each other’s projects and enjoy the time together.

race/ethnicity

Schwarz

He is of African American descent.

hair colour

dark brown

eye color

dark brown

sexual orientation

Cheerful

distinguishing features

• full lips
• Facial hair with stubble

brand promotion

Justin Simien appeared in a TV commercial for Netflix called A Great Day in Hollywood in 2018.

Religion

Nichiren Buddhism

Known for

• As the creator, director and screenwriter of the feature film Dear White People (2014)
• Creating Netflix series Dear White People , directing 7 and writing 5 episodes of season 1

First TV show

Justin Simien first appeared as himself in an episode titled 01/21/2014 with Casey Neistat of the talk show Live @ Sundance in 2014.

Personal trainer

Justin has occasionally shared selfies at the gym preparing for compound moves like squats.

Not much is known about his diet, except that he is a fan of eggs, chicken wings, as well as cake and chocolate muffins to satisfy his sugar cravings. In the past, it wasn’t uncommon for Justin to have an alcoholic beverage on a night out with friends, but he always drank in moderation.

Justin Simien favorite things

• Board game – monopoly
• People – Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Beyonce Knowles, Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet
• Movies – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Last Dragon (1985)
• animal – cat
• Quote – “Love removes the masks which we fear we cannot live without, and know we cannot live in.” – James Baldwin
• Buddhist Author – Pema Chödrön

Justin Simien Facts

1. Growing up in Houston, Texas, he had to hide his nascent sexuality. He was also a fan of Nine Inch Nails , Green Day and Alanis Morissette during this time.
2. Justin’s father died when he was 6 years old. His mother was a preschool teacher and wasn’t particularly happy when he chose art and drama.
3. Justin described the time he spent in art school as “probably the most defining time of my life”.
4. Before becoming a well-known director, he worked as a social media manager at Sony TV , advertising coordinator at Paramount Pictures , and advertising assistant at Focus Features .
5. He began thinking about what would become a feature film, Dear White People, in 2005.
6. He was reluctant to seek funding for the film because, as he claimed, “If you walk into a room to talk about funding, 96% of them won’t even look at the project because it has black characters and a black cast has. That’s the definition of institutional racism.”
7. When he started a crowdfunding campaign on the Indiegogo platform, he hoped to raise $25,000, but due to a massive response, he ended up raising $40,000.
8. Justin released a spin-off book called Dear Whites, A Guide to Racial Harmony in America in post-racial 2014, the same year his film premiered.
9. Justin has been compared to Spike Lee, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman and Woody Allen as people discover the influences in his directing work. Compared to those directors, Justin claimed he didn’t want to be “the next Spike Lee or the next Ingrid Bergman, just the next Justin Simien”.
10. Well-known online portal, Variety , included Justin in their list of “10 Directors to Watch” in 2013.
11. When he first watched 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), which became his favorite movie, he thought it would be something similar to the Star Wars franchise. He quickly found that he needed to watch it five or six times to fully understand the complexity.
12. He was discouraged, unemployed, penniless and admittedly almost depressed when a friend invited him to come and do Buddhist chanting.
13. Despite having a Catholic upbringing, Justin began practicing Nichiren Buddhism in 2013. He said that after the first song and his desire to succeed, big things happened to him – his movie got shot, he met Rick, his partner, got a steady income and was able to pay the bills. so of course he kept practicing.
14. Justin became a huge fan and follower of the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra, two prominent Buddhist practitioners.
15. Visit his official website at www.justinsimien.com.
16. Follow him on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.