Tonya Lewis Lee is an award-winning filmmaker, author, entrepreneur, and women’s health activist whose work explores the personal impact of social justice issues. Through her documentaries and books, she has reached tens of millions with vital health and wellness messages. Her feature-length documentary Aftershock (Hulu), which she co-directed and co-produced, examines the United States’ maternal mortality crisis and earned a 2024 DuPont-Columbia Award, a 2023 Peabody Award, a 2023 Emmy nomination, and a 2022 Sundance Special Jury Impact for Change Award.

Tonya served as Executive Producer on Netflix’s episodic series She’s Gotta Have It, produced Miracle’s Boys (Nickelodeon), based on the Jacqueline Woodson novel, wrote and produced The Watsons Go To Birmingham (Amazon), and produced Monster (Netflix), which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. She is president of her production company, Madstone Company Inc. Expanding her producing work to the stage, Tonya has produced Broadway works including A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical (Studio 54, 2024–2025), developed in association with Roundabout Theatre Company.

An accomplished author, Tonya has co-written three children’s books with her husband Spike Lee—Please, Baby, Please; Please, Puppy, Please; and Giant Steps to Change the World—which have sold over one million copies. She also co-authored the adult fiction novel The Gotham Diaries (Hyperion) with Crystal McCrary Anthony, which was praised by Publisher’s Weekly as “vicious,” “funny,” and “juicy.” She has also penned guest editorials for prestigious media outlets including The Hollywood Reporter.