:Andrea Blaugrund Nevins
{{Short description|American screenwriter (1962–2025)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Andrea Blaugrund Nevins
| image = Cropped_Photo_of_Andrea_Blaugrund_Nevins.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1962|3|15}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|4|12|1962|3|15}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| other_names = {{ubl|Andrea Blaugrund|Andrea Nevins}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Screenwriter|film director|film producer}}
| spouse = {{Marriage|David Nevins|1996}}
}}
Andrea Blaugrund Nevins (March 15, 1962 – April 12, 2025) was an American writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles.
Early life and education
Nevins was born in New York City, on March 15, 1962, where she attended the Chapin School.{{Cite web|url=http://www.chapin.edu/page.cfm?p=2731|title=The Chapin School: Alumnae Class Representatives}}{{cite web|title=The Other F Word (2010/2011)|url=http://www.coveringmedia.com/movie/2011/11/the-other-f-word.html|website=www.coveringmedia.com|publisher=Covering Media, LLC|access-date=11 March 2015}}{{Cite web |last=Littleton |first=Cynthia |date=April 14, 2025 |title=Andrea Blaugrund Nevins, Documentary Filmmaker Known for 'Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie' and 'The Other F Word,' Dies at 63 |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/news/andrea-blaugrund-nevins-dead-tiny-shoulders-barbie-1236368634/ |access-date=April 14, 2025 |website=Variety |language=}} Her father is Stanley Blaugrund, the former Director of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Her mother, Annette Blaugrund, was Senior Curator of Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings at the New-York Historical Society, and guest curator at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York.{{cite news|title=Andrea Blaugrund and David Nevins|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/01/style/andrea-blaugrund-and-david-nevins.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 1996|access-date=11 March 2015}} Nevins credited the work of Barbara Kopple and Errol Morris as early inspirations.{{cite web|last1=Simkovich|first1=Don|title=Rare Bird Films: Documenting the Human Experience|url=http://www.whereweliveworkplay.com/rare-bird-films-documenting-the-human-experience.html|website=Where We Live Work Play|publisher=Don Simkovich and Associates|access-date=7 April 2015}}
Nevins graduated from Harvard University, where she took visual arts classes and majored in social studies.{{cite web|title=The Other F Word: Beat Film Festival 2012|url=http://2012.beatfilmfestival.ru/en/tofw|website=2012.beatfilmfestival.ru|access-date=11 March 2015}} Her thesis was titled The Renaissance of a Housing Project: D Street and Its People.{{cite book|title=The renaissance of a housing project: D Street and its people|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11011251|via=www.worldcat.org|publisher=OCLC|oclc=11011251|access-date=11 March 2015}}
Career
After graduation, she gained experience as a sports reporter in North Carolina and was a staff writer for The Gainesville Sun from 1986 until October 1988. One of her newspaper articles featured noted environmental activist Kiki Carter.{{cite book|last1=Ogunseitan|first1=Oladele|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCt1AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA403|title=Radon and Basements, Further Reading|date=2011-05-03|publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=9781452266213|author-link=Dele Ogunseitan|access-date=11 March 2015}} Nevins and two other staff writers, Mitch Stacy and Lisa Trei, won first place in the Excellence in Medical Journalism Awards for a six-part series titled "Too Poor to be Sick."{{cite news|title=Health-care series wins first place|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19890726&id=iEpWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6593,8261606|access-date=12 March 2015|work=The Gainesville Sun|publisher=New York Times|date=July 26, 1989}} She worked at National Public Radio's All Things Considered in Washington, D.C., and for Peter Jennings' documentary series, Peter Jennings: Reporting, where she won an Emmy for her work on gun control.{{cite news |title=ABC Wins 15/43 News Documentary Emmys |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-13-ca-2292-story.html |issue=Los Angeles Times}} She married David Nevins in 1996, who later became an executive with Showtime and CCO of CBS.{{cite news |title=CBS Names Two Showtime Executives to Senior Positions |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/cbs-names-two-showtime-executives-to-senior-positions-1539903174}}
Nevins worked on a 1994 documentary for A&E on Hillary Clinton titled Hillary Rodham Clinton: Changing the Rules{{cite web|title=Hillary Rodham Clinton: changing the rules|url=http://ablsurpass.mccsc.edu/Surpass/WebSafari.exe/detail?sid=AFDA2E92-EDB0-49D0-AA62-CB44C6A53019&database=SOU&list=R&rec=7&marc=10128|website=ablsurpass.mccsc.edu|publisher=Surpass Safari|access-date=31 March 2015}} and a 1995 documentary on Jesse Jackson titled I Am Somebody.{{cite web|title=Jesse Jackson I Am Somebody|url=http://www.buffalolib.org/vufind/Record/938105/Description#tabnav|website=www.buffalolib.org|publisher=Buffalo and Erie County Public Library|access-date=31 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923195425/http://www.buffalolib.org/vufind/Record/938105/Description#tabnav|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Woodstock Film Festival, The Other F Word|url=http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/festival2011/details.php?id=23461|website=www.woodstockfilmfestival.com|publisher=Hudson Valley Film Commission|access-date=20 March 2015}} In 1998, she was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Documentary (Short Subject) for her first independent film Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies.{{cite web|title=1998 Oscars Documentary (Short Subject)|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1998/S|website=oscars.org|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=31 March 2015}} She shared credit with director Mel Damski, who directed episodes of the hit television shows M*A*S*H and Barnaby Jones.{{cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=Jerry|title=Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors|date=5 June 2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810863781|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC&pg=PA112 |via=Google Books |access-date=31 March 2015}}
Documentaries
In 2008, Nevins directed and produced the feature documentary The Other F Word. The choices Nevins made as director surprised critics with "ironic twists" that showed how former punk rockers "balance their anarchic personalities with 21st century parenting."{{cite web|last1=Dretzka|first1=Gary|title=Janie Jones; The Other F Word; Last Fast Ride|url=http://moviecitynews.com/author/gary-dretzka/page/9/|website=www.moviecitynews.com|publisher=Movie City News|access-date=31 March 2015}} Oscilloscope Laboratories and Showtime purchased The Other F Word. Oscilloscope's Adam Yauch had reservations about the premise of the documentary before seeing it, but said he was glad he "didn't go with my first instinct" and called it a "beautiful and touching film."{{cite web|title=Oscilloscope and Showtime Buy Punk Rock Dad Doc The Other F Word|url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/oscilloscope_and_showtime_buy_punk-rock_dad_doc_the_other_f_word|website=www.indiewire.com|date=15 May 2011|publisher=SnagFilms|access-date=31 March 2015}}
Nevins' additional directorial projects were:
- Hysterical, a 2021 FX Original, premiering at SXSW.{{cite web |last1=Daniele |first1=Alcinii |title=SXSW '21: "Hysterical", "WeWork" among documentary premieres |url=https://realscreen.com/2021/02/10/sxsw-21-hysterical-wework-among-documentary-premieres/ |website=Realscreen |access-date=10 February 2021}}
- Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie, a Hulu Original, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and Hot Docs{{cite web |title=Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie |url=https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/tiny-shoulders-rethinking-barbie-2018 |website=www.hotdocs.ca}} in 2018.
- State of Play: Happiness, aired on HBO in 2014
- Play it Forward , chosen to premiere at the Opening Gala of the 2015 Tribeca / ESPN Sports Film Festival{{cite web|title=Rare Bird Films: Projects: Play it Forward|url=http://rarebirdfilms.com/|website=Rare Bird Films|access-date=4 April 2015}}
- The Cowboy and the Queen (2023), about the relationship between horse trainer Monty Roberts and Elizabeth II.{{Cite web |last=Morfoot |first=Addie |date=2024-08-21 |title=Exclusive Clip of 'The Cowboy and the Queen' Doc Explores Queen Elizabeth II and Her Unexpected Bond With a California Horse Trainer |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/cowboy-and-the-queen-documentary-clip-1236112225/ |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
Personal life and death
In 1996, she married David Nevins in Shelter Island Heights, New York.[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/01/style/andrea-blaugrund-and-david-nevins.html New York Times: "Andrea Blaugrund and David Nevins"] September 1, 1996 They had three children and lived in Los Angeles. She was a founding member of IKAR, a post-denominational Jewish congregation[http://ikar-la.org/ask/our-story/ IKAR Our Story] retrieved October 24, 2017 which was named one of the 50 most influential Jewish non-profits.{{Cite web|url=http://www.slingshotfund.org/|title=Slingshot Fund|website=Slingshot Fund|language=en-US|access-date=2018-02-18}} Nevins volunteered with UNICEF USA and sat on the regional board of directors for Southern California.{{cite web|title=Southern California Regional Board|url=http://www.unicefusa.org/supporters/regional/los-angeles/board|website=Unicefusa.org|publisher=Unicef United States|access-date=11 April 2015}} She was also the founder, along with Los Angeles’ First Lady, Amy Elaine Wakeland, and several other women, of The XX Fund, a donor advised fund to help under served women and girls in Los Angeles.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thexxfund.com/|title=Homepage|work=The XX Fund|access-date=2018-02-18|language=en-US}}
Nevins died of breast cancer at home in Los Angeles, on April 12, 2025, at the age of 63.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0087895}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevins, Andrea}}
Category:Deaths from breast cancer in California
Category:American newspaper journalists
Category:American women film directors
Category:Chapin School (Manhattan) alumni
Category:Film directors from New York City
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Jewish American screenwriters
Category:Writers from Manhattan
Category:Screenwriters from New York City