--- description: Find out why Chloé Zhao is one of the 100 most influential people of 2021. title: Chloé Zhao: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8b0274a18eee0d9/698a1ca9db2987e03b266dd3/chloe-zhao-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 15, 2021 # Chloé Zhao by Ang Lee  Austin Hargrave—AUGUST Chloé Zhao seized the world’s attention with her 2017 film _The Rider_, a sparse and stunning portrait of a struggling Native American family in South Dakota. And she did so again with[_Nomadland_](https://time.com/5938982/nomadland-true-story/ "undefined"), for which she became the [first Asian woman to win an Oscar](https://time.com/5958357/oscars-recap-2021/ "undefined") for Best Director. With a compassionate eye, she deftly weaves together narrative and documentary in a way that captures the spirit of the characters’ inner selves, allowing us to see into their lives and truly understand them. Even her heartbreakingly beautiful objective shots are a reflection of the mind—deeply sad, yet incredibly kind. [Chloé](https://time.com/collection/time100-next-2021/5937710/chloe-zhao/ "undefined") seems to be a nomad in a strange land, a rebellious wanderer without a home. But that freedom comes with an edge: a special point of view that unburdens her from the usual familiarity with a culture and its subconscious ideas of what should be. Through that lens, she is able to observe incisively, to grasp sharply the essence of a story and portray it with deep empathy, without judgment or commentary. Chloé is a true gem of an artist. Her study of human beings searching for their place in the world is uniquely compelling. In a world of divisiveness, her vision is something precious. _Lee is an Oscar-winning director_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095922/chloe-zhao-artist/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095922/chloe-zhao-artist/"},"headline":"Chloé Zhao","datePublished":"2021-09-15T11:19:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:32.517Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095922/chloe-zhao-artist/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","T100 2021","T100 2021 Artists"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8b0274a18eee0d9/698a1ca9db2987e03b266dd3/chloe-zhao-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8b0274a18eee0d9/698a1ca9db2987e03b266dd3/chloe-zhao-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095922/chloe-zhao-artist/","name":"Chloé Zhao"}}]}] ```