How Sinners Director Ryan Coogler and Wife Zinzi’s Relationship Went from College Sweethearts to Hollywood Power Couple

Ryan Coogler and Zinzi Coogler have been supportive of one another’s dreams for decades — and that support has resulted in some acclaimed and successful films.

The pair met in their teens, and began dating during their undergraduate years at Saint Mary’s College in California. The two eventually wed in May 2016.

While the Hollywood power couple have kept much of their relationship private, it’s clear they share deep admiration for each other as well as for filmmaking.

Zinzi has served as a producer on several of Ryan’s films including his recent horror film Sinners, as well as Creed III (which Ryan co-wrote with brother Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin). The two co-founded the production company Proximity Media in 2021 with partner Zev Ohanian. The company’s first film, 2021’s Judas the Black Messiah, was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

“We met when we were 13 or 14. When you are in a relationship with someone for that long, you pull each other into each other’s lives,” Zinzi recently told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview surrounding Sinners, which just topped the weekend domestic box office and scored a rare A CinemaScore with audiences.

Ryan, who is known as the mind behind visionary projects such as the Black Panther and Creed series, as well as impactful stories like his directorial debut Fruitvale Station, has shared how his wife was supportive of his career from the very beginning — such as buying him an expensive screenwriting software when he was struggling in college.

“My wife, she was my girl at the time, [and] they had a software where you could write screenplays. I was trying to write in Microsoft Word. It’s impossible because your format gotta be right,” he said in a Hot 97 interview.

“I was broke, playing football on the little scholarship money,” Ryan said, noting his time at Saint Mary’s College of California where he met Zinzi. “And my wife scrapped together some cheese and bought me Final Draft, which is the software that you write your movies on. And she got me that.”

Ryan was eventually accepted into a highly competitive three-year master’s program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he worked on short films including Locks, which Zinzi served as an associate producer.

The two currently share two children together, and have decided to keep their names and genders private. During the New York premiere of Sinners, the couple subtly seemed to share their family is growing as Zinzi’s burgundy gown showed off a baby bump.

Reflecting on their early projects to the current box office success of Sinners today, the Cooglers shared with The Hollywood Reporter how interesting it has been to watch their professional and personal life blossom.

“He would often invite me into the most inappropriate meetings and places. From being in all of his classes at school to being on sets to being in rooms when he’s making deals with studio heads,” Zinzi recalled in the interview.

Ryan added that he’s noticed several filmmakers he respects have also worked with their significant others.

“I remember having a meeting with Zack Snyder at one point, and his wife [Deborah Snyder] was there running his stuff. And I had a meeting with J.J. [Abrams] and his wife [Katie McGrath] was there running their stuff,” Ryan said. “And I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m doing this shit completely wrong.’ Then we met Chris [Nolan] and Emma [Thomas] in 2015. When we went to go down at meet with them, that’s when I started hard selling Zinzi.”

It’s been a successful creative pairing, with Ryan even sharing in an interview with Variety that all of his ideas are first run by his better half.

“I had to convince her a little bit, but it’s always like that,” Ryan said of pitching Sinners to Zinzi. “She stress tests the pitch. I know it’s good when she’s like, ‘Alright, now, you can talk to someone else about it.’ “