Andrea Nevins, documentary filmmaker, dies at 63
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Andrea Blaugrund Nevins’ love of storytelling led her to the rural South, to ABC News in her native New York and, ultimately, to Hollywood, where she produced and directed documentaries about dancers, punk rockers and the queen of England’s horse trainer.
Nevins, wife of former Showtime chairman David Nevins, died Saturday at their Los Angeles home, surrounded by family. She was 63 and had been battling breast cancer.
In her work as a filmmaker, Nevins pursued colorful subjects who often were experiencing life transitions. The first short documentary she produced, “Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies,” explored aging cabaret dancers and received an Academy Award nomination. Her first feature-length film, “The Other F Word,” highlighted the evolution of anti-authoritarian punk rockers, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, who had to exert authority as fathers.
Her 2018 Hulu documentary “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie” featured interviews with Ruth Handler, inventor of the iconic doll, as well as feminist Gloria Steinem. The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
Greta Gerwig, who wrote and directed Warner Bros.’ hit movie “Barbie,” said she drew some inspiration by watching “Tiny Shoulders” because it surfaced the anxiety of women who worked to mold perceptions of the 12-inch doll.
She’s too thin, too tall, too blond. And now, too fat. Poor Barbie.
Nevins took a look at NFL players at the end of their careers. She directed an episode of Peter Berg’s HBO series “State of Play,” which followed former stars Brett Favre and Tiki Barber. Her follow-up feature, “Play It Forward,” explored the midlife journey of NFL great Tony Gonzalez and his brother Chris.
Her last completed project, 2023’s “The Cowboy and the Queen,” was a poignant look at California horse trainer Monty Roberts, who eschewed typical training techniques and sparked an unlikely friendship with Queen Elizabeth II.
Nevins was born in New York City in 1962. Her father, Dr. Stanley Blaugrund, was director of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital. Her mother, Annette, is an art curator, author and lecturer.
Initially, Nevins was a ballet dancer, a swimmer and a poet. She was president of her high school class, where she developed her love of photography. She graduated cum laude from Harvard University with a social studies major.
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She worked early in her career as a newspaper reporter, a journalist with NPR radio in Washington and later at ABC News in New York, where she earned an Emmy Award for her reporting.
She and David Nevins, who was then working at NBC, married in 1996.
Nevins was a founding member of the L.A. synagogue IKAR, a co-founder of Larchmont Charter School and a member of the Southern California board of UNICEF’s U.S. Fund. She co-founded the X Fund, dedicated to addressing needs of women and girls in Los Angeles.
Nevins is survived by her husband and their three children — Clara, 25, Charlie, 22, and Jesse, 19 — along with her mother and two siblings.
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