Kimberly Peirce (born on September 8, 1967 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American film director, notable for her first and, thus far, only feature film, Boys Don't Cry (1999).

Sexuality
After reading a Village Voice article about the rape and murder of Brandon Teena, a transman in Falls City, Nebraska, she became obsessed with the story, "falling in love" with Brandon. Frustrated with sensationalistic accounts of the story, she traveled to Falls City, befriended a court reporter, and thus attained court documents. The script and short film that would eventually be elongated into the feature film, Boys Don't Cry became her thesis.
Peirce had been rumored to be involved in a number of projects, including adaptations of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Memoirs of a Geisha. Despite this, since Boys Don't Cry she has directed only an episode of The L Word, and is currently working on a film entitled Stop-loss starring Ryan Phillippe.

Films
Peirce's influences include such films as Raging Bull (whose opening scene she credits for the Boys Don't Cry opener) and Cool Hand Luke. She has expressed a love for the American anti-hero epitomized by Montgomery Clift and that the Brandon Teena character was modeled after this archetype.

Filmography
In addition to winning nearly universal critical acclaim (Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "the best American film of the year"), Peirce won debut directing awards from the National Board of Review, the Boston Society of Film Critics, and the London Film Festival.