Lana Wachowski

One half of the filmmaking duo known as The Wachowskis, Lana Wachowski and her younger sister Lilly were the creative minds behind the "Matrix" trilogy, one of the most imaginative and influential film series in Hollywood history. Conceived from a childhood steeped in fantasy novels and comic books, the "Matrix" films combined martial arts action with literary and cinematic references and a wide array of world religious and philosophical tenets. The result was a massively popular trio of films that largely redefined the action genre and CGI effects for a new generation of moviegoers. Wachowski continued to release big-screen epics in its wake, scripting the comic adaptation "V for Vendetta" (2005) and directing "Speed Racer" (2008), ambitious epic fantasy "Cloud Atlas" (2012), science fiction action-adventure "Jupiter Ascending" (2015) and futuristic TV thriller "Sense8" (Netflix 2015-17), maintaining her status as one of Hollywood's most imaginative and inventive writer-directors.