Alliance of Women Directors (AWD) proudly congratulates AWD Icon Members Hanelle M. Culpepper (Paradise), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (The Gilded Age, Task), and Mary Lou Belli (The Ms. Pat Show) on their 2026 Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Directing.
Hanelle M. Culpepper received her first Emmy nomination for Paradise (“Exodus”) in the category of Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
Salli Richardson-Whitfield earned two nominations this year in the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series category for The Guilded Age (“My Mind Is Made Up”) and Task (“Out Beyond Ideas of Wrongdoing and Rightdoing, There is a River.”). These mark her third and fourth Emmy directing nominations, and her second nod for The Gilded Age.
Mary Lou Belli received a nomination for The Ms. Pat Show (“Give It Arrest”) in the Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series category. This marks her fourth Emmy nomination for directing episodes of The Ms. Pat Show.
AWD also celebrates all of this year’s women directing nominees, including Lucia Aniello (Hacks), Anna Moulaison (Top Chef), Liz Patrick (Saturday Night Live), Yvonne de Mare (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), Rikki Hughes (Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable), and Julie Dash (Wanda Sykes: Legacy).
AWD Icon Members represent some of the most accomplished directors working across television, feature films, commercials, music videos, and new media. In addition to their creative achievements, they are champions of AWD’s mission to advance women and gender-expansive directors through mentorship, education, advocacy, and community-building.
We are thrilled to see these remarkable directors recognized by the Television Academy and look forward to cheering them on at the 78th Emmy Awards. The 78th Emmy Awards will be hosted by Emmy Award-winner Mariska Hargitay, on Monday, September 14, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE., airing live coast-to-coast on NBC and streaming on Peacock.