---
name: "Matthew A. Cherry"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/matthew-a-cherry"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "14 December 1981"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 81
updated: "2026-09-17T04:29:29.440350+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."
---

# Matthew A. Cherry

Director. Born 14 December 1981 in Chicago.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 14 December 1981, Chicago
- **Active:** 2018–present

## Biography

Matthew A. Cherry is an American film and television director, writer and producer, and a former American football player. Born in Chicago on 14 December 1981, he played college football at the University of Akron before brief NFL stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens. He retired from sport in 2007 and moved into entertainment, beginning as a production assistant and directing music videos.

Cherry wrote and directed the independent features *The Last Fall* (2012) and *9 Rides* (2016). He is best known for the animated short *Hair Love* (2019), which he created via a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign and which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. He has directed episodes of series including *Abbott Elementary* (2021), *Young Sheldon*, *Ghosts*, *black-ish* and *Swagger*.

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

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse* (2023), Fi1m 82, Production Consultant — [page](https://film.one/film/spider-man-across-the-spider-verse.md)
- *Abbott Elementary* (2021), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/abbott-elementary.md)
- *BlacKkKlansman* (2018), Fi1m 78, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/blackkklansman.md)

## Also known for

- *Young Sheldon* (2017), Director
- *Hair Love* (2019), Director, Writer
- *Ghosts* (2021), Director
- *black-ish* (2014), Director
- *The Wonder Years* (2021), Director
- *Swagger* (2021), Director
- *Whiskey Cavalier* (2019), Director
- *Saved by the Bell* (2020), Director

---
© 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/matthew-a-cherry