Dianne Houston

In 1996 Dianne Houston transformed a forgotten Harlem Renaissance short story into the Academy Award nominated short film Tuesday Morning Ride, which she both wrote and directed. This nomination made Houston the first African American woman to be nominated for an Oscar in the Live Action Shorts category.

Houston has written and directed for television and film for two decades and counting. Born and raised in Washington DC, Houston left home at age 16 to work in experimental theater in New York City with such theater greats as Liz Swados, Joseph Papp, Joe Chaikin, Peter Brook, La Mama, Woodie King, and Ntozake Shange. This diverse background, and love of literature fuels her unique voice as a storyteller, whether as director or writer.

She has developed projects for SHOWTIME , NBC, HBO, ABC, CBS, FOX, A&E, TRIBECA FILMS, PARTICIPANT FILMS, UNIVERSAL, SONY, PARAMOUNT, HALLMARK, and HARPO PRODUCTIONS. She is currently co-executive producer for Empire.