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Matthew Cherry
American film director, writer, producer, and former American football player
Matthew A. Cherry
Matthew A. Cherry is an American film director, writer, producer, and former American football player. He is best known for creating the 2019 Academy Award-winning animated short film Hair Love.2
Cherry was born on December 14, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. He played college football at the University of Akron, where he was a second-team All-Mid-American Conference wide receiver.2
After retiring from the NFL in 2007, Cherry pursued a career in entertainment, working as a production assistant and directing music videos for artists like Michelle Williams, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Snoop Dogg.12 He wrote and directed two independent films, The Last Fall (2012) and 9 Rides (2016), before creating Hair Love.2
The Kickstarter campaign for Hair Love raised nearly $300,000, breaking the record for the highest amount raised for any short film on the platform.2 The film won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Animated Short.2
In addition to his filmmaking work, Cherry has directed episodes of several TV shows, including Black-ish, Mixed-ish, and The Last OG.3 He has also worked as a film and television executive at Jordan Peele's production company Monkeypaw.2
Cherry is the founder of Cherry Entertainment, a production company based in Lancaster.4 He is active on Twitter under the handle @MatthewACherry.5
