Michelle MacLaren

Graduate of Queen's University, Ontario, Michelle MacLaren was fascinated by scary stories from an early age, having spent childhood summers with her family at an electricity-free cabin, where she and her brother would entertain themselves with spooky campfire tales.

The Vancouver native born began her show business career as a producer, helping bring a number of TV movies to the screen throughout the '90s, like "Moment of Truth: A Child Too Many" (Lifetime, 1993) and "A Child's Wish" (CBS, 1997).

Eventually, MacLaren moved up the ranks and became a series co-executive producer on "The X-Files" in 2000, offering her the unique opportunity to take a shot at directing. MacLaren lobbied for the opportunity with her fellow producers and soon got it, directing her first episode with 2002's "John Doe."

More directing gigs followed, soon earning her a reputation as a visionary TV director. She subsequently became well known for her work helming acclaimed episodes for wildly popular shows "Breaking Bad" (AMC, 2008-2013), "The Walking Dead," (AMC, 2010-), and "Game of Thrones" (HBO, 2011-).

MacLaren's knack for telling frightening narratives would eventually lead her to be nominated for two directing Emmys for her work on "Breaking Bad," before it was announced that she would be directing her first feature film, a big screen adaptation of the DC comic "Wonder Woman."

However, it was announced in April 2015 that MacLaren was leaving that project due to creative differences. Patty Jenkins was chosen to replace her.