Catherine Hardwicke (born
Helen Catherine Hardwicke;
[According to the State of Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com] ) is an
American production designer and
film director. Her works include the
independent film Thirteen, which she co-wrote with
Nikki Reed, the film's co-star.
[movies.about.com/od/thirteen/Thirteen_2003.htm] the Biblically-themed
The Nativity Story, and the vampire film
Twilight. The opening weekend of
Twilight was the biggest opening ever for a female director.
Biography
Early life
Hardwicke was born in
Cameron, Texas,
the daughter of Jamee Elberta (
née Bennett) and John Benjamin Hardwicke. She grew up in
McAllen, Texas and graduated from
McAllen High School,
Texas and was raised in the
Presbyterian denomination.
While at
UCLA film school during the 1980s, Hardwicke made an award-winning short,
Puppy Does the Gumbo. She has a sister called Irene Hardwicke Olivieri, who is an artist, and she has a brother named Ben.
Career
Hardwicke began her career as an
architect.
She spent most of the 1990s as a production designer, working on such films as
Tombstone (1993),
Tank Girl (1995),
2 Days in the Valley (1996),
The Newton Boys (1998), and
Three Kings (1999). The following year, she collaborated with director/screenwriter
Cameron Crowe and actor/producer
Tom Cruise on
Vanilla Sky (2001). The latter two films are notable for their original use of color-manipulation techniques to complement the narrative.
