Ryan Murphy is an American writer, director and producer, mainly working in television. He has been the recipient of numerous accolades including six Primetime Emmy Awards (out of 39 nominations), two British Academy Film Awards (out of four nominations), a Tony Award (out of two nominations), four Producers Guild of America Awards (out of 14 nominations) and two Golden Globe Awards (out of six nominations), along with nominations for two Grammy Awards, four Directors Guild of America Awards and ten Writers Guild of America Awards.
Murphy started his career with the teen television series Popular (1999âÂÂ2001). Then he created the drama series Nip/Tuck (2003âÂÂ2010), for which he received his first nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award and the Producers Guild of America Awards. He wrote and directed the film Running with Scissors (2006), for which he won the Hollywood Film Award for Hollywood Breakthrough Director. He received the critical acclaim for the musical comedy-drama series Glee (2009âÂÂ2015), for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. In 2011, he created the anthology horror series American Horror Story. In 2014, he directed the television film The Normal Heart, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. In 2016, he created the critically acclaimed anthology crime drama series American Crime Story. For its first season, ' (2016), he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, the Golden Globe Award for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film, the British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme and the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Long-Form Television. For its second season, ' (2018), he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Limited Series Television. In the following years, he received the critical acclaim for the anthology television series Feud (2017âÂÂ2024), the drama television series Pose (2018âÂÂ2021) and the anthology crime drama series Monster (2022âÂÂpresent). Apart from the film and television, he produced the Broadway revivals of Long Day's Journey into Night (2016) and The Boys in the Band (2018), for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, winning for the latter one.
He has received multiple numerous honorary accolades including the International Emmy Founders Award (2012), the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television (2018), the VH1 Trailblazer Honors (2018), the GLAAD Vito Russo Award (2020) and the Golden Globe Carol Burnett Award (2023). In 2025, he was inducted to the Television Academy Hall of Fame.