Biografia
Kristi Zea has been a prominent figure in contemporary cinema for over thirty years, recognized for her roles as a production designer, costume designer, and producer on major films from the 1980s through the 2000s.
As a production designer, she contributed to landmark films including Martin Scorsese's New York Stories (1989), Goodfellas (1990, Academy Award winner), and The Departed (2006, Academy Award winner).
During this time, she collaborated with Jonathan Demme on production design for Married to the Mob (1988), Beloved (1998), The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Academy Award winner), Philadelphia (1993, Academy Award winner), and The Manchurian Candidate (2004). In 1996, she served as production designer for Barry Levinson's Sleepers.
She later worked as production designer on Brett Ratner's Red Dragon (2002), Roger Michell's Changing Lanes (2002), Neil Jordan's The Brave One (2007), Kasi Lemmons' Black Nativity (2013), Nancy Meyers' The Intern (2015), and the indie film The Comedian (2016) starring Robert DeNiro. Her production design for Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road (2008) earned an Oscar nomination. Her television credits include production design for NBC's American Odyssey (2015) and New Amsterdam (2018), as well as three episodes of Netflix's The Watcher (2022).
Kristi Zea began her career as a costume designer, working on Alan Parker's Fame (1980), Shoot the Moon (1982), and Birdy (1984), along with James L. Brooks' Terms of Endearment (1983) and Larry Kasdan's Silverado (1985).
As a producer, she partnered with James L. Brooks on Broadcast News (1987) and As Good As It Gets (1997), the latter receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. She also produced and designed the independent film The Joneses (2009), starring Demi Moore and David Duchovny.
In her role as a director, Kristi has recent credits in television and documentary film.
For NBC's New Amsterdam, she directed the episodes "Five Miles West" (Season 1, Episode 18) and "Liftoff" (Season 2, Episode 17).
She directed HBO's Notes from the Field (2018), starring Anna Deavere Smith, which received two Critics Choice nominations and is available on HBO's streaming platforms.
Kristi produced and directed the documentary Everybody Knows...Elizabeth Murray, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016 and is currently streaming on KinoNow. Following this, she produced and directed the short documentary Talking Pictures, featuring Bob Holman, Elizabeth Murray's husband and a distinguished ekphrastic poet.
She is currently co-directing and producing a documentary with Emmy and Oscar winner Karen Goodman titled On Tap, starring Michela Marino Lerman, set for release in 2024.
