Ann Hornaday, who spent more than two decades as The Washington Post’s chief film critic and earned a Pulitzer Prize finalist nod in 2008, died October 18 at her Baltimore home at age 66 from glioblastoma. Her career spanned major publications and influential support of prominent contemporary filmmakers.
Ann Mills Hornaday was born March 9, 1960, in Iowa City and grew up in Des Moines, where she was adopted at birth by urologist William R. Hornaday Jr. and his civic-minded wife, Mary Mills. She graduated from Smith College in 1982 with a government major. Early in her career, she worked as a personal assistant to feminist activist Gloria Steinem at Ms. Magazine in New York and contributed as a freelance writer to outlets including the New York Times and Premiere magazine. Before joining The Washington Post in 2002, she served as the film critic for the Austin American-Statesman from 1995 to 1997 and later for the Baltimore Sun.
Reviewing Films With A Popcorn-Eating Viewpoint At The Washington Post
During her tenure at The Washington Post, Hornaday wrote hundreds of reviews characterized by a casual yet knowledgeable approach. Her work earned her recognition as a Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism in 2008.
Rather than writing from the perspective of a strict cinema scholar, she approached film more than from the lofty perch of a scholar of cinema
as a popcorn-eating moviegoer.
Beyond her daily reviews, Hornaday was among the earliest critics to champion the work of directors like Tom McCarthy, Ryan Coogler, Greta Gerwig, and Alexander Payne. She also regularly appeared on Tony Kornheiser’s radio program and served as a reviewer for the “PBS NewsHour.” She took a buyout and departed The Washington Post in 2025.
Writing Books On Filmcraft And Watergate History
Hornaday expanded her film criticism into educational writing with her book Talking Pictures
, which instructed readers on how to watch movies with deeper discernment by analyzing elements such as acting, directing, production design, music, editing, and screenplays. She wrote in the book that within the first ten minutes, a well-written movie will teach the audience how to watch it.
Prior to her death, she completed a manuscript about the making of the 1976 journalism thriller All the President’s Men
, directed by Alan J. Pakula. In a 2025 piece for The Washington Post, she described the Watergate feature as a masterpiece
that demonstrated filmmaking as a collaborative medium. That upcoming book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2028.
Maintaining Community Ties And Personal Life In Baltimore
Outside of professional journalism, Hornaday maintained deep ties to her community in Baltimore, where she served as a parishioner and Sunday school teacher at the Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation. In a 2014 essay, she explored the intersection of her profession and faith, writing about the tensions, contradictions and fleeting moments of grace I have experienced as a film critic who also happens to be a practicing Christian.
She also cherished direct interactions with her readership. Liz Seymour, a former managing editor and features editor at The Washington Post and Smith College graduate, recalled Hornaday’s annual pre-Oscar gatherings with D.C. alums.
Hornaday is survived by Dennis Greenia, her husband of 26 years; their daughter, Victoria Greenia; a stepdaughter, Leila Greenia; and a brother, William Hornaday III.
She especially loved meeting and talking with readers about movies. Every year, she was the featured guest for a gathering of Smith alums in the D.C. area before the Oscars. She was so smart, and she was also just so interested to hear what other people thought of the movies. It was a highlight for her, and it was a highlight for me.
