Andrea Blaugrund Nevins, the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker behind “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie” and “The Other F Word,” died April 12 of breast cancer at her home in Los Angeles. She was 63.
As a director, producer and writer, Blaugrund Nevins tackled a range of subjects – from the legacy of Barbie to the travails of retiring NFL players — during a career marked by eclectic choices and a deep-rooted desire to champion underdogs. Her most recent film was the 2023 feature documentary “The Cowboy and the Queen,” released by Greenwich Entertainment, about the unlikely friendship between Queen Elizabeth II and California horse trader Monty Roberts.
“The Other F Word,” an indie release that screened at the 2011 SXSW festival, followed the lives of punk rock musicians as they became fathers. “Tiny Shoulders” was a post-feminist study of the cultural influence of Mattel’s enduring doll.
“Andrea was a brilliant storyteller who developed an authentic intimacy with the subjects of her films. She deftly wove together thought-provoking narratives of empowerment, bravery and the beauty and complexity of unexpected human relationships,” said Kim Culmone, senior VP and global head of Barbie and doll design for Mattel, who worked closely with Blaugrund Nevins on the film. “She was magically skilled at gently building a trust that allowed for deep truths to be revealed on screen. She saw the world through her lens of purpose and hopefulness, with a relentless belief that art and empathy could help change the world.”
In 2011, as “The Other F Word” screened at SXSW, Blaugrund Nevins explained to Variety why she was drawn to the stories of punk rock dads.
“We went in thinking ‘Oh this is going to be so funny.’ The punk rock dad – it’s so antithetical. The guy who is all anti-authoritarian now has to be the absolute authority,” she said. “And it wasn’t that at all. To watch these men come to terms [with fatherhood] and speak about it was shockingly moving to us.”
Blaugrund Nevins’ other projects included FX’s 2021 docu “Hysterical: The Future of Comedy is Female,” the 2015 Showtime sports doc “Play It Forward” and a 2014 episode of HBO’s sports docu series “State of Play.” She earned an Oscar nomination for her 1997 docu short “Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies.”
Blaugrund Nevins was married for nearly 30 years to former Showtime chief and Paramount Global senior executive David Nevins. She was well known in the industry for her work as a filmmaker, as well as for her active work in philanthropy, education and other causes. She cut a distinctive figure on red carpets, often wearing vintage items or promoting apparel from up-and-coming designers.
Born March 15, 1962, in New York City, Blaugrund Nevins grew up immersed in arts and culture. She pursued her interests in ballet, poetry, photography and swimming. She served as the president of her high school, Manhattan’s The Chapin School, and graduated with honors from Harvard University.
After college, Blaugrund Nevins worked as a journalist for NPR and ABC News in New York, where she earned a News and Documentary Emmy Award for her work on an A&E documentary on Hillary Clinton. She and David Nevins were married in 1996.
Outside of filmmaking, Blaugrund Nevins was active in Los Angeles civic and philanthropic circles. She and her husband were co-founders of the Los Angeles synagogue IKAR, and she was a founder of Larchmont Charter School. She was a member of the Southern California board and Executive Committee of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. She was also a founder of X Fund, which supports the needs of women and girls in Los Angeles.
Family and friends remember Blaugrund Nevins as a gifted writer, a devoted mother and wife who loved movies, her dogs Phoebe and Frank and walking on the beach in Montecito.
In addition to her husband, Blaugrund Nevins is survived by their three adult children, daughter Clara and sons Charlie and Jesse.
The family requests that donations be made in Blaugrund Nevins’ name to X Fund.
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Variety‘s coverage of Andrea Blaugrund Nevins’ work included this March 2011 feature on “The Other F Word.”
From the March 7, 2011, edition of Daily Variety
