Salli Richardson-Whitfield, a 30-year industry veteran, has been breaking barriers with her current Emmy nominations: one as Executive Producer of the HBO Drama Series, THE GILDED AGE, and her second nomination as the first Black female for Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series for the HBO series, WINNING TIME: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY. Salli also received two Gracie Awards for her work on WINNING TIME: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY and THE GILDED AGE. Salli is currently Executive Producer and Director of the upcoming Brad Ingelsby HBO drama, TASK FORCE, starring Mark Ruffalo. Salli’s enormously successful relationship with HBO is highlighted by her overall deal with the premium platform. Under her overall deal, she has served as director and Executive Producer of all the aforementioned series.
Prior to Salli’s relationship with HBO, her directing career spanned many genres. Her work on LUKE CAGE garnered her an NAACP Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series. She was nominated for the Hugo Award for her work on WHEEL OF TIME. Salli often credits Ava DuVernay for inspiring her to make the shift from actress to director, with an offer to direct two episodes of QUEEN SUGAR. Her now incredibly extensive directing resume includes Amazon's WHEEL OF TIME, Hulu’s REPRISAL, Apple’s SEE, Netflix’s DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, LUKE CAGE, THE PUNISHER, and ALTERED CARBON, Starz’s AMERICAN GODS and SURVIVOR’S REMORSE, Showtime’s THE CHI, ABC's SCANDAL and BLACK-ISH, Fox’s LETHAL WEAPON, Freeform’s SHADOWHUNTERS, BET's REBEL, Syfy’s THE MAGICIANS, EUREKA, BLACK LIGHTNING, and The CW’s ALL AMERICAN.
As an actress, Salli has been featured in 20+ major motion pictures and has starred opposite a number of Hollywood’s top actors, including Samuel L. Jackson in THE GREAT WHITE HYPE, Denzel Washington in ANTWONE FISHER, and Will Smith in I AM LEGEND. On television, she was a series regular for three seasons on FAMILY LAW and held a recurring role on NEWSROOM. Salli also starred in the long-running Syfy network hit series EUREKA and three seasons of STITCHERS on Freeform. Her acting resume includes dozens of popular series, highlighted by CRIMINAL MINDS, BONES, HOUSE MD, NYPD BLUE, CASTLE, BEING MARY JANE, and CSI: MIAMI.