Patricia Riggen

Patricia Riggen isn’t just another name in the credits—she’s a real force behind the camera, pulling off everything from adrenaline-pumping action to heart-tugging drama, and honestly, she makes it look effortless. You’ve probably caught something she’s directed, whether it’s the Viola Davis-led G20, the indie darling La Misma Luna that wowed Sundance, or Miracles from Heaven, which raked in serious cash for Sony and had Jennifer Garner front and center. No matter if she’s wrangling a big Hollywood cast or telling a quiet, intimate story, Patricia’s got this knack for making every character feel real, like someone you could meet on the street. She doesn’t just stick to movies either. She jumps into TV, directing pilots and episodes for all kinds of huge networks and streamers. If you binged Dopesick (who didn’t?), you’ve seen her work—yep, that’s Michael Keaton carrying those scenes she directed. Or maybe you caught some of the wild action in Jack Ryan’s first season? That was her, too. Patricia got her start at Columbia’s film school, where her first short film straight-up swept awards—Student Oscar, Student Emmy, Mexican Academy Award, the whole nine yards. Then she made a doc about Gordon Parks that snagged the Jury Prize at Sundance. She even took on a Disney Channel original (Lemonade Mouth, which totally blew up with the younger crowd) and nabbed a DGA nomination for it. And just to flex a little more, she shot The 33 with Antonio Banderas and Juliette Binoche—thirty days, deep underground in actual mines. Born and raised in Mexico, she’s one of the rare women of color to break into top-grossing Hollywood films lately. Basically, Patricia Riggen is out here rewriting the rulebook, and you can’t help but root for her.