Janell Shirtcliff

Shirtcliff has directed music videos for songs including The Band Perry's "The Good Life,[9] Bethany Cosentino's "It's Fine",[10] Tashaki Miyaki's "Anyone But You",[11] and Mayer Hawthorne's "Over".[12]

Shirtcliff first got into photography when she started shooting images for her online store Lonelydot, through which she sells vintage clothes.[1] She has photographed musicians including Best Coast,[13] Tashaki Miyaki,[14] Emeli Sandé,[4] Kari Faux,[5] Peach Kelli Pop's Allie Hanlon,[6] Julia Cumming,[8] Troye Sivan,[15] Grace VanderWaal,[16] Paris Jackson,[17] and Katy Perry.[7] She photographed Phoebe Bridgers for a cover story in Variety in 2021.[18][2] She has also photographed the actresses Michelle Rodriguez,[19] Kate Hudson,[20] Pamela Adlon,[21][3] and Jena Malone.[7]

Shirtcliff made her feature directorial debut with the 2021 film Habit, which she also cowrote with her childhood best friend Libby Mintz.[22] The film is set in Los Angeles and stars Bella Thorne as a party girl from Corpus Christi and Paris Jackson as Jesus.[22][23] The film was negatively received, accruing a 6% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 16 critics,[24] including The Guardian's Leslie Felperin who called the film a "John Waters wannabe".[25] The film also generated controversy, including a petition to block the film's release with nearly 300,000 signatures claiming that the film was Christianophobic because Jackson's Jesus was portrayed as a lesbian, though the film's promotional materials and logline did not indicate the claim was true.[23] A second petition started by One Million Moms gained over 70,000 signatures, calling the film "sacrilegious".[26] Gavin Rossdale, who plays a drug dealer named Eric in the film, praised Shirtcliff and said they built a great rapport with each other.[27]

Shirtcliff directed the documentary film Mother of the Dawn, about Vale do Amanhecer founder Tia Neiva. She first discovered Neiva from a photo while browsing online, and was inspired by the image. She pitched the idea of the documentary to producer Tommy Savas.[28] Mother of the Dawn premiered at the Rollins Theatre in Austin, Texas, as part of the 2022 South by Southwest festival's Documentary Shorts Competition.[28][29]

Shirtcliff is set to direct another film called The Edge of Nowhere, also featuring Rossdale.[27]

Prior to her photography career, Shirtcliff worked as a model for ten years, posing for companies including Levi's and Urban Outfitters.[1]

Shirtcliff appeared as an actor in the music video for Katy Perry's 2013 single "Unconditionally", directed by Aya Tanimura.[30] She also acted in the film Dirty Old Town alongside Billy Leroy,[31] for which Variety's Andrew Barker said hers was the standout performance.[32]