Background
Martin was born in Bronx, New York, the daughter of Marilyn, a dancer of Irish-American descent, and an African-American attorney.
Martin was born in Bronx, New York, the daughter of Marilyn, a dancer of Irish-American descent, and an African-American attorney.
New York University; Sarah Lawrence College. Tisch School of the Arts.
From the Bronx, she went on to Sarah Lawrence College and New York University Film School. Along the way, she worked in film labs and camera rental houses and as a bartender, made music videos and short films, and wrote the first draft of I Like lieutenant Like That. The film was well-received from the majority of critics.
In 1994, She directed the Columbia Pictures release I Like lieutenant Like That, a romantic comedy-drama film about a young woman trying to love her man, keep her family together, assert her self-worth as a person, and keep her sanity all at the same time.
The film was well received by critics, but it didn"t perform well at the box office. In 2001 Martin directed Prison Song.
She has directed episodes of television shows like Law & Order and Grey"s Anatomy. In 2008, Martin returned to the big screen in which she wrote and directed a musical-drama film based on Leonard Chess and the singers who recorded for Chess Records titled Cadillac Records.
In 2012, she directed the well-received television film Firelight.
