Gina Maria Prince-Blythewood wrote the screenplay for the 2008 film adaption of The Secret Life of Bees. She also directed the film, about a 14 year old white girl who runs away from home and is taken in by a Black woman.

Gina Prince-Blythewood was born in Chicago, Illinois. When she was 3 weeks old, she was adopted by Maria Prince, a nurse, and Bob Prince, a computer programmer.

As an adult, Prince-Blythewood found out that her white birth mother had abandoned her and, because her father was a Black man, her birth mother’s family didn’t want to raise a mixed-race child.

Her experiences with race and adoption have shaped Gina Prince-Blythewood’s story telling; her work often includes the themes of identity and the complexities of being Black in America. For example, she frequently challenges stereotypes and presents women of colour as compassionate and ambitious.

Gina Prince-Blythewood’s 1st feature film was Love & Basketball (2000) and her most recent is The Woman King (2022).