Noah Baumbach is an American writer, director, and filmmaker. Baumbach is known for writing and directing several independent comedy-dramas set in New York City and his collaborations with Wes Anderson and Greta Gerwig. He has received a Critics' Choice Movie Award and two Independent Spirit Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. His films have competed at the Berlin Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival.
Baumbach gained his awards breakthrough and critical acclaim when he directed the semi-autobiographical dramedy film The Squid and the Whale (2005) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He directed the drama Greenberg (2010) which competed for the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or. During this time he became known for his collaborations as a co-writer with filmmaker Wes Anderson starting with the adventure comedy-drama The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), followed by the stop-motion animated children's film Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), the later of which earned them nominations for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
He returned to directing with the coming-of-age comedy Frances Ha (2013), which would be his first writing collaboration with Greta Gerwig. The film was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film. He directed the family drama The Meyerowitz Stories (2017) which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. With his drama Marriage Story (2019), it premiered and competed for the Venice International Film Festival's Golden Lion. Baumbach received wins for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and the Robert Altman Award as well as nominations for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay.
With his adaptation of the Don DeLillo absurdist tale White Noise (2021), it competed for the Golden Lion at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. He returned to collaborating with his partner Greta Gerwig with the comedy Barbie which they co-wrote together. The film was a cultural phenomenon and box office sensation and became the highest-grossing films of 2023. As a couple, Baumbach and Gerwig received the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Original Screenplay and were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Awards and nominations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.2005 Best Original Screenplay The Squid and the Whale 2019 Best PictureMarriage Story Best Original Screenplay 2023 Best Adapted Screenplay Barbie
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2019Best Original Screenplay Marriage Story 2023 Barbie
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2005 Best Screenplay The Squid and the Whale 2009 Best Adapted Screenplay Fantastic Mr. Fox 2019 Best DirectorMarriage Story Best Original Screenplay 2024 Barbie 2026 Jay Kelly
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.2019 Best Screenplay Marriage Story 2023 Barbie
Miscellaneous awards Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. Berlin International Film Festival 2010 Golden Bear Greenberg Cannes Film Festival 2017 Palme d'Or The Meyerowitz Stories Capri Hollywood International Film Festival2023Best Original ScreenplayBarbie Gotham Awards 2007 Best Feature Margot at the Wedding 2015 Best Screenplay While We're Young 2019 Best FeatureMarriage Story Best Screenplay Audience Award Independent Spirit Awards 2005 Best Director The Squid and the Whale 2013 Best Film Frances Ha 2019Best FilmMarriage Story Best Screenplay Robert Altman Award for Ensemble Producers Guild of America Awards 2019 Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures Marriage Story Sundance Film Festival 2005 Grand Jury PrizeThe Squid and the Whale Directing Prize Waldo Salt Screenwriting Prize Venice International Film Festival 2019 Golden Lion Marriage Story 2022 White Noise 2025 Jay Kelly https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2025 Writers Guild of America Awards 2005 Best Original Screenplay The Squid and the Whale 2019 Best Original Screenplay Marriage Story 2023 Best Original Screenplay Barbie
Critics awards Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. National Society of Film Critics 2005 Best Screenplay The Squid and the Whale New York Film Critics Circle 1995 Best First Film Kicking & Screaming 2005 Best Screenplay The Squid and the Whale Los Angeles Film Critics Association 2005 Best Screenplay The Squid and the Whale 2019 Marriage Story
Directed Academy Award performances Baumbach has directed multiple nominated performances.
Year Performer Film ResultAcademy Award for Best Actor 2019 Adam Driver Marriage Story Academy Award for Best Actress 2019 Scarlett Johansson Marriage Story Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 2019 Laura Dern Marriage Story
Critical reception Year Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic 1995 Kicking and Screaming 56% (36 reviews) 75 (18 reviews) 1997 Mr. Jealousy 71% (14 reviews) 61 (17 reviews) 2005 The Squid and the Whale 93% (150 reviews) 82 (37 reviews) 2007 Margot at the Wedding 51% (164 reviews) 66 (37 reviews) 2010 Greenberg 76% (174 reviews) 76 (39 reviews) 2013 Frances Ha 92% (192 reviews) 82 (35 reviews)2014 While We're Young 84% (204 reviews) 77 (44 reviews)2015 Mistress America 82% (186 reviews) 75 (41 reviews) 2017 The Meyerowitz Stories 92% (188 reviews) 80 (41 reviews) 2019 Marriage Story 95% (408 reviews) 94 (53 reviews) 2022 White Noise 64% (408 reviews) 66 (45 reviews)2025Jay Kelly76% (219 reviews)67 (50 reviews)
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