Stephanie Ruiz, a first-generation Latin American hailing from Boston, MA, relocated to NYC to pursue her passion for acting at the "New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts." While studying, she also discovered excitement for working behind the camera which led to production assistant roles on popular shows including, Run the World, Hunters, Blue Bloods and 9-1-1, just to name a few. She then worked her way up to executive assisting TV director, Millicent Shelton and subsequently assisting creator/executive producer, Leigh Davenport. As a result of working with two fearless, powerhouse women in the industry, Stephanie was able to absorb filmmaking at an early age. It was at this point that Stephanie knew her true passion was going to be telling her own stories and turned to creating her own films. 

Stephanie most recently won awards at theAstoria Film Festival and the Hispanic International Film Festival, and was nominated 4 times at the Montreal Independent Film Festival, Blackbird Film Festival, Big Apple International Screenplay Competition, and Ridgewood International Film Festival. Additionally, her short film, Hope You Feel Better has been selected over 16 times. Most recently Stephanie won best short horror for directing, Nose Goes in the Santa Barbara International Movie Awards, La Indies andJersey Shore Film Festival. Stephanie went on to direct her third film, and proof of concept “Happy Anniversary” that has begun its 2024 festival circuit starting the year strong with 3 selections with more to be determined soon.