---
name: "Jennifer Lee"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jennifer-lee"
fi1m_id: "jennifer-lee"
imdb_id: "nm1601644"
tmdb_id: 1120694
wikidata_id: "Q5929198"
roles: ["Writer","Producer","Director"]
born: "22 October 1971"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 8
average_fi1m_score: 67
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-10-05T14:38:13.732282+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jennifer Lee

## Identity

Jennifer Lee

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jennifer-lee
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jennifer-lee
- **IMDb ID:** nm1601644
- **TMDB ID:** 1120694
- **Wikidata ID:** Q5929198
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Lee_(filmmaker), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5929198, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1601644/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1120694

Writer and producer. Born 22 October 1971 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer, Director
- **Born:** 22 October 1971, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- **Active:** 2012–present
- **Also known as:** 제니퍼 리, Τζένιφερ Λι, Jennifer Michelle Lee, Jennifer Michelle Rebecchi, ジェニファー・リー, جنیفر لی
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 2 directing, 3 writing, 3 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Peter Del Vecho](https://film.one/person/peter-del-vecho.md), [Chris Buck](https://film.one/person/chris-buck.md), [Idina Menzel](https://film.one/person/idina-menzel.md), [Jonathan Groff](https://film.one/person/jonathan-groff.md), [Josh Gad](https://film.one/person/josh-gad.md), [Kristen Bell](https://film.one/person/kristen-bell.md), [Alan Tudyk](https://film.one/person/alan-tudyk.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 67, as writer, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 72 (5), 2020s 61 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 67 to 65 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Adventure 3, Animation 3, Family 3, Comedy 2, Fantasy 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,752m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Lee_(filmmaker), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5929198, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1601644/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1120694

## Coming up

- *Frozen III* (2027-11-24), Writer

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Frozen*](https://film.one/film/frozen.md) (75), [*Wreck-It Ralph*](https://film.one/film/wreck-it-ralph.md) (70), [*Frozen II*](https://film.one/film/frozen-ii.md) (65), [*Wish*](https://film.one/film/wish.md) (49)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Jennifer Lee

> Jennifer Lee is good at giving animated characters something worth wanting: recognition, or a sister who understands them. We like her scripts when they stay with those needs; the detours are often much less interesting.

The medal in *Wreck-It Ralph* (2012) matters because Ralph has never been thanked. Jennifer Lee and co-writer Phil Johnston make that need easy to understand while establishing the rules of an arcade universe. Directed by Rich Moore, her first major Disney screenplay gives us a reason to care before the kart racing begins to outlast its welcome. She is at her best when she keeps such a simple desire in view.

With *Frozen* (2013), Lee moved into directing alongside Chris Buck while also writing the screenplay. Their version of Hans Christian Andersen's *The Snow Queen* turns the queen from a villain into a frightened elder sister, and the quarrel between the sisters gives the early scenes their urgency. Lee developed the script with the songwriters, and the first forty minutes give the songs plenty of work to do. Then the writing leaves Elsa in her palace while the others make their way up the mountain. The most interesting character is sidelined for too long, a frustrating choice from the writer who made her interesting.

Her story credit on *Zootopia* (2016) sits within a larger collaboration, so we would not claim its cleverness as hers alone. It is a funny, thoughtful police comedy, with a reservation about asking predators and prey to explain human prejudice. She co-wrote *Frozen 2* (2019) and co-directed it with Buck, before sharing the screenplay credit on *Wish* (2023) with Allison Moore.

*Wish* has much less to offer than the earlier films. Asha's hope of becoming King Magnifico's apprentice, partly to help her grandfather get his wish granted, gives Lee and Moore a workable starting point. We were bored by the repeated nods to older Disney pictures, because the film kept reminding us of characters more interesting than its own. It is handsome, and Chris Pine enjoys being wicked as Magnifico, but the question of keeping wishes in jars cannot sustain the script. Start with *Frozen*, allowing for a middle stretch that keeps its sisters apart for far too long.

## Biography

Jennifer Lee is an American screenwriter, director and playwright. She joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2011 and co-wrote the screenplay for *Wreck-It Ralph* (2012). She contributed to the story of *Zootopia* (2016) and the screenplay for *Wish* (2023).

Lee wrote the screenplay and co-directed *Frozen* (2013) with Chris Buck; the film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. She later co-directed and co-wrote *Frozen 2* (2019). From 2018 to 2024 she served as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, after which she returned to full-time filmmaking, including work on further *Frozen* projects.

Lee holds a BA from the University of New Hampshire and an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (8)

### Directed (2)

- *Frozen II* (2019), Fi1m 65, Screenplay, Director, Story, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/frozen-ii.md)
- *Frozen* (2013), Fi1m 75, as Queen / Additional Voices (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/frozen.md)

### Wrote (3) — the average rests on these

- *Wish* (2023), Fi1m 49, Story, Executive Producer, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/wish.md)
- *Zootopia* (2016), Fi1m 82, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md)
- *Wreck-It Ralph* (2012), Fi1m 70, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/wreck-it-ralph.md)

### Produced (3)

- *Moana 2* (2024), Fi1m 55, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/moana-2.md)
- *Encanto* (2021), Fi1m 80, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/encanto.md)
- *Ralph Breaks the Internet* (2018), Fi1m 66, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/ralph-breaks-the-internet.md)

## Complete filmography (31)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Frozen III* (2027), Writer, Director
- *Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical* (2025), Writer, Original Film Writer
- *Versa* (2025), Executive Producer
- *Moana 2* (2024), Executive Producer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/moana-2.md)
- *D.I.Y. Duck* (2024), Executive Producer
- *Iwájú* (2024), series, Executive Producer
- *Iwájú: A Day Ahead* (2024), Thanks
- *Wish* (2023), Story, Screenplay, Executive Producer — Fi1m 49, [page](https://film.one/film/wish.md)
- *Once Upon a Studio* (2023), Executive Producer
- *Lego Disney Princess: The Castle Quest* (2023), Art Designer
- *Strange World* (2022), Executive Producer
- *Zootopia+* (2022), series, Executive Producer
- *Baymax!* (2022), series, Executive Producer
- *Far from the Tree* (2021), Executive Producer
- *Encanto* (2021), Executive Producer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/encanto.md)
- *Disney Presents Goofy in How to Stay at Home* (2021), series, Producer
- *Raya and the Last Dragon* (2021), Executive Producer
- *Us Again* (2021), Executive Producer
- *Once Upon a Snowman* (2020), Executive Producer
- *I Am With You* (2020), Executive Producer
- *Frozen II* (2019), Executive Producer, Story, Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/frozen-ii.md)
- *Ralph Breaks the Internet* (2018), Executive Producer — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/ralph-breaks-the-internet.md)
- *A Wrinkle in Time* (2018), Screenplay
- *Olaf's Frozen Adventure* (2017), Characters
- *Zootopia* (2016), Story — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md)
- *Frozen Fever* (2015), Director, Writer
- *Scorpion* (2014), series, as Agent Marchand
- *Frozen* (2013), as Queen / Additional Voices (voice) · Director, Story, Screenplay — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/frozen.md)
- *Wreck-It Ralph* (2012), Screenplay — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/wreck-it-ralph.md)
- *Frozen IV*, Writer, Executive Producer, Director
- *The Way Between*, Writer

## Gallery

- ![Jennifer Lee](https://film.one/media/person/15356/gallery-21ac94ef4856.jpg) Jennifer Lee — Original work: Mingle MediaTV on Flickr
Derivative work: DrNegative, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Jennifer_Lee_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![The "Frozen" team Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and producer Peter Del Vecho at the 41st Annual Annie Awards. (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/15356/gallery-259e2e4cab2a.jpg) The "Frozen" team Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and producer Peter Del Vecho at the 41st Annual Annie Awards. (2014) — Voice Chasers, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/41st_Annie_Awards%2C_Chris_Buck%2C_Jennifer_Lee%2C_Peter_Del_Vecho-crop.jpg/1280px-41st_Annie_Awards%2C_Chris_Buck%2C_Jennifer_Lee%2C_Peter_Del_Vecho-crop.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![The "Frozen" team Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and producer Peter Del Vecho at the 41st Annual Annie Awards. (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/15356/gallery-37b7007c96c2.jpg) The "Frozen" team Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and producer Peter Del Vecho at the 41st Annual Annie Awards. (2014) — Voice Chasers, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/41st_Annie_Awards%2C_Chris_Buck%2C_Jennifer_Lee%2C_Peter_Del_Vecho.jpg/1280px-41st_Annie_Awards%2C_Chris_Buck%2C_Jennifer_Lee%2C_Peter_Del_Vecho.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Producer Peter Del Vecho, Writer and Co-Director Jennifer Lee, and Co-Director Chris Buck at the world premiere for Disney's Frozen at the El Capitan Theatre on (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/15356/gallery-0c3c351fd6cd.jpg) Producer Peter Del Vecho, Writer and Co-Director Jennifer Lee, and Co-Director Chris Buck at the world premiere for Disney's Frozen at the El Capitan Theatre on (2013) — Original work: Mingle MediaTV on Flickr
Derivative work: DrNegative, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Frozen_premier.jpg/1280px-Frozen_premier.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jennifer Lee](https://film.one/media/person/15356/gallery-1694809f4360.jpg) Jennifer Lee — Image via TMDB
- ![Peter Del Vecho (producer), Jennifer Lee (director) and Chris Buck (director) at the premiere of Disney's animated feature film Frozen at Hollywood's El Capitan (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/15356/gallery-4046143884b9.jpg) Peter Del Vecho (producer), Jennifer Lee (director) and Chris Buck (director) at the premiere of Disney's animated feature film Frozen at Hollywood's El Capitan (2013) — Mingle Media TV, Red Carpet Report, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Frozen_premiere%2C_Peter_Del_Vecho%2C_Jennifer_Lee%2C_Chris_Buck%2C_2013.jpg/1280px-Frozen_premiere%2C_Peter_Del_Vecho%2C_Jennifer_Lee%2C_Chris_Buck%2C_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![The directors of Frozen Fever, Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, signing lithographs of the film's visual development art at D23 Expo in Anaheim, California on Augus (2015)](https://film.one/media/person/15356/gallery-1864f4b2e32f.jpg) The directors of Frozen Fever, Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, signing lithographs of the film's visual development art at D23 Expo in Anaheim, California on Augus (2015) — Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Frozenfeverdirectors.JPG/1280px-Frozenfeverdirectors.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 2014: Best Animated Feature (won), for *Frozen*

### Other awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical 2018: Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominated), for *Frozen*
- Dorothy Arzner Directors Award 2014: Dorothy Arzner Directors Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jennifer-lee