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Andrea Blaugrund Nevins

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Andrea Blaugrund Nevins
Born(1962-03-15)March 15, 1962
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 12, 2025(2025-04-12) (aged 63)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names
  • Andrea Blaugrund
  • Andrea Nevins
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • film director
  • film producer
Spouse
​
(m. 1996)​

Andrea Blaugrund Nevins (March 15, 1962 – April 12, 2025) was an American writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles.

Early life and education

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Nevins was born in New York City, on March 15, 1962, where she attended the Chapin School.[1][2][3] Her father is Stanley Blaugrund, the former Director of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Her mother, Annette Blaugrund, was Senior Curator of Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings at the New-York Historical Society, and guest curator at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York.[4] Nevins credited the work of Barbara Kopple and Errol Morris as early inspirations.[5]

Nevins graduated from Harvard University, where she took visual arts classes and majored in social studies.[6] Her thesis was titled The Renaissance of a Housing Project: D Street and Its People.[7]

Career

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After graduation, she gained experience as a sports reporter in North Carolina and was a staff writer for The Gainesville Sun from 1986 until October 1988. One of her newspaper articles featured noted environmental activist Kiki Carter.[8] Nevins and two other staff writers, Mitch Stacy and Lisa Trei, won first place in the Excellence in Medical Journalism Awards for a six-part series titled "Too Poor to be Sick."[9] She worked at National Public Radio's All Things Considered in Washington, D.C., and for Peter Jennings' documentary series, Peter Jennings: Reporting, where she won an Emmy for her work on gun control.[10] She married David Nevins in 1996, who later became an executive with Showtime and CCO of CBS.[11]

Nevins worked on a 1994 documentary for A&E on Hillary Clinton titled Hillary Rodham Clinton: Changing the Rules[12] and a 1995 documentary on Jesse Jackson titled I Am Somebody.[13][14] In 1998, she was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Documentary (Short Subject) for her first independent film Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies.[15] She shared credit with director Mel Damski, who directed episodes of the hit television shows M*A*S*H and Barnaby Jones.[16]

Documentaries

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In 2008, Nevins directed and produced the feature documentary The Other F Word. The choices Nevins made as director surprised critics with "ironic twists" that showed how former punk rockers "balance their anarchic personalities with 21st century parenting."[17] Oscilloscope Laboratories and Showtime purchased The Other F Word. Oscilloscope's Adam Yauch had reservations about the premise of the documentary before seeing it, but said he was glad he "didn't go with my first instinct" and called it a "beautiful and touching film."[18]
Nevins' additional directorial projects were:

  • Hysterical, a 2021 FX Original, premiering at SXSW.[19]
  • Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie, a Hulu Original, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and Hot Docs[20] in 2018.
  • State of Play: Happiness, aired on HBO in 2014
  • Play it Forward , chosen to premiere at the Opening Gala of the 2015 Tribeca / ESPN Sports Film Festival[21]
  • The Cowboy and the Queen (2023), about the relationship between horse trainer Monty Roberts and Elizabeth II.[22]

Personal life and death

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In 1996, she married David Nevins in Shelter Island Heights, New York.[23] They had three children and lived in Los Angeles. She was a founding member of IKAR, a post-denominational Jewish congregation[24] which was named one of the 50 most influential Jewish non-profits.[25] Nevins volunteered with UNICEF USA and sat on the regional board of directors for Southern California.[26] She was also the founder, along with Los Angeles’ First Lady, Amy Elaine Wakeland, and several other women, of The XX Fund, a donor advised fund to help under served women and girls in Los Angeles.[27]

Nevins died of breast cancer at home in Los Angeles, on April 12, 2025, at the age of 63.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "The Chapin School: Alumnae Class Representatives".
  2. ^ "The Other F Word (2010/2011)". www.coveringmedia.com. Covering Media, LLC. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Littleton, Cynthia (April 14, 2025). "Andrea Blaugrund Nevins, Documentary Filmmaker Known for 'Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie' and 'The Other F Word,' Dies at 63". Variety. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  4. ^ "Andrea Blaugrund and David Nevins". The New York Times. September 1996. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  5. ^ Simkovich, Don. "Rare Bird Films: Documenting the Human Experience". Where We Live Work Play. Don Simkovich and Associates. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  6. ^ "The Other F Word: Beat Film Festival 2012". 2012.beatfilmfestival.ru. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  7. ^ The renaissance of a housing project: D Street and its people. OCLC. OCLC 11011251. Retrieved March 11, 2015 – via www.worldcat.org.
  8. ^ Ogunseitan, Oladele (May 3, 2011). Radon and Basements, Further Reading. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781452266213. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "Health-care series wins first place". The Gainesville Sun. New York Times. July 26, 1989. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  10. ^ "ABC Wins 15/43 News Documentary Emmys". No. Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ "CBS Names Two Showtime Executives to Senior Positions".
  12. ^ "Hillary Rodham Clinton: changing the rules". ablsurpass.mccsc.edu. Surpass Safari. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  13. ^ "Jesse Jackson I Am Somebody". www.buffalolib.org. Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  14. ^ "Woodstock Film Festival, The Other F Word". www.woodstockfilmfestival.com. Hudson Valley Film Commission. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  15. ^ "1998 Oscars Documentary (Short Subject)". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  16. ^ Roberts, Jerry (June 5, 2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810863781. Retrieved March 31, 2015 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Dretzka, Gary. "Janie Jones; The Other F Word; Last Fast Ride". www.moviecitynews.com. Movie City News. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  18. ^ "Oscilloscope and Showtime Buy Punk Rock Dad Doc The Other F Word". www.indiewire.com. SnagFilms. May 15, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  19. ^ Daniele, Alcinii. "SXSW '21: "Hysterical", "WeWork" among documentary premieres". Realscreen. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  20. ^ "Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie". www.hotdocs.ca.
  21. ^ "Rare Bird Films: Projects: Play it Forward". Rare Bird Films. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  22. ^ Morfoot, Addie (August 21, 2024). "Exclusive Clip of 'The Cowboy and the Queen' Doc Explores Queen Elizabeth II and Her Unexpected Bond With a California Horse Trainer". Variety. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  23. ^ New York Times: "Andrea Blaugrund and David Nevins" September 1, 1996
  24. ^ IKAR Our Story retrieved October 24, 2017
  25. ^ "Slingshot Fund". Slingshot Fund. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  26. ^ "Southern California Regional Board". Unicefusa.org. Unicef United States. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  27. ^ "Homepage". The XX Fund. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
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