Ryan Coogler's hit movie Sinners took home four at the 2026 ceremony.
The director, 39, won Best Original Screenplay for the movie, making him the second black writer to win the award, following , who won in 2018 for Get Out.
Sinners also earned a Best Actor award for , Best Cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw and Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson at last week's Academy Awards.
During this year's script award race, Ryan had been heavily featured, winning Best Original Screenplay at the , Writers Guild and , and picking up a nomination at the .
But just one decade before the worldwide box-office success was sweeping the awards ceremony, Ryan was drowning in student loans.
'I was 200 grand in debt for film school. It was bad,' he said on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast last year. 'We don't come from no money.'
Here, the Daily Mail takes a look at Ryan's incredible rise from a broke college student to a multi-millionaire and award-winning director.
Ryan Coogler's hit movie Sinners took home four Oscars at the 2026 ceremony after winning best original screenplay at the Baftas, Writers Guild and Critics Choice awards , and picking up a nomination at the Golden Globes
A decade before the worldwide box-office success was sweeping the awards ceremony, Ryan was drowning in student loans after blazing a path through the world of college football
Long before his latest movie, Sinners, was nominated for 16 awards at the Oscars, Ryan was blazing a path through the world of college football.
He grew up in a 'difficult' neighbourhood in Oakland, but with stable parental support, he was an athlete who attended private Catholic schools.
Ryan initially attended St. Mary's College of California on a football scholarship during his freshman year of college.
During his first year, some football teammates took a writing course with Rosemary Graham, a creative writing professor.
At the time, he was considering following his degree in Chemistry with medical school, assuming a career in football didn't pan out.
But during a conversation with Rosemary, he decided to lean into his gifts as a storyteller.
She told KRON 4 News in 2018: 'He knew how to tell a story, and the story involved a lot of visuals…It was almost like [there was] a camera in the room.'
'Boy, did her advice change my life,' Ryan said during a visit back to the college in 2018.
After St. Mary's dropped its football program in March 2004, he transferred to Sacramento State.
Meanwhile, as a junior, he led the team with 45 catches for 441 yards.
His standout moment as a Hornet came that season when he reeled in a breakaway 60-yard touchdown pass.
Ryan even faced off against NFL icon Marshawn Lynch during his time as a student athlete in the Bay Area.
'I would meet players like Maurice Jones-Drew, or Marshawn Lynch, players I would play against and I'll be like, 'Man they a lot better than me,''he recalled earlier this year on Good Hang With Amy Poehler.
'You come across players that's like, 'Oh, that's something different happening there.' And that was kind of how I could see early, maybe football wasn't going to be what I did forever.'
His football career hit a hurdle when he reportedly missed the 2006 season with a hand injury.
He ultimately received a medical redshirt to return for his fifth year of eligibility.
Yet, just as he was set to return, he suffered another injury in 2007, this time a broken cheekbone.
It was at Sacramento State that he reportedly began to take film classes.
During that time, too, his girlfriend and future wife, Zinzi, encouraged him to buy the software Final Draft, the industry standard for screenwriters.
In 2007, he received a scholarship offer from USC to study at its School of Cinematic Arts.
In 2013, he wrote and directed his first feature-length film, Fruitvale Station, with actor Michael.
Two years later, he was on the verge of breakout success, but his wallet didn't show it as he was $200k in debt.
With Michael as his muse, he released his second film, Creed, a spin-off of the Rocky films.
Creed III a spin-off of the Rocky films starring Michael B Jordan made $100.4 million globally in its opening weekend, as it made $41.8 million in 75 international markets
Ryan's acclaimed horror movie Sinners has earned a staggering 16 Oscar nominations, the most of any movie in history (Michael B. Jordan pictured with Omar Benson Miller)
At the awards ceremony that took place last week, the movie took home four Oscar wins, with Michael named Best Actor for his dual performance as twins Smoke and Stack (pictured Ryan and Michael)
He began shooting the first movie in the series, which went on to make $42.6 million (£32M) in its opening weekend on a $35 million (£26.3M) budget.
With its success, he went on to create Creed II and Creed III, which also shattered ticket sales expectations.
This then led to a streak of hits with Black Panther and its sequel Wakanda Forever, which earned over $2 billion (£1.5B) at the worldwide box office.
Judas and the Black Messiah was nominated many times for Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
Ryan collaborated with Michael for the fifth time on Sinners, which saw him in a dual role as twin brothers with a criminal past who find themselves faced with a vampire menace in the Jim Crow South.
The movie, which was released in April 2025, achieved a rare 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes during its initial run.
The film became a major critical and commercial success, grossing over $370M (£278M) worldwide.
The film earned five nominations at the 68th Grammy Awards, including Best Score Soundtrack and multiple Best Song nods.
It was
The record was previously held by Titanic, All About Eve and La La Land, which earned 14 nominations apiece in a three-way tie.
At the awards ceremony that took place last week, the movie took home four Oscar wins, with Michael named Best Actor for his dual performance as twins Smoke and Stack.
For her work on the film, Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman ever to win Best Cinematography.
Sinners also won Best Original Screenplay and Best Score.
Following his win, Ryan took to the stage and thanked the Academy and his fellow nominees, as well as his cast and crew – who he asked to rise from their seats.
He then paid tribute to his producer and wife, Zinzi, saying she made every day better than the preceding, as well as to his parents, saying: 'Thank y'all for making me believe in myself.'
He finished by thanking 'my babies that are at home watching. I apologise for all the time away. Dad loves you.
'Memories are all we have. I hope I'll give you some great ones. And that y'all blessed to live a long life, and your dad becomes just a memory.
'I want y'all to remember this one thing. I love y'all more than anything. Thank you.'
As of 2026, Ryan is now worth an impressive $25M (£18M), according to Celebrity Net Worth.
