Greg Beck Whiteley (born November 11, 1969) is the creator, executive producer, and director of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary series ''The Clubhouse: A Season With the Red Sox'' (2025), '' America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders'' (2024), ''

Wrestlers Wrestling is a Martial arts, martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling ...

'' (2023),Vognar, Chris (2023-09-13)
"'Wrestlers' Is Greg Whiteley's Latest Underdog Tale."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved 2024-02-04. ''

Cheer Cheering involves the uttering or making of sounds and may be used to encourage, excite to action, indicate approval or welcome. The word cheer originally meant face, countenance, or expression, and came through Old French into Middle English" ...

'' (2020–2022) and ''

Last Chance U ''Last Chance U'' is an American documentary television series that is produced by and premiered on Netflix. The six-episode first season explores the football program at East Mississippi Community College, which features several collegiate at ...

'' (2016–2020). His films include ''

New York Doll ''New York Doll'' is a documentary based on the life of former New York Dolls member Arthur Kane. It was nominated for both a Satellite Award and a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered in 2005. Synopsis The film d ...

'' (2005), '' Resolved'' (2007), ''

Mitt Mitt may refer to: Gloves *Mitten, a garment covering the whole hand *Baseball mitt, a leather glove worn by baseball players on defense Arts and media * ''Mitt'' (film), a 2014 documentary film about Mitt Romney *The Mitt, a bronze sculpture of ...

'' (2014), and '' Most Likely to Succeed'' (2015). Whiteley's documentaries have received two IDA awards, four

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

Awards and had three premieres at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...

Background

Whiteley was born in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

to Jessie and Kent Whiteley. He grew up in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...

where he attended

Interlake High School Interlake High School (IHS) is a public secondary school in Bellevue, Washington, one of the four traditional high schools in the Bellevue School District. Its mascot is a Saint Bernard named Bernie, and the school's sports teams are known as t ...

and became a two-time debate state champion. He served for two years, from 1989–1991, as a missionary for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

to the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. He graduated from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in Provo in 1995 with a BA in film and received an MFA in film from

Art Center College of Design The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California. It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

in 2001.

Career

After winning two

Clio Awards The Clio Awards, also simply known as The Clios, is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. The award ...

during graduate school at Art Center, he was hired by Populuxe Pictures to direct commercials. From 1996 to 2000, Whiteley served as the head of Film Actors Theater in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. While beginning work on ''New York Doll'' in 2005, he launched One Potato Productions with his wife, Erin. He named the company in an homage to his recently deceased father, who grew up on an

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

potato farm. Whiteley wrote, filmed, and directed ''New York Doll'' in 2005. The documentary explores the history of the punk rock band

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

, focusing on the life of bassist

Arthur Kane Arthur Harold Kane Jr. (February 3, 1949 – July 13, 2004) was an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the pioneering glam rock band the New York Dolls. Kane was a founding member of the Dolls in 1971 and remained an integral p ...

after he converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Whiteley created ''Resolved'' in 2006, which follows the story of a high school debate team. From 2006 to 2012 he filmed ''Mitt'', having gained access to the Romney family, though not his campaign staff, during both of governor Mitt Romney's campaigns for the United States presidency. From 2012 to 2014, he created ''Most Likely To Succeed'', which is about the education system in the United States and proposes ideas for its reform. From 2016 onwards, he worked on various sports docuseries for Netflix. ''

'' (2016–2020) followed football players at junior colleges attempting to move to a Division I

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

program and ultimately to the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. A basketball spin-off, ''Last Chance U: Basketball'' (2021-present) soon followed. ''

'' (2020–2022) examines Navarro College's cheer team, a community college team in rural Corsicana which is northeast of

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

. The cheer team were 14-time NCA National Collegiate Champions. ''Wrestlers'' (2023) follows

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

headquartered in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. His most recent work, ''America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders'' (2024) premiered on Netflix on 20th June 2024.

Personal life

Whiteley married Erin Bybee in 1999. The couple lives in

Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Located in Southern California along the Pacific Ocean, this seaside resort city has a mild year-round climate, scenic c ...

with their son, Henry, and daughter, Scout.

Filmography

* ''

'' (2005) * ''Resolved'' (2007) * ''Mitt'' (2014) * '' Most Likely to Succeed'' (2015) * ''

'' (2016–2020) * ''

'' (2020–2022) * '' Last Chance U: Basketball'' (2021) *''

'' (2023–present) *'' America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders'' (2024) *'' The Clubhouse: A Year With the Boston Red Sox'' (2025)

Awards and honors

* 1999

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

Student Awards: ''Pepsi'' and ''Krazy Glue'' * 2005 nomination,

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

: ''New York Doll'' (2005) * 2005 nomination, Grand Jury Prize at the

: ''New York Doll'' (2005) * 2007 Audience Award, Best Documentary at the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodi ...

: ''Resolved'' (2007) * 2009 nomination,

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Best Documentary: ''Resolved'' (2007) * 2009 nomination, Emmy Award for Editing: ''Resolved'' (2007) * 2014 Opening Gala Film, Sundance Film Festival: ''Mitt'' (2014) * 2016 Best Documentary Series, International Documentary Association: ''Last Chance U'' (2016) *2020 Best Nonfiction Sports Documentary Series, Realscreen Award: ''Last Chance U'' (2019) *2020 Emmy Award for Outstanding Serialized Sports Documentary : ''Last Chance U'' (2020) *2020 Emmy Award for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program: ''Cheer'' (2020) *2020 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program: ''Cheer'' (2020) *2021 IDA Award for Best Episodic Series: ''Last Chance U'' (2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteley, Greg 1969 births Living people American documentary filmmakers Brigham Young University alumni Writers from Provo, Utah People from Bellevue, Washington Primetime Emmy Award winners Filmmakers from Utah