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Susan Lacy Biography

Birth Name:Susan W. Lacy

Birth Place:New York City, New York, United States

Profession Producer, Director, Writer

Fast Facts

Recipient of a Certificate of Merit in 2000 at the San Francisco International Film Festival for "American Masters․"
Served as the East Coast head of the Sundance Institute, a nonprofit foundation that encourages young filmmakers
Recipient of a Certificate of Merit in 1999 at the San Francisco International Film Festival for "American Masters: L eonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note (#13․1)․"
Recipient of a Golden Spire at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1997 for "American Masters․"
Recipient of a Peabody Award in 2010 for her work on "American Masters․"
Winner of an International Documentary Association Award in 2000, 2004 and 2012 in the category of Best Continuing Series for "American Masters․"
Winner of the CINE Golden Eagle at the CINE Competition in 1999 in the People & Persons category for "American Masters: Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note (#13․1)․"
Winner of two PGA Awards, one in 2012 and one in 2013, in the category of Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television for "American Masters․"
Earned her BA in American Studies from the University of Virginia and her MA in American Studies from George Washington University and completed a residency at the American Academy in Rome
Planned to be an American cultural history scholar or a journalist before discovering her love for film
Quote: "I'm interested in what makes Americans tick; I always have been․"
Serves as the auteur of "American Masters," and is involved in every aspect of filmmaking from hiring researchers and directors to making final cuts on a film when she desires
Blends interviews, still photos, audio tracks and rare film footage into documentary films that look at great artists, writers and musicians as people on her biography show "American Masters․"
While following Paul Simon on his world tour, her film crew had their visas denied in China, and in South Africa, the building where the sound equipment was stored was bombed when the musician arrived

Awards

1989Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Informational Special: nominated
1989Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Informational Special: winner
1990Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Informational Special: winner
1990Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Informational Special: nominated
1991Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Non-Fiction Special: winner
1993Grand Jury Prize-Documentary: nominated
1997Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Informational Special: nominated
1997Golden Spire-Television - The Arts: winner
1998Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Non-Fiction Special: nominated
1999Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Non-Fiction Series: winner
2000IDA Award-Strand Program: winner
2000Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Non-Fiction Series: winner
2000Certificate of Merit-Television - History: winner
2001Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Non-Fiction Series: winner
2003Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Non-Fiction Series (Traditional): winner
2004IDA Award-Continuing Series (Strand): winner
2004Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming: winner
2004Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming: nominated
2004Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Nonfiction Series: winner
2006Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Nonfiction Series: nominated
2007Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Nonfiction Series: nominated
2008IDA Award-Continuing Series: nominated
2008Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Nonfiction Series: winner
2009Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Nonfiction Series: winner
2010Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Nonfiction Series: nominated
2011Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Nonfiction Series: winner
2012IDA Award-Best Continuing Series: winner
2012PGA Award-Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television: winner
2012Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Nonfiction Series: nominated
2013Gold Award-Domestic National Broadcast Documentary: winner
2013PGA Award-Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television: winner
2013Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series: winner
2014IDA Award-Best Curated Series: nominated
2014Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series: winner
2015PGA Award-Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television: nominated
2015Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series: nominated
2017ACCA-Best Documentary Feature: nominated
2018Golden Eye-: nominated
2018Video Source Award-: nominated
2018PGA Award-Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television: nominated
2018Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special: nominated
2018Founders Prize-Best US Nonfiction Film: winner
2019Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special: nominated
2023Emmy-Outstanding Social Issue Documentary: winner
2023Emmy-Best Documentary: winner
2026DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary Series / News: nominated