Lee graduated from
Columbia University School of the Arts' Film Program with an
MFA in film in 2005. While at Columbia, she won several awards for excellence in screenwriting and gave birth to her daughter. She worked closely with the songwriters (
Robert Lopez and
Kristen Anderson-Lopez) in the writing of the script. Audiences worldwide resonated with the story of two sisters, as
Frozen was also the highest-earning film with a female director in terms of domestic earnings, until surpassed by
Warner Bros.'
Wonder Woman. On May 17, 2014, Lee delivered the
commencement address to the class of 2014 at her alma mater, the University of New Hampshire. She revealed that she had struggled with self-doubt while growing up, and then in April of her junior year of college, her boyfriend was killed in a boating accident, after which she felt "no doubt, only grief ... and for a brief moment ... [knew] better than to waste a second doubting." In September 2014, it was announced that Lee and Buck would co-direct a
short film featuring the
Frozen characters called
Frozen Fever. It was released in March 2015. Lee was one of several Disney writers and directors who received credit for "Creative Leadership" on
Big Hero 6 (2014),
Zootopia (2016), and
Moana (2016), and also received a story co-writer credit on
Zootopia. In August 2014,
Variety reported that Lee's next project after
Frozen would be an
adaptation of
Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 novel
A Wrinkle in Time. After the news broke, Lee tweeted: "Been in love with the book for over 30 years. Writing this script means the world to me." Catherine Hand, the executive producer of the
2003 television film version, and Jim Whitaker produced for Disney, On March 12, 2015, Disney announced that Lee and Buck would co-direct a full length sequel to
Frozen. In June 2018, Lee was named the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, following
John Lasseter's departure from Disney. Lee was the studio's first woman creative chief, a milestone for the company that was established in 1923. During her time as CCO, she first finished overseeing
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), a film for which she was already an executive producer, in the final five months leading up to its release following the exit of Lasseter who was the primary executive producer and CCO on that film since its inception in 2014. Lee also remained the director (alongside Buck) and writer of the sequel to
Frozen, now officially titled
Frozen 2 (2019), the first film primarily under her leadership.
Frozen 2 would become the highest-grossing animated film of all-time in January 2020, until
Inside Out 2 (2024) surpassed it in July 2024. Following
Frozen 2, Lee would oversee the production of
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021),
Encanto (2021),
Strange World (2022),
Wish (2023), and
Moana 2 (2024). Lee also co-wrote
Wish, a film that was started under her leadership in 2018 and was created to celebrate the legacy of the Walt Disney Animation Studios. In September 2024, Lee announced that she was stepping down from her position as Disney Animation's chief creative officer to return to full-time filmmaking at the studio—specifically, to direct and write
Frozen 3 and to also write and executive produce
Frozen 4.
Jared Bush was named as her successor. ==Personal life==